This little nugget here though turns out to be a a gem of deep jazzy hiphop, just like Guru’s Jazzmatazz or stuff that CL Smooth makes; true to the roots oldschool beats. I can’t rate K. Sparks’ rhyming for you because I’m simply not knowledgeable about contemporary rapping standards but I especially liked the production with lots of rhodes & strings and laidback beats. 13 songs on this one and it goes really smooth from head to toe.

Really love this new type of urban and mostly black music, call it jazz hop, neo soul, soulhop, electro soul whatever, sceptics will surely be saying this mostly electronic version is not up to par with classics, I’d say give ‘em some time, this is a worthwhile reincarnation of the old vibes and it takes time to become a classic!. Anyways, great tracklist on the Amplified comp which features acts like Benny Sings, Coultrain, Ayah, Dj Mitsu The Beats, Bilal Salaam and more. All new names to check out for you and it’s possible to buy single tracks directly from BBE for £0.75 for both albums. 20 tracks on the Slakah release with a few skits, if you’re into Raphael Saadiq / Dilla etc. def go for it.

His idiosyncratic blend of electronic music with elements of soul, funk, house with driving brass and percussion is what made Dust an instant anthem and on Perfect Timing we see Recloose covering all flavours of the soul scala with due help from vocal talents of Fat Freddy’s Drop vocalist Jon Dukie, Tyna and others. Contemporary funk & house music for the urban soulistas, it appeals to a wide range of audience on the dancefloor or for home listening. Not groundbreaking stuff but with instant rewards, perfect for fans of Herbert, Moodymann and Jazzanova, I bet you’ll be singing along to some of these tunes in no time.

This week we’ll be covering all the neosoul/jazzy hiphop stuff coming out mostly from the UK and of course the US (Stones Throw!) It’s def going to be the sound of this summer and might we say flutes are making a comeback!.

Let’s start with a fabulous album on Ubiquity by 26 years old Eric Lau from London. Apparently an Hong Kong native who’ve come to London to study, Lau climbed the ladders pretty fast and has produced for well known Stones Throw artists like Dudley Perkins, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Guilty Simpson and Lupe Fiasco so I’m sure you know which “territory” we’re talking about.

Soulful vocals, deep jazzy chords, blunted guitar solos and gentle headbopping movement abound in this one combined with the vocal talent of up and coming UK Vocalists like Rahel and Tawiah makes this debut for the humble Chinese producer a well received hit.

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Eric Lau - Confession Lounge
Eric Lau - Right Side
Eric Lau - Let it out

J. Rawls with Aloe Blacc

First up is J. Rawls presenting Ohio MC Holmskillit, which has been my most repeated hiphop album this year. There’s some soulful & jazzy deep hiphop a la Madlib here. Another album in the same vein is Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow’s album on Eclectic Breaks produced by 2tall. You should remember Dudley & Georgia Anne from Stones Throw. Once again tasty jazzy leftfield hiphop for you.

The third name is a bit of surprise for me. I’ve checked it out solely based on recommendations from zines & retailer lists. I had no affinity to Jazzy Jeff in the past, especially remembering he teamed up with Will Smith. Contrarily there’s some solid stuff on this one, which sounds oldschoolish yet duly updated for the 2000s.

Finally Blackbeard & Yam Who? with a bootleg of Lupe Fiasco’s I Gotcha. Suffice to say we always got love for Yam Who.

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Dudley Perkins & Georgia Muldrow - Beautiful Mind

J. Rawls & Homeskillit - Get Down
J. Rawls & Homeskillit - Ohio Funk
2 Tall Presents Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow - Fonkwithme
2 Tall Presents Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow - Poet past the weak
DJ Jazzy Jeff - All I Know (feat. CL Smooth)
DJ Jazzy Jeff - Practice (feat. J Live)
Lupe Fiasco - I Gotcha (Blackwho? and Yambeard Rework)

I’ve been on a soulful jazzy house tip for some time because of this stormer called “You got rhyhtm too“. It seems Mr. Phil Kullmann better known as Raw Artistic Soul has gotten all the better parts of Latin, Afro Beat, Funk & Dub and put it into a warm soulful house album. Released by Gogo Music, this album has some guest musicians & vocalists but the most notable is Ursula Rucker, who was in Istanbul a few weeks ago. The percussion on “The Light” is fantastic and what sets this apart from countless other deep house tracks, is that Kullmann has actually mastered percussion/beatmaking and he makes songs not tracks. Another awesome track is “Zaab” with delicious scat vocals on late 90s filtered funk house, don’t miss this album if you’re into deep house & jazzy vibes. The last track is not from this album but from a previous web release, I initially didn’t put it as download, but then again, this tune is so irresistable I decided to put it online.

After the Larry Heard post, it’s about time I get a few selected house tracks off my “feature it” directory. The Haaksman & Haaksman remix of Stereotyp’s Keepin’ Me is as massive as it gets, with a muted guitar at the back, female vocals and a funky steppa rhythms, I’m pretty much sure this is one of the biggest dance tunes I’ve listened this year. Newcomer Sam Irl’s track is a likeminded soulfool afrobeat inspired steppa on Pulver.

I normally don’t like tech house at all, but Natural Rhythm’s jazzy tech house is something I can more than tolerate. Buscemi’s Bollywood inspired vocal track gets refined by Solo Moderna while Frankman gives us a refined deep but driving minimal tune with sax & rhodes. Finally Langoth’s Grounding is not really a house tune but jazzy hiphop in the vein of old Ninja Tune. It reminds me of some tune that I can’t put my finger on and watch that great keychange in the chorus part!

PS : I’ve found it, (at least the tune I was thinking, let’s see if you think I’m sure, I’ve added it as well.)

Sam Irl - African Dance feat. Anya
Francisco Foo - Everything (Frankman Remix)
Natural Rhythm & Trap Groove - Dancefloor Jazz
Buscemi - Bollywood Swing King (Solo Moderna Remix)
Stereotyp - Keepin’ me (Haaksman & Haaksman Remix)
Langoth - Grounding
Moondog - Bird’s Lament

Brooklyn singer Arnold Jarvis has a new soulful house single named “If I stay out” which should be playing all over NYC at this time and Sonar Kollektiv’s Georg Levin has the Metro Area-esque Chicago deep groove with “Leisure Suit”.

Rita Quintero - Quiero Saber (Sterling Mix)
Drei Farben House - Close Enough
Arnold Jarvis - If I Stay Out
Georg Levin - Leisure Suit