..:|:Down To The Bone:|:..

Down to the Bone is an acid jazz group led by DJ Stuart Wade, who formed the band with Chris Morgans [who has left the band] in 1996. The group is very popular in the UK, where they are "hailed as the kings of UK jazz groove." Their music is a mix of funk and jazz. Down to the Bone is unique in that the leader, Stuart Wade, does not play any instruments at all. Instead, Wade uses a dictaphone to hum tunes into, which are then recorded by the band [whose members constantly change].

Down To The Bone - Future Boogie [with Hil St. Soul and Roy Ayers 2009]

1. Future Boogie
2. Should've Been You
3. Spiderlegs
4. Good To Me
5. Get On It
6. The Brighter Side
7. Gotcha!
8. In The Pocket
9. Smash And Grab
10. We've Always Got The Music

Down To The Bone - Supercharged [feat. Roy Ayers 2007]

1. Supercharged
2. Funkin Around
3. Parkside Shuffle
4. Cosmic Fuzz
5. Smile To Shine
6. Electric Vibes
7. Greedy Fingers
8. Shake it Up
9. Space Dust
10. Hip City
11. Make It Funky

Down To The Bone - Spread Love Like Wildfire [feat. N'Dambi and flautist Jeremy Steig 2005]

1. Memphis Groove
2. Mystic Samba
3. Tiburon
4. Angel Baby
5. Pure Funk
6. Hammerhead
7. Wildfire Woman
8. Gotta Get Back To You
9. Lightning Rod
10. London Life
11. Latin Sagebrush

Down To The Bone - Cellar Funk [feat. Flora Purim 2004]

1. Back In Business
2. Cellar Funk
3. I'll Always Hold You Close
4. Timeless
5. The Flow
6. Crossing Boundaries
7. You're The Only Reason
8. Dancing To A Samba
9. Global Village
10. L.A. Shakedown
11. Little Smile
12. Down In The Basement
13. Back In Business [The Business Mix]

Down To The Bone - Crazy Vibes & Things [feat. Hil St. Soul 2002]

1. Electra Glide
2. On A Roll
3. I Softly Surrender [To You]
4. Music Is My drug
5. Crazy Vibes and Things
6. My One and All
7. Glow
8. Stargazer
9. Searching For A Simple Groove
10. Cooking With Gas

Down To The Bone - Spread The Word Album III [2000]

1. Keep On Keepin' on
2. Sound as a Pound
3. Righteous Reeds
4. Bridge Port Boogie
5. Soul Brother, No.1
6. Downtown Shuffle
7. Black Choice
8. Backburner
9. Lowdown
10. Mighty Mighty Fine

Down To The Bone - The Urban Grooves Album II [feat. keyboardist Reuben Wilson 1999]

1. Long Way from Brooklyn
2. Zodiac
3. To The Bone
4. Joy Is A Good Groove
5. Urban Jazz
6. Fusion Food
7. Vinyl Junkie
8. Yo Man It's Herbie
9. Bump 'N' Hustle
10. Right On Baby - Yeah!
11. Little Touch Of Soul

Down To The Bone - From Manhattan To Staten [1997]

1. Staten Island Groove
2. Brooklyn Heights
3. Savour The Flavour
4. Muesli Brown
5. Yo Mama's So Phat
6. Touch Of Voodoo
7. 17 Mile Drive
8. Carlito's Way
9. 3 Days In Manhattan
10. On The corner Of Darcy Street

..:|:Melanie Fiona:|:..

2009 release from the Canadian R&B singer/songwriter. Melanie's music is an eclectic yet glossy mix of tributes to the past and contemporary R&B. Even before she released an album, she impressed Kanye West enough to be invited to be the opening act during Kanye's 2008 European tour! Universal.

Melanie Fiona - The Bridge [2009]

1. Give It To Me Right
2. Bang Bang
3. Monday Morning
4. Please Don't Go [Cry Baby]
5. Ay Yo
6. Walk On By
7. You Stop My Heart
8. Johnny
9. Sad Songs
10. Priceless
11. It Kills Me
12. Teach him

..:|:Four80East:|:..

