SEALED

In recent years, Los Angeles rapper Blu has become one of hip hop’s most prolific artists, releasing more than a dozen acclaimed projects and building a worldwide fanbase. The gifted lyricist often joins forces with a single producer for an entire collection, leading to classic collaborative releases with Exile, Nottz, Madlib, and more. Now, Blu is back with The Blueprint, a new mixtape produced by Shafiq Husayn. Known as one third of visionary production team Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Shafiq has produced for the likes of Erykah Badu, Kanye West, Andre 3000, John Legend, Anderson Paak, Thundercat, Bilal, Ty Dolla $ign, Ice T, and many more. Dedicated to the gang culture that permeates the city they both call home, The Blueprint reflects Blu’s eternal L.A. state of mind, with Shafiq’s eclectic soundscapes providing the perfect backdrop. After mysteriously appearing online and then abruptly disappearing, the project is now receiving an official release on CD and vinyl.

Tales of sordid street escapades, drugs and fast women have been long running themes for Tucson, AZ’s Zackey Force Funk. Though these are themes that have been explored to excess in music over the years, his psychedelic, acid-trip style has been what places him in another realm. Three quarters singing and one quarter rapping, the Force Funk sound has been well-established in the world of underground electronic music over the last decade. With the arrival of his MoFunk debut album, Bodyrock Shotgun, ZFF is set to advance yet another level with melodic modern funk production that challenges him to expand his one-of-a-kind vocal style to new territory.Highlights include the XL Middleton-produced title cut, a slow-rolling, vocoder-laced tune that haunts as much as it thumps. Brian Ellis brings his signature brand of moody electro funk on “Glass Dick Lovin’,” a dark tale of love lost to drug addiction. “Money Weighs A Ton,” imported from the recent Boy Dude LP on Hobo Camp, slides seamlessly into the playlist with pulsating synths framing an unapologetic hustler’s manifesto. “El Mero Mero” (prod. by XL Middleton) stands as another declaration of street corner superiority, while “Get The Gun” serves as a self-explanatory footnote on how to keep said position, over Moog-y production from Adam Chini that is equal parts Blaxploitation and retro science fiction. Further productions from Throwback Zack, Proh Mic, Trailer Limon, DJ Spy-D, and Elegant Borzoi form a veritable who’s who in the land of modern funk, and show Zackey’s superb ear for beat curation.

We could say that with this sixth studio album Anthony Joseph is back to his roots. Indeed, it was recorded on his native island of Trinidad. But it is more of a continuation, of a culmination…. as the Caribbean music has strongly infused the music of Anthony since its inception .This album entitled "People of the sun" is a tribute to Port of Spain (POS), this bubbling port, meeting place of many cultures and a door open on South America. This energy is found throughout the album with many stars of the island (3 channel, Brother Resistance, Ella Andal, Boogsie the king of steel pan ...) and pays tribute to Rapso, a mixture of protest poetry and Soca / Calypso created in the 80’s. As always the verb remains in the spotlight with Anthony Joseph.

BBE present Boston Goes Disco compiled by Serge Gamesbourg.During the 1970s and 80s, the city of Boston and its environs produced some of the era’s most iconic music stars, from rock megaliths like Aerosmith and The Cars to disco and soul celebutantes Donna Summer, New Edition and Tavares. These artists emerged from Beantown’s thriving underground music scene to fnd global success, but what about the countless contemporaries who never made it beyond the local circuit? Native DJ, producer and bass playerSerge Gamesbourg began digging in the crates for forgotten gems more than two decades ago, emerging in 2018 with his frst BBE compilation, lovingly titled Boston Goes Disco! “I wanted to shed light on more obscure & unknown disco & boogie records outta Boston and the surrounding areas, basically small label and privately pressed late 70s and early 80s dance music from Massachusetts.” Turning detective as he began to track down many an obscure artist to license music for the album, Gamesbourg often found Boston’s legendary Berklee College of Music to be the common denominator for many bands throughout the years. “A lot of these cats came here real young to study from various parts of the country, met the other band members and wrote music and performed locally before fnishing their studies and moving on.”With artwork paying homage to 80’s rap compilation “Boston Goes Def”, Boston Goes Disco! provides an exciting insight into the city during its most culturally fertile period, uncovering a rich musical history previously only known to those who were there.

Kalita Records present the first ever official reissue of the Sophisticated Ladies sought-after 1980 New York disco single 'This Ain't Really Love' backed with a Mighty Zaf extended B-Side edit.Kalita Records are proud and honoured to announce the first ever official reissue of the Sophisticated Ladies' sought-after 1980 New York disco single 'This Ain't Really Love', backed by a Mighty Zaf extended edit of their 1977 release 'Check It Out', and accompanied by interview-based liner notes. Here, the single will be available in its true 12” format, saving collectors and DJs alike from spending triple-digit figures on an original copy.First formed in 1955, the Sophisticated Ladies started their recording life as the R&B girl group The Bobbettes, originally consisting of five female vocalists (Jannie Pought, Emma Pought, Reather Dixon, Laura Webb and Helen Gathers). The group were signed to the Atlantic record label and were most known for their 1957 hit single ‘Mr. Lee’, which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Pop singles chart and remained #1 on the R&B chart for four weeks. They were in fact the first girl group to have a #1 R&B song which also was placed in the top ten of the singles chart.However, by the mid-1970s and with the emergence of the disco era, the Bobbettes changed their name to the Sophisticated Ladies. As Emma Patron (nee Pought) recalled to me in the winter of 2017, The Bobbettes’ success with ‘Mr. Lee’ had been both a blessing and a curse – on the one hand it had provided them with international fame, yet by the 1970s it had become a constant weight and drag upon the group, type-casting and inhibiting their development as artists. Thus, upon the suggestion of their managers and producers Joe Webb and Frank Fair, the name The Bobbettes was lost, replaced now by the Sophisticated Ladies. Not only did this provide the opportunity for a clean sheet, but it also allowed them to have an image change from a girl group to a female disco outfit, as Joe recalls, ‘when we changed the name and gave the band a more soulful, disco sound, it made a huge difference’.The Sophisticated Ladies (by this time consisting of Emma, Laura and Reather) released two singles between 1977 and 1980. They toured the southern states of America (whilst also touring internationally as the Bobbettes) and received radio airtime throughout the country. Here we have chosen to highlight their scarce, choice cut ‘This Ain’t Really Love’ and have invited The Mighty Zaf to re-work their version of Bobby Womack’s ‘Check It Out’, making it perfect for modern disco dancing.- First ever official reissue of sought-after New York disco 12” single- Accompanied by an extended edit by The Mighty Zaf of their 1977 release 'Check It Out' engineered by Phil Asher- Includes extensive liner notes based on interviews with band member Emma Pought and manager/producer Joe Webb

After opening for Roy Ayers, a packed out Euro tour and features on Moodymann’s illustrious DJ-Kicks, jitwam comes thru with a funky dose of luscious bass and hand-clapping soul – back from the shadows and into the purple