Black History Month Listening Project (Fourth Annual)

[baystateoftheart]

I'll be listening to exclusively Black artists again this February to celebrate Black History Month.

I will post weekly summaries of what I've checked out.

If you want to join me in full or in part, this is the thread for you. Or if you want to simply share discoveries, recommendations, and discussion, this is also the thread for you!

*I will be making minimal exceptions as needed to allow me to fully participate in the hip-hop tournament. Also, I know there's forum stuff going on that conflicts this year, like the ALC, so I'm not expecting anyone else to join me in full. Again, any and all participation is welcome!
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[Streams]

A lot of great music just this week if y'all are looking for something jazzier.

As Tap mentioned elsewhere, New World Records released new archival recordings from Julius Hemphill in several contexts, my favorite of which so far is his deep duo with Abdul Wadud (Nas' dad is in there too), on The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony. This is massive, both in time and awesomeness.

Black Top (Pat Thomas & Orphy Robinson + guests) presents Some Good News is highly recommended; just found it a couple days ago but been on repeat for me.

And three electroacoustic compositions from George Lewis release this Friday on The Recombinant Trilogy; sample track suggests exciting things, Chase is a very capable flautist and there's a bassoon on another track, which is always a treat to hear and can lend itself well to blurring electronic manipulation.

[Repo]

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Heaux Tales by Jazmine Sullivan

Loving this R&B album that got released last month! A lot to unpack here too lyrically. She is not afraid! lol

What r your thoughts, Baystate?

U routing for our boy Brady this Sunday?

[Skinny]

Some hip-hop bits from this month that are worth checking:

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Stay Active by Dretti Franks

I love what Dretti Franks is doing at the intersection of g-funk and DJ Screw. At some point, it'll take off properly. (This is only available on Soundcloud at the minute, I think, but if you like it you should check out both volumes of Manga Wrld, which are on Spotify.)

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Who Made This by Rio Da Yung OG

Short EP. Rio is one of the best rappers alive. Hilarious, filthy, but also disarmingly vulnerable. Him going to jail is a loss for those who love great rapping. I would, however, recommend last year's City on My Back ahead of this.

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Ninja Warrior by YN Jay

YN Jay has the most unique new flow to emerge in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, he uses it so much it can lead to burnout. Thankfully, he is also a very funny writer. This isn't as consistent as a couple of his mixtapes from last year, but the highs are very high.
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

[Fischman]

Since fully immersing myself in very deep dive into the world of jazz a year and a half ago, the majority of my new discoveries have been by black artists, as was to be expected. What wasn't so expected was how many great artists put out albums not just borne of the struggle for equality, but overtly so. It's easy to fly under the radar when there's no lyrics, but many great albums, either in their titles or even just in the force of the music itself, made it very clear the message behind the music. It must have taken real guts to put out something like that in that environment. I am hugely impressed by the combination of personal strength and artistic integrity

The two that really grabbed me this past year included:
Duke Ellington - Black, Brown and Beige
Max Roach - We Insist!

Of course, by the '60s, these things were more common and more overt. Joe Henderson's Power to the People was an instant fave for me when I first started listening to jazz in earnest just over a decade ago and remains so to this day. Of course, the even more contemporary The Epic by Kamasi Washington was an instant classic.

[baystateoftheart]

Thanks all for the recs so far! I've added at least one album to my queue from each of those posts and will report back.

Already a fan of We Insist! and The Epic.

And Repo, I'm feeling pretty ambivalent haha. I'm leaning toward rooting for the Bucs, but if I do it will be more for Gronk than Brady. How about you?
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[EyeKanFly]

[Repo]

[baystateoftheart]

Here's what I heard during week 1 (February 1-7). Albums I've heard in full before = *

Great

Fishscale - Ghostface Killah*
Are You Experienced? - The Jimi Hendrix Experience*
Axis: Bold As Love - The Jimi Hendrix Experience*
O Boso - Manu Dibango
High Priestess Of Soul - Nina Simone*
Stankonia - OutKast*
Tonight's The Night - The Shirelles*
Still Brazy - YG*

Quite Good

Black Fire - Andrew Hill*
E. 1999 Eternal - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony*
Pilot Talk - Curren$y*
Freudian - Daniel Caesar*
On Top Of The World - Eightball & MJG
Truth And Soul - Fishbone*
Calypso - Harry Belafonte*
Maiden Voyage - Herbie Hancock*
Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) (EP) - Jay Electronica*
Makossa Man - Manu Dibango
SlaughtaHouse - Masta Ace Incorporated
Nostrum Grocers - Nostrum Grocers*
Life After Death - The Notorious B.I.G.*
Monkey Barz - Sean Price
Où Je Vis - Shurik'N
Temptin' Temptations - The Temptations*
Rodeo - Travis Scott
Live Convention 81 - Various Artists

~~~~~

Verdict: the best album I discovered this week was...

GOLD

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O Boso by Manu Dibango

Whether you're listening to the original release or the one with hit single Soul Makossa tacked on, this is some serious fire. Dibango's saxophone playing is vibrant, the band cooks, and there are plenty of great tracks. This was my first taste of makossa, and has definitely piqued my interest in the genre. R.I.P.

(I didn't listen to any other 4/5+ albums for the first time this week, so no silver and bronze.)
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[travelful]

On The Beach by Philip Cohran And The A...e Ensemble

Here's a discovery I made recently. Philip Cohran was a trumpeter for Sun Ra. I'm still sort of developing my palate for jazz music but this one clicked right away and immediately jumped to my second favorite jazz album I've heard released in 1967 just behind Straight, No Chaser by Thelonious Monk. It's listed as Spiritual Jazz on RYM and is quite tribal. The title track especially blows me away but the whole thing was an incredible listen that seems to be quite underrated.