Needles » neo-soul

Joyo Velarde – Take You Home

needles — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:10:36 +0000

I think I first heard of Joyo Velarde through the Soul Sides website. I have since learned that she forms half of a power couple with Lyrics Born, so any of you that are fans of his or Latryx’ music are probably already familiar with her work. She has a strong and well-rounded singing voice, but it’s Melanie Veloria’s production that really made me a fan of this track. The horns that begin to blow in the second verse are icing on the cake. She has a video for this single up on her website right now as well. But don’t take my word for it, listen to her yourself:

Joyo Velarde – Take You Home | Quannum

The Foreign Exchange – Take Off the Blues (f/Darien Brockington)

needles — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:46:05 +0000

The second collaboration between Netherlands producer Nicolay and North Carolina rapper Phonte of Little Brother resulted in a much more souled-out effort than their 2004 “Connected”. The pair recorded that album over the Internet, but were able to work together in the studio on their 2008 collaboration “Leave It All Behind”. This track is going to be the second single released from the album and is a nice little slice of Neo-Soul, very rare these days. The new album is quite mellow, and has some very well-orchestrated tracks. Enjoy…

The Foreign Exchange – Take Off the Blues (f/Darien Brockington) | Nicolay Music

Heavy Rotation – 2008 September

needles — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:47:36 +0000

This is the first of my monthly posts on some of the stuff I think is worth checkin’ out (Prodigy, Jadakiss, DJ Cam and more). Some of the tracks are notable for lyrics, some have great beats, while others are just treats from artists we haven’t heard in a while, from New York to Los Angeles… even Boston! This month there is a lot of rap, but also some neo-soul and r&b. I’ll be posting a new month’s worth of tracks every week until I catch up with the current month.

[click to listen, files will be available for six months]

DJ Babu – Dearly Departed (f/M.O.P.) | Stones Throw

Heltah Skeltah – D.I.R.T. (Another Boot Camp Clik Yeah Song) | Duck Down

Q-Tip – Gettin’ Up | Motown / Universal

The Foreign Exchange – Daykeeper (f/Muhsinah Abdul-Karim) | Nicolay Music

T.I. – Let My Beat Pound | unreleased

Terrance Martin – The Martin & Blake Jam Session | unreleased

DJ Babu – For Whatever It’s Worth (f/Evidence) | Stones Throw

John Legend – Green Light (f/Andre 3000) (Diplo Dade County 1988 Mix) | independent

DJ Revolution – King of the Decks (f/Sean Price, Tash) | Duck Down

Statik Selektah – Mr. Popularity (f/Consequence) | Showoff / Brick

Prodigy – Stop Stressin’ | Dirt Class

Fusion Unltd. – The Sun (f/Little Brother, Nickelus F, Hall of Fame, Mad Skillz) | Grind Date / ABB

The Game – State of Emergency (f/Ice Cube) | Geffen / Interscope

Jadakiss – By My Side (f/Ne-Yo) | Roc-a-Fella / Island Def Jam / Universal

Johnson & Johnson (Blu, Mainframe) – Wow | Tres

DJ Cam – For Minnie Riperton (f/InLove) | Inflammable

Ne-Yo – Closer | Island Def Jam / Universal