sade’s new song is here! her first track in 7 years

The wait is over, the legendary Sade’s new track has been revealed by producer No ID.
As we previously reported, the song, ‘Flower of the Universe’ was written for the soundtrack of Ava DuVernay’s latest movie, ‘A Wrinkle In Time’.
Stream the touching and smooth track below!

70 year old subway singer bill hudson lets loose with john the martyr on joyful anthem “feeling good”

It’s been a long road to the top for Bill Hudson. Just a year ago, he was singing doo-wop on the subway with a group of a seniors, when John the Martyr founder Kyle Ridley heard the singer. Flash forward a year, and the 70 year old singer’s fronting the 12 piece soul outfit. Hudson’s spent a lifetime floating between bands (sometimes literally floating, as a singer on a cruise ship), always just beneath the surface, but with “Feeling Good,” the veteran singer’s absolutely stratospheric. With every note, you can hear the joy in his voice just to be doing what he loves, and it’s thoroughly infectious. We all need a little more of this in our lives.

afropunk premiere: hypnotic single ‘dues’ marks new focus for electro-soul collective astralblak

Electrosoul collective ZULUZULUU has never pulled punches, and their re-emergence as astralblak finds the band pushing their sonic limits, while holding themselves accountable. The song matches a retro synth beat to one of the band’s tightest hooks. Melting synths fill out open spaces beneath a massive beat. As for the name change, it came as the result of soul searching about cultural appropriation and being true to their message as a band:

The main reason for the name change was a matter of authenticity and accountability. Being that none of us is directly related to the actual Zulu tribe of South Africa, we collectively decided that changing the name would be the most respectful course of action. astralblak is universal as in connecting with the universe, it is all encompassing in its narrative of blackness and highlights the diversity in all of our individual experiences as artists and members of the unified diaspora.- astralblak (formerly ZULUZULUU)

The band plays as part of the Verizon Super Bowl concert series this afternoon in Minneapolis. Check them out at 4pm on the Verizon Up Stage At 8th And Nicollet Avenue.

the immortal sister rosetta tharpe has never sounded better than on the remastered ‘live in 1960’

By 1960, the rock revolution Sister Rosetta Tharpe helped kick off was already in full swing, but the great gospel singer wasn’t done changing the world. She’d recorded her first sides in 1938, and by 1942 was praised in Billboard, saying “It’s Sister Rosetta Tharpe for the rock-and-roll spiritual singing.” The first rock and roll song, “Rocket 88,” would be recorded 9 years later by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, with a young Ike Turner on piano. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was rock before rock was rock.

Live in 1960 first came out in 1991, mastered from tapes of Tharpe’s 1960 European tour. Backed only by her inimitable Gibson SG and stomping foot, Sister Rosetta Tharpe sings through a collection of some of her best-loved songs and her unique takes on classics like “Down By The Riverside” and “Peace In The Valley.” The sparse recording highlights her revolutionary guitar technique, particularly on the raucous “The Gospel Train.”

The vinyl remaster from Org Music takes this rare document of the artist at her best and gives it a little shine, without losing the raw emotional performance that made Live in 1960 such an amazing record. The stomps, once a literal footnote sometimes vanishing into the noise floor, are made more prominent, giving Tharpe’s incredible solos even more weight. They wisely left in the little bits of tape hiss and audience responses that give it that immediacy and honesty, just adding a little clarity and definition to what was already a perfect album. If you’ve never heard Live in 1960, there’s never been a better time to experience this essential album.

Live in 1960 is out now, on black and multi-colored vinyl in select stores.

the pedal steel has new life breathed into it on the gospel-inflected robert randolph track, ‘got soul’

The pedal steel guitar may not get a lot of love these days outside of country music, but one run from gospel prodigy Robert Randolph and it’s clear that needs to change. There are no treacly anonymously penned Nashville ballads here; this is pure soul and blues straight from the tap.

Robert Randolph had reportedly never heard secular music before he started playing outside the church, and on Got Soul he weaves the thread of blues, soul, R&B, and even country back into gospel. The band plays with impeccable chemistry, wisely trying to capture the energy of a late night jam session, rather than distilling their sound down to studio perfection. This is especially evident on the false endings and segues of the two part opener “Got Soul” and “She Got Soul.” It’s as if right before the finished the song, they realized there was still gas in the tank for one more riff.

Given that the band has spent the better part of the past 15 years on the road opening for basically everyone in the blues, soul, and jam scenes, it’s no surprise that they shine brightest when their interplay is pushed to the front. The instrumental “Travelin’ Cheeba Man” finds Randolph and co trading impossible riffs, creating the rare instrumental track that’s more than just a showcase for some technical chops (though it’s all that and more too). Surprisingly, it’s the solo “Heaven’s Calling” where Randolph goes back to his Sacred Steel roots that stands out most. Laid bare, you can hear every slide and pick; every nuance and hint to the performance. Where Randolph’s fingers usually summon fireworks, here they’re a river. The line between the sacred and secular vanishes and we’re just left with rawness.

