NEW MUSIC PLAYLIST: LATE JUNE 11'

Here's that new music compiled by yours truly. Check it out!

New Music Playlist: Late June 11'

1. "I'm On One" - Drake

2. "Mama's Boyfriend" - Kanye West

3. "Party" - Beyoncé featuring Kanye West and Andre 3000

4. "High" - Big Sean featuring Wiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang

5. "Lay It On Me" - Kelly Rowland featuring Big Sean

6. " I Don't Care" - Brandy

7. "Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay" - Big Sean featuring Roscoe Dash and Kanye West

8. "Shades" - Diddy-Dirty Money featuringLil' Wayne and Justin Timberlake

9. "The Birds (Part 1) - The Weekend

10. "Marvin's Room" - Drake

11. "On My Level" - Wiz Khalifa featuring Too $hort

12. "Motivation (Remix)" - Kelly Rowland featuring Trey Songz, Busta Rhymes, & Fabolous

13. "Novacane" - Frank Ocean

14. "Quickie" - Miguel

15. "Same Mistakes" ("Fall for Your Type" demo) - Drake

16. "Her Room" - Teyana Taylor

17. "In the Morning" - Fabolous

18. "Dear Anne (Stan Part 2) - Lil' Wayne

19. "Late Nights and Early Mornings" - Marsha Ambrosius

20. "Break My Heart" - Estelle featuring Rick Ross

On this set I was really impressed with Big Sean's offerings. He's like Kanye West Jr. in my opinion so I will definitely be checking out his new album, coming soon.

And speaking of Mr. West, I cannot wait for a new album. Furthermore, I will be seeing him at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, July, 2, 2011. Expect a blog post about the festival. It shall be amazing!

Also, Estelle's new record is still on rotation. It amazing with its 70's groove and early 90's Lisa Stansfield vibe.

Wiz and Dirty Money offerings are nothing new. "On My Level" was one of my favorites straight off the bat when I first heard the album earlier this year and Dirty Money's "Shades" is a new favorite of mines. Every time, they release a single, I go back to the album and discover new pieces of it.

Last but not least, Drake is really coming with that fire. "Marvin's Room" is simply dope! And Teyana Taylor's take on the record is crack. She really impressed me with the vocals and her ode to Lauryn Hill at the end. Teyana truly has the making of a great artist but I've been saying this since Day 1. She has the vocal skills that are very reminiscent of Brandy and she can flow... Perfect combination, right? And in mentioning Brandy, where the hell is she at?

That's all... Enjoy and comment!

NEW MUSIC: ESTELLE

Finally Estelle is back with some music! I've been tweeting over the past two years asking her for some new music. She answered then, directly to me and now she's answered the world with a beyond-impressive first single that is destined to become a massive hit worldwide. Said track is "Break My Heart" featuring Rick Ross, lifted from Estelle's upcoming U.S. sophomore effort "All of Me."

I must say, I wasn't expecting this type of record from Estelle. With the failed promo track, "Freak," I thought Estelle would try her luck at another dance record, but this time tinged with euro-pop which would have been a huge mistake. However, she completely came out of nowhere with the heavily 70's soul influenced "Break My Heart." It has a cool vibe very reminiscent of Ross' "Aston Martin Music," which is bound to resonate well with both artists' fans.

Check it out for yourself and leave a comment.

NEW MUSIC: DRAKE

No other word best describes Drake's music except brilliant. His new track "Dreams Money Can Buy" is a mellow, mood record set for inclusion on his upcoming sophomore effort, "Take Care," which will be in stores some time this fall. Check it out and leave your comments.

VINTAGE SOUL DISCOVERY: ARETHA FRANKLIN

Anyone who knows me well, knows of my extreme admiration of Aretha Franklin's music. Over the past few years, I've made it a point to collect Aretha's older albums on vinyl for my music collection.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon Aretha's 1973 studio album "Hey Now Hey (The Other side of the Sky) and decided to give it a listen. Now, I've always known about this album so trust and believe I'm a true Aretha connoisseur but it had never struck me as a piece of her work that I needed to hear. Now that sounds crazy but any music critic will testify that not all of Aretha's work is good. She had a few misses here and there.

Nevertheless, "Hey Now Hey (The Other side of the Sky)" is unique because it contains some of Aretha's best material and some of her worse but I'm not going to dwell on the latter because of the musical highs found on the album certainly outweigh the lows. For starters, "Angel" is included on this album. Back in 73' it was a massive hit for Aretha signaling her further descent into a new soul territory that was less Memphis and Muscle Shoals and more Harlem.

With help from Quincy Jones on this album, Aretha expands her sound tremendously revisiting her vibe from the 1972 album "Young, Gifted, and Black." The songs are cool and mellow with heavy electrical piano instrumentation. And, although Aretha's vocals are spirited on this album, she sings with a cool and futuristic feeling, utilizing layered and echoed vocal effects.

Standout tracks include "That's the Way I Feel About Cha," "Angel," the Grammy award winning "Master of Eyes (The Deepness)," and "Mister Spain," a profound anti-drug protest song.

Below is a clip of Aretha performing "Mister Spain" on the Flip Wilson Show

Tracklist

1. Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky)

2. Somewhere

3. So Swell Then

4. Angel

5. Sister From Texas

6. Mister Spain

7. That's the Way I Feel About Cha

8. Moody's Mood

9. Just Right Tonight

10. Master of Eyes (The Deepness)

BLACK MUSIC MONTH

Interesting enough, back in 1979 President Jimmy Carter declared June Black Music Month and ever since June represents a time for us to celebrate the accomplishments of Black music pioneers.

During this month, I plan on blogging everyday presenting editorials, classic album reviews, and playlists of the day as a means of expressing my gratitude to the musical geniuses that brought music to where it is today.

Also check out the Essence, TVOne, and Centric websites for information and archive footage celebrating Black Music Month.

NEW MUSIC PLAYLIST: EARLY JUNE 11'

Readers here's a new type of post that I decided to publish. Its a spin-off of 'Playlist of the Day,' except it features new music. Every month or so I typically compile a collection of new songs in the form of both album cuts and radio hits that I find impressive. So, feel free to try out this playlist in your own iTunes library, YouTube, or whatever else you use to satisfy your musical itch.

June 2011'

1. MMG featuring Rick Ross and Meek Mill - Tupac Back

2. Ace Hood - Hustle Hard (Remix)

3. Mary J. Blige - Someone to Love Me (Naked)

4. Fabolous - Ya'll Don't Hear Me Tho

5. Rick Ross - 9 Piece

6. Fabolous - Rollin (Remix)

7. Lil' Wayne - John (If I Die Tonight)

8. DJ Drama - Oh My

9. Nicki Minaj - Wave Ya Hand

10. Chris Brown - Look at Me Now

11. Diddy-Dirty Money featuring Usher - Looking for Love

12. Lloyd - Be the One

13. Ke$ha featuring B.o.b - Blow (Remix)

14. Diddy-Dirty Money featuring Trey Songz - Your Love

15. Kelly Rowland - Motivation

16. Frank Ocean - Novacane

17. Miguel - Sure Thing

18. Drake - Dreams Money Can Buy

19. MMG featuring Meek Mill and Teedra Moses - Running Rebels

20. Estelle featuring Rick Ross - Break My Heart

21. Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton - So In Love

22. Beyoncé - 1+1

23. Lil' Wayne - How to Love

24. Wiz Khalifa - Wake Up

25. Nicki Minaj - Catch Me

26. YC - Racks (Remix)