Jaded, My Tummy

So ummmmmm, I made a few changes to my top 2016. I realize I still listen to some albums more than others (Common, Blake, Elzhi, Leimberg over Schoolboy Q), but also I finally got around to listening Love & Hate. Jesus fucking Christ that album is good. Plus, Danger Mouse, aka Brian Burton, had his hands all over the production for the album. He's come so far since producing beats for an unknown rapper named Gemini. I've also found myself listening to Blonde a lot more. I got over the drums thing. There. I admit it.

1. Solange - A Seat at the Table
2. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
3. Jack DeJohnette/Matthew Garrison/Ravi Coltrane - In Movement
4. Kaytranada - 99.9%
5. Beyoncé - Lemonade
6. Kendrick Lamar - untitled. unmastered.
7. Jeff Parker - The New Breed
8. Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate
9. Common - Black America Again
10. Josef Leimberg - Astral Projections
11. dvsn - SEPT 5TH
12. James Blake - The Colour in Anything
13. Anderson .Paak - Malibu
14. Elzhi - Lead Poison
15. Schoolboy Q - Blank Face LP

Honorable Mentions:
Maxwell - blackSUMMERS'night
Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution
Theo Croker - Escape Velocity
Frank Ocean - Blonde
Rihanna - ANTI
Jamire Williams - /////EFFECTUAL

We don't need any more writers as solitary heroes. We need a heroic writer's movement: assertive, militant, pugnacious.

I haven't gone to bed yet (it's 7:37AM right now); just reading and thinking and reading and writing and more thinking. So, I decided I will post my top albums of 2016 up. Why the fuck not? I've been working on it and finalized it earlier this morning. My list reminds me that, despite having expanded my tastes in music over the last 10 years beyond just hip hop, jazz, and R&B, I still am pretty much beholden to that holy trifecta of contemporary black music. My list. In order. For your eyes (all 10 of you, LOL):

1. Solange - A Seat at the Table
2. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
3. Jack DeJohnette/Matthew Garrison/Ravi Coltrane - In Movement
4. Kaytranada - 99.9%
5. Beyonce - Lemonade
6. Kendrick Lamar - untitled. unmastered.
7. Jeff Parker - The New Breed
8. ScHoolboy Q - Blank Face LP
9. Josef Leimberg - Astral Projections
10. Common - Black America Again
11. dvsn - SEPT 5TH
12. Anderson .Paak - Malibu
13. James Blake - The Colour in Anything
14. Elzhi - Lead Poison
15. Maxwell - blackSUMMERS'night

Honorable Mentions:
Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution
Theo Croker - Escape Velocity
Vince Staples - Prima Donna EP
Vijay Iyer/Wadada Leo Smith - A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke
Rihanna - ANTI
Yussef Jamaal - Black Focus
Jamire Williams - /////EFFECTUAL

I really, really wanted Emily's D+Evolution in the list instead of in HMs, but I guess it was not meant to be. Lead Poison might be the most slept-on album of 2016.

Last note: I may do some write-ups for these and post them over on my Medium page. Please check that out.

Arguably one of the greatest writers of our generation, Ta-Nehisi Coates recently tweeted this statement:

Ok. So I'm gonna take the year to try my hand at this fancy book writin' stuff. See y'all in '18. Take us out, Queen... pic.twitter.com/kLISnrMJE9

— Ta-Nehisi Coates (@tanehisicoates) January 2, 2017

Exciting! Does this mean we could be getting another book within the next year or so from the author of the brilliant Between the World and Me (2015)? There has not been any other book in recent memory that I can enjoy each and every single time from re-reading random passages. In the form of a letter to his only son, the book can be difficult to go back and navigate after reading it. But when I do, I get lost, engulfed in his prose — the beautifully crafted, poignant, assured, politically exigent, intellectually biting, bold prose. I don’t need to make the lofty comparison to that great American writer, because another one, Toni Morrison, ever the authority, does so for me and for us, unequivocally: “I’ve been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates.”

The pursuit of knowing was freedom to me, the right to declare your own curiosities and follow them through all manner of books. I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people's interests.

Jamire Williams is my favorite jazz drummer, bar none, and I'd say he's arguably in the Top 3 of jazz drummers in America. Truly exceptional.