Stream the whole thing below:

reggae and folk icon ayo searches for joy on her compelling self-titled album

On her 5th studio record, Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin–better as Ayo, meaning Joy in Yoruba–tries to live up to her name. The singer-songwriter instills every song with a sense of joy, or at least hope. Even the darkest song, the Mike Brown inspired “Boom Boom” struggles to find light in darkness. Though the song’s dark children’s rhyme and gunshot drum beats can be jarring against some of the rest of the album, it provides the emotional anchor that makes the pervading joy, not fluff, but defiant joy. Just 4 songs later, she’s singing an ode to candy (with a shoutout to the best ice cream shop in Brooklyn, Ample Hills).

That “Cupcake & Candies” and “Boom Boom” belong on the same album is a testament to Ayo‘s emotional complexity. The struggle to find joy is present in all the album’s best tracks. “Let It Rain” and “I’m A Fool” both find Ayo looking for the joy she expresses elsewhere. The album closes with a stripped down acoustic hidden track. The French language song “Everything” strips back Ayo’s multitracked vocals and rhythms and lets her heart lay bare. It’s one of the album’s most compelling moments in its simplicity. It’s the moment when joy is simplest that it’s most genuine.

afrofuturism meets retro hip-hop in soul singer sassyblack new music video “glitches”

By Jaz Joyner, AFROPUNK Contributor

Not too long ago afrofuturist R&B artist SassyBlack released her second solo album New Black Swing, and now her totally retro-inspired new video for “Glitches” just hit the web.

“Glitches” is co-directed by SassyBlack herself, along with Sofia Lee and features literal glitchy visuals reminiscent of 80’s MTV music videos.

SassyBlack stars in the vid rocking vintage-looking hip hop threads along with co-star Elena Flory-Barnes as they make their way around a minimalist set featuring just a couch, rug, lamp and sometimes guitar.

If “Glitches” is representative of what’s to come from SassyBlack’s
New Black Swing, we’re definitely in for a treat.

listen to sza’s vibey new track ‘quicksand’ from ‘insecure’ season 2 finale

SZA is back! It’s only been a few months since the New Jersey singer/songwriter’s critically acclaimed debut album Ctrl was released, but if you’ve already played it out like me, you’ve been excruciatingly desperate for more of that way too relateable rawness.

Related: SZA: “It makes me a little sad” that so many people connected to the emotions of my album

Coming off the heals of bringing down the house at AFROPUNK Brooklyn, the soul artist has a new song featured on Insecure‘s recently released soundtrack. The vibey “Quicksand” would have been right at home on the aforementioned album, with the singer crooning about a lover that makes it “too hard to love” who could be the same guy from other tracks like “The Weekend” or “Love Galore” at different stages of the relationship.

Take a listen below!

This is the second Insecure soundtrack to be released this year and also features Jorja Smith, Jazmine Sullivan & Bryson Tiller, Goldlink, Miguel, NAO and more. The first was curated by Solange.

Related: Issa Rae and composer Raphael Saadiq talk putting together ‘Insecure’s amazing soundtrack

Check out the full soundtrack below!

premiere: new york-based soul singer sterling rhyne captivates in feel-good anthem, “remedy”

When singer-songwriter Sterling Rhyne left her small-town Texas life for the bustling city of New York, the transition was one of hope and good vibes. This energy is reflected in the artist’s debut single, “Remedy”, which Rhyne claims came to her in a dream:

“‘Remedy’ is the first song I wrote when I moved to New York. Sometimes an amazing phenomenon happens where I will write a song in my dream,” Rhyne explained. “‘Remedy’ was one of those songs. I woke up around 8AM, and had the melody still in my head.”

That morning, she made a demo of “Remedy” with just her guitar and voice.

“I sat down and wrote the lyrics, chords, and melody all in one sitting which was very satisfying,” Rhyne continued. “‘Remedy’ is a song about persevering towards the path of doing what you love and are meant to do.”

Rhyne, who also self-produced the track, combined a vintage drum machine with a live drummer, spacey guitar lines, and synth pads to create a “daydream atmosphere.” This ethereal ambiance alongside a Motown-inspired electric bass makes up Rhyne’s distinctive sound.

Take a listen to the captivating track below!

Facebook | Website | Twitter

stream brooklyn soul artist cor.ece’s haunting cover of vic mensa’s “down on my luck”

Cor.Ece has been making some waves lately, and it’s easy to hear why. Accompanied by a minimal guitar line, his voice is smooth but heartrending. Draped in waves of reverb and delay, the song builds slowly before retreating back into the haze, using little but the emotion of his voice to build and collapse. I’ve always felt like you learn who an artist is when you strip everything back. It’s not hard to make a song arc when you’ve got good production, but doing it with just a voice takes a unique talent. Cor.Ece definitely has that. Keep your eye on him.