Four80East is the brainchild of producers Rob DeBoer and Tony Grace, also known internationally for their indie label/production house, Boomtang. Originally conceived in the studio in 1997 as a side project from the more commercial pop music they had been working on, Four80East was born as a small indie release in England later that year, simply entitled "The Album".  What began as a whim went on to revitalize the Smooth Jazz world the following summer when they broke through in the States with "Eastside", a mid-tempo groover that became the seventh most-played track on Contemporary Jazz radio that year.
In early 2000, their follow-up album "Nocturnal" was released by Higher Octave Music to wide acclaim.
This "stylish set of late-night grooves" was listed by JazzTimes magazine as one of the top 50 albums of that year.
"Round 3" followed in 2002, and saw the band start to make the transition from studio project to live act.  Four80East made their live debut at the Catalina Island Jazztrax Festival in October of 2003.
"En Route" was produced over most of 2005 and 2006, as the boys were juggling a variety of other projects, including raising their families.  With a new label - Native Language Music - behind them, they released their latest album - "Roll On" in June of '09... Four80East is back in the saddle!

Four80East -  Roll On [2009]

1. Roll On
2. Loosey Goosey
3. One Night Only
4. Just Passing Through
5. Shot In The Dark
6. After All This Time
7. Race The Moon
8. While The City Sleeps
9. Never The Same Way Twice
10. Back In 5

Four80East - En Route [2007]

1. Five By Five
2. Noodle Soup
3. The Drop
4. Double Down
5. Been Too Long
6. Closer
7. En Route
8. 51 Division
9. Don't Look Back
10. Easy Come, Easy Go
11. Waterline

Four80East - Round 3 [2002]

1. Shot Clock
2. Stars Like These
3. TKO
4. Mint Julep
5. Je Pense A Toi
6. Montreaux
7. 3 Out Of 4
8. Tip Off
9. Last Flight To L.A.
10. Burn Down The Bayou

Four80East - Nocturnal [2001]

1. Shakedown
2. Viaduct
3. Bumper To bumper
4. Drive time
5. Sweet Tooth
6. Wake And Bake
7. On The Strip
8. Wait It Out
9. First Time
10. Hazy Lazy

Four80East - The Album [1998]

1. Eastside
2. Buzz
3. Table For Two
4. Speak Easy
5. K-Town
6. Skip Tracer
7. Survival
8. Way It Happened
9. All Day Breakfast
10. Step In It

..:|:J. Period:|:..

J.Period is a Brooklyn-based Mixtape DJ, remixer and hip-hop producer. He is best known for producing Official Mixtape collaborations with Nas, Big Daddy Kane, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, The Isley Brothers and Mary J. Blige, and an "audio-biography" style that incorporates personal interviews with these artists into his “Best of” compilations. His original production and remixes have also recently appeared in film trailers for Universal Pictures' American Gangster (2007) and Fox Searchlight's Street Kings (2008). In November 2008, J.Period became the first DJ/producer ever commissioned by Activision to score and produce an entire video game soundtrack—Tony Hawk’s Motion for Nintendo DS.

J. Period presents... The [Abstract] Best Vol.1

J.Period elevates his documentary style to new heights to pay respect to this incomparable hip hop icon with The [Abstract] Best, a comprehensive collection of Q-Tip’s music and production, new remixes, interviews, plus brand new tracks from an All-Star lineup of hip hop heavyweights—paying tribute to The Abstract’s legacy.
This unprecedented mixtape arrives on the heels of Q-Tip’s critically–acclaimed album, The Renaissance (released Nov 4), and urges a new generation of fans to take note of Q-Tip’s tremendous contributions to hip hop throughout his career. The [Abstract] Best also follows J.Period & Q-Tip’s November release entitled “Q-Tip for President”—an Obama anthem that received over 100,000 downloads surrounding the Presidential Election.
But nothing makes this mixtape more highly-anticipated than the all-star lineup of contributors—De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, ?uestlove, Black Thought, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Consequence, Zion I, Skillz, Black Sheep, Kid Cudi, Blu—a first of its kind in the mixtape game, and a testament to the depth of influence Q-Tip has had on hip hop’s elite. No mixtape has ever boasted such a lineup, and no DJ has ever ventured to bring so many artists together for a single mixtape release. Hip hop’s unbridled creativity once thrived in these kinds of collaborations, and J.Period is determined to re-ignite that spirit.

*[Tracklist in Comments]

..:|:Dr. John & The Lower 911:|:..