The first time I discovered him was on Christian Scott's Yesterday You Said Tomorrow (2010). His drumming on there, especially on album opener "K.K.P.D.," really cements together on the LP Scott's musical ideas. Williams' imaginative use of his drum kit and his myriad senses of rhythm—unorthodox syncopation, gutter boom-bap kicks, diffusive cadences, malleable fluctuations of space-time—drew me in. But what made me a fan and convinced me that he become my favorite was hearing him perform as part of pianist/composer Robert Glasper's trio. Recorded live at the Village Vanguard in December 2010, Williams sounds like art. And that is no mere trope—he is captivating. Every lick, every brush, every roll, every hi-hat tap, every strike of his calibrated snares feels like the masterful deliberation of a painter's impressionistic brush strokes, ethereal beauty in motion. I can palpably sense the three-dimensional space he's creating inside the Village Vanguard, and my mind. So, when I read this recent interview with Bandcamp where Williams states, "It’s high art to me. I look at myself as a painter on the drums," it strongly bolstered my thoughts on him.

A lot of time has passed since Solange's A Seat at the Table was released in September, and much has been said about it already. However, ASATT is near the top of many year-end lists, including being #1 on Pitchfork's Top 50 of 2016. So, maybe we'll start talking about it again. Anyways, I want to review individual songs from ASATT here, as many as I can, to get myself back into the exercise of reviewing music. The reviews will be more whatever-the-fuck-comes-out-of-me type writing, because I really need to get these ideas out of my head. I haven't reviewed any music in probably like 3 or 4 years. I didn't intend for this to sound so "English major-y," but here we go:

Rating:

Fall in your ways, so you can crumble
Fall in your ways, so you can sleep at night
Fall in your ways, so you can wake up and rise

Solange repeats this chorus three times to open ASATT. Its drum work understated, its bass cradling Solange's every word, "Rise" is meticulous, a soft preparation for the journey Solange has for you. Her empathy conveys thoughtfulness, tenderness, and her motives are sincere, galvanizing, compelling. She's like a wise, warmhearted mother tucking in her loved one, comforting you, telling you that failing and falling down are inevitable. The foundation Solange sets is preparing for the quiet storm to come. Using the song's calming tone—single-strike, closed hi-hat, atmospheric synths, delicate keys—to soothe your inner scars and bruises, Solange wants you to be attentive and pensive in mood. "Rise" is the salve before you even start. She empowers, encourages, and pushes us from the nest to explore on our own, to "Walk in your way, so you can wake up and rise," with our identity, our blackness, our humanity in tow but laid bare in front of us. It's what a mother does. And it's what Solange does, bracing us all for A Seat at the Table.

So, I kinda really gotta share this. And yes, I know I'm pretty late to post this since it's been out for a while. But I needed to post this, because (1) I love it, and (2) it gives me the feels. I don't why, but when the bridge comes in with the horns and vocals of co-producer Sampha, for whatever reason, they dancing black as fuck. Like, really. They look black as fuck with the dance moves, and it gives me the feels. Then in the later scenes, Solange gets all possessed-by-the-holy-ghost-in-a-black-church while everybody behind her is completely still. It's a strange but beautiful image. Maybe meaning we're still black in the calm and quiet too? Meh. Anyway, I got a couple things on Solange's A Seat at the Table that I hope to post up before everybody stops talking about the brilliant release altogether.

Solange - Don't Touch My Hair

Welp...

Colin Kaepernick played Sunday to protests from all sides of the debate. Though most notably were these shirts being sold outside the Buffalo Bills' stadium:

Shirts with a rifle scope trained on Colin Kaepernick selling for $10 outside of Ralph Wilson stadium. pic.twitter.com/bSuxF3G5qq

— Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) October 16, 2016

Anyways, to answer my previous question. Where was Kaeptain America's head at in his first start for the San Francisco 49ers since November 1, 2015:

So, that radicalization of #BLM I spoke of? One manifestation, a very courageous and ongoing one, is San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the American national anthem. He kneels. It's probably the most innocuous of physical movements, silent of protests that someone could do. But we knew the social weight of this protest after he first did it during the NFL preseason, as did his racist detractors. Now? So many athletes—professional, college, amateur, high school, shit, even marching band members—have all followed suit, furthering the debate in ways we probably didn't see possible. Proudly, determinedly, Kaepernick stands in the tradition and spirit of Muhammad Ali (Rest in Power, brother).

So far this season, Kaepernick has been the backup QB. But, when Blake Bortles' wack-assedness reached new levels of wack-assednessery, head coach Chip Kelly finally decided to replace Bortles with Kaepernick for the starting QB job against the Buffalo Bills this weekend, Week 6 of the NFL.

I can't help but wonder about the anxiety going on in many black people's minds about this, because I know about mine. It's just a "game," but it feels like there's much more at stake. Think Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, the Fight of the Century in 1971,

It's been a long time since I've written anything here. And even a longer period of time that anyone has even paid attention to this blog, i.e. never. #HeyOh.

First of all, let me say, after ignoring it for so long, I'm finally on Twitter. Please follow @LargesseMorlu!

A lot has happened since my last post in 2012, with music and contemporary events. Like a muthafuckin' lot. I won't even begin to try and summarize it all (R.I.P. Prince, Muhammad Ali, and Phife Dawg tho), but two things come to mind: the radicalization of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and what I possibly believe could be the New Black Renaissance. The former reflects both tremendous tragedy and an exciting time. The brutally racist and recorded killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, happening within 24 hours of each other earlier this year, ignited a fire under us, and we are demanding not only justice but permanent change, a thorough reorganization of society and its perpetuation of privilege.

The latter is an acknowledgement on my part that within the past few years we have gotten some of the best black music in years. Highly creative, artistic, forward-thinking, progressive, even political, etc. etc. And often that shit still bangs (see: "Alright"). I think things got started with the return of D'Angelo and his Black Messiah (2014),

To say now that America was right, and England wrong, is exceedingly easy. Everybody can say it; the dastard, not less than the noble brave, can flippantly discant on the tyranny of England towards the American Colonies. It is fashionable to do so; but there was a time when to pronounce against England, and in favor of the cause of the colonies, tried men’s souls. They who did so were accounted in their day, plotters of mischief, agitators and rebels, dangerous men. To side with the right, against the wrong, with the weak against the strong, and with the oppressed against the oppressor! here lies the merit, and the one which, of all others, seems unfashionable in our day. The cause of liberty may be stabbed by the men who glory in the deeds of your fathers.

Let me stay on Africa for a little bit with these Black Music Month posts. This music here, highlife—West African dance/funk/pop medley galore—is what Fela grew up on. As did I. Prince Nico Mbarga was probably the most popular of the genre ("Sweet Mother" was his biggest song and, I believe, highest selling record by an African artist.... don't quote me on that). "Simplicity" is one of my favorites.

Societies never know it, but the war of an artist with his society is a lover’s war, and he does, at his best, what lovers do, which is to reveal the beloved to himself and, with that revelation, to make freedom real.

I'm still behind on my reviews (please forgive me OKP!), so I'm still posting up already published pieces for the time being. This is one of my favorite reviews. For Okayplayer, I reviewed the Fela compilation The Best of the Black President, which was released around the start of the incredible Broadway play Fela!. I would give more info on what Fela's music, Afro-beat, is and whatnot, but I introduce those things in the review. I'll have some more Afro-beat related posts coming too, which will fit in nicely with the whole black music month thing. Enjoy!

Fela Kuti - The Best of the Black President (2009)

There are several labels that have been ascribed to Nigerian Afro-Beat king Fela Kuti: visionary, trailblazer, misogynist, revolutionary, genius, etc. However, "prolific" has to be the most indisputable. Timed with the Broadway debut of the biographical musical Fela!, Knitting Factory Records will remaster and reissue nearly all of Fela’s back catalog...

I was all types of broke when I was in college, but somehow I still managed to collect all types of CDs and occasionally vinyl. Now, I'm all grown up, and I'm broke..... but I'm broke for real. In no particular order, I want to share my list of albums that I'm still eager to cop, despite how late I am on picking them up. If anyone who reads this has more suggestions, please post them up.

Esperanza Spalding - Radio Music Society

I love me some Hope, i.e. Esperanza, although I find myself frustrated that I lean more towards her R&B-leaning cuts than her pure jazz tracks. She's a badass bassist and interesting composer/improviser, so I would like to see more of that. However, if the Algebra Blessett duo, "Black Gold," is indicative of this "radio" album, then it's going to be more of the former. Still, can't be mad at that.


Big K.R.I.T. - Live from the Underground

MC of the hour right here..... at least for me anyways. I won't say too much here, because I'm working on a write-up for him (á la BBNG).


Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

Since I've already given this project props, I should already own this. But alas, I do not. I still believe it MUST be good. There's no way it's not.


Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls

A new garage-y rock band on the scene. I see you all's collective eyes roll, but this band is special. They are heavily influenced by the Stax, Memphis, and Muscle Shoals soul sounds, and the lead singer Brittany Howard's voice is painfully wonderful (think female Otis Redding). I want to marry her love it. The band is based out of Athens, AL, which is about an hour's drive from that legendary soul-recording city, Muscle Shoals. The few tracks I've heard on Spotify of this debut LP have me a little discouraged, but I still want to check this out.


The Black Keys - El Camino

I'm embarrassed to say I've yet to pick this up. When did this come out? Anyways, The Black Keys seem to be one of the biggest bands in America right now (ironically maybe?), so I don't need to say much about this.


Georgia Anne Muldrow - Seeds

Now, all these albums are good picks, at least in my opinion, but this might be the most intriguing album of all. I'm not a full-fledged fan of the cerebral, post-neo-soul of GAM, but mainly because I simply just don't understand many of her otherworldly projects. Every now and then, she releases a track or album where I recognize her brilliance, be it her atmospheric production or lyrical creativity. Seeds is entirely produced by Madlib, and I've heard too many good things about this to pass it up. So, I'm definitely going to cop this. Problem though? It's not something you can find at Best Buy or major retail store—but also, apparently, some local record shops, as I've failed to find it at my usual spots. I still like the feeling of going into the store and buying it, but I may cave and order it online.

I was playing an old Bob Marley mix CD I made in college, and this popped on. I used to love this song so much, and now realize that I still do. I can't even explain why. I'm definitely not religious at all, let alone Rastafarian, but this song always spoke to me. Maybe it's because it's about perseverance or having strong faith in the face of despair and opposition. Wikipedia has some interesting things to say about the song. I know now why I never found this on an actual album. Enjoy.

One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.

I just learned via Wikipedia that Black Music Month was established by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. How executive of him, haha. Anyway, for my blog, I wanted to dedicate the month to those extremely talented artists who we tragically lost, either too soon (Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Amy Winehouse [I know she's not black, so hush]) or still had time to make another impact (Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Don Cornelius). These artists all suffered from some form of mental illness, some combined with drugs, and it's something that I think about constantly.

But, one artist who I regard so highly and suffered from mental illness was Donny Hathaway. He is someone who I believe, unlike fellow keyboard prodigy Stevie Wonder, whose singular brilliance was never fully recognized on wax. While alive, he was mainly famous for the softer, simpler duets he did with Roberta Flack. I just happened to be listening to his song "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," a cover of Nina Simone, around Whitney's passing, and it makes me think of all these artists. Aretha Franklin and a few others also did a cover, but Hathaway's is the best and arguably better than Simone's original. This month, though, I want to post up some artists and music I like that are outside the triumvirate of black music-hip hop, R&B, and jazz-that will be tagged "black music month." So enjoy.

"To Be Young, Gifted, and Black" from Everything Is Everything (1970)

Ok. Ummmmm.... Wow, did I not see this coming. I stayed "Stanning" Ms. Badu even when she tripped out into left field with the brilliant, in my opinion, album New Amerykah, Part 1: 4th Wold War (2008). I didn't think too much of her second installment, Return of the Ankh (2010), but I felt like I began to understand her artistry more clearly than ever with those last two albums, believe it or not.

Well, in this VERY NSFW video, she performs a static, hazy noise-rock cover of one of my favorite Roberta Flack songs, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," with experimental alt-rockers the Flaming Lips. You must see the video for yourself, but it's disgusting. And I'm not talking about the nudity, so just watch. Note that I had to get this from the Perez Hilton site, because it was taken down by YouTube and many other sites. It was taken down by Perez Hilton too, so I found another link. I try not to get too wrapped up in the image of musical artists. I like to focus on the music. With that said, I'm not really feeling this cover.

UPDATE 6/10/12: Ok, so there's been some developments, which I'm as usual, a little late on. Badu went to Twitter and blasted the band for this leaked version, originally by Pitchfork, and Flaming Lips man Wayne Coyne issued a formal apology: OKP News: Erykah Badu’s Statement On “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” Video.