Few protest albums have the percolating groove appeal of Dr. John’s City That Care Forgot. If not for lyrics like "the road to the White House, paved with lies" the song "Promises, Promises" would be a typically chipper New Orleans second-line strut. And "You Might Be Surprised" sounds like the kind of horn-and-strings-colored blues that has always been part of the piano giant’s repertoire -- until its darker hues come through in the lines "life is a near death experience/Hell is right here on this great big Earth." Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of Dr. John’s hometown and the following years of neglect sparked these 13 angry songs. The government, insurance companies and developers, and still-lingering institutional racism take an a**-whipping with help from Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Terence Blanchard, Ani DiFranco, and Terrance Simien in cameo appearances. The climax is a suite -- "Dream Warrior," "Black Gold," "We Getting There" -- whose brooding imagery, funky keyboards, Latin percussion, and dramatic horns recall the great Blaxploitation movie music of the ’70s. On the other hand "My People Need a Second Line" speaks to the resilience of New Orleans culture, holding threads of hope bright as the trilling of Dr. John’s piano.

Dr. John & The Lower 911 - City That Care Forgot [2008]

1. Keep On Goin'
2. Time For A change
3. Promises, Promises
4. You Might Be Surprised
5. Dream Warrior
6. Black Gold
7. We Gettin' There
8. Stripped Away
9. Say Whut?
10. My People Need A Second Line
11. Land Grab
12. City That Care Forgot
13. Save Our Wetlands

..:|:Orishas:|:..

Orishas are a Latin rap group of Cuban expatriates whose debut album, A Lo Cubano (2000), was internationally acclaimed and whose subsequent albums found them furthering their fusion of Latin rhythms and melodies with hip-hop. Comprised of Roldán, Ruzzo, and Yotuel, the group was formed in Paris, France, in the late '90s. The original lineup also included Flaco-Pro, who left the group after its debut album. Prior to moving to Paris and forming Orishas with Roldán and Flaco-Pro, Ruzzo and Yotuel had been members of the pioneering Cuban rap group Amenaza. In collaboration with producer Nicolas Nocchi, Orishas made their full-length album debut in 2000 with A Lo Cubano, a groundbreaking Latin rap album that fused Afro-Cuban rhythms, hip-hop beats, melodic singing, and socially conscious raps to international acclaim. Reduced to a trio after the departure of Flaco-Pro, Orishas refined their musical fusion on their second album, Emigrante (2002), which was more melodic than their debut. El Kilo (2005), the third Orishas album, was a further refinement of the group's musical fusion. Moreover, El Kilo continued to broaden the group's popularity, particularly in Europe, where the album charted in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal. Cosita Buena (2008), the fourth Orishas album, followed a year later and again found the group evolving musically.

Orishas - Cosita Buena [2008]

1. Cosita Buena
2. Maní
3. Bruja
4. Camina
5. Guajira
6. Borrón
7. Mírame
8. Que Quede Claro
9. Machete
10. Isi
11. Público
12. Melodías
13. Hip Hop Conga

Orishas - Antidiotico [2007]

Disc One

1. Hay Un Son
2. A Lo Cubano
3. Elegante
4. Elmigrantes
5. 537 C.U.B.A.
6. Represent, Cuba [feat. Heather Headley]
7. Nací Orishas
8. ¿Que Pasa?
9. Silencio
10. Connexion
11. Habana
12. El Kilo
13. ¿Que Bola?
14. Quien Te Dijo
15. Un Pagina Doblada


Disc Two

1. Mistica
2. Desaparecidos
3. Bombo
4. Soy Guajiro [feat. Benny More]
5. Kayliah [feat. Gwadloup Cuba]
6. Da Weasel [feat. Sigue Sigue]
7. Carlos Jean [feat. La Alianza]
8. 1.9.9.9. [Remix]
9. Orishas Llego [Cayo Huesa Mix]
10. ¿Que Pasa? [Red Mix]

Orishas - El Kilo [2005]

1. Nací Orishas
2. Distinto
3. Elegante
4. El Kilo
5. Que Se Bote
6. Reina De La Calle
7. Bombo
8. Al Que Le Guste
9. Amor Al Arte
10. Tumbando Y Dando
11. La Calle
12. Stress
13. La Vacuna
14. Quien Te Dijo

Orishas - Emigrante [2002]

1. ¿Que Pasa?

2. Mujer

3. Guajiro

4. ¿Que bola?

5. Asi Fue

6. Niños

7. 300 Kilos [feat. Yuri Buenaventura]

8. Gladiadores

9. Ausencia [feat. Niko Noki]

10. Habana

11. Testimonio

12. Rey De La Pachacha

13. Emigrantes

14. Desaparecidas

15. La Vida [feat. Passi]

Orishas - A Lo Cubano [2000]

1. Represent
2. lo Cubano
3. Barrio
4. S.O.L.A.R.
5. 1.9.9.9.
6. Atencion
7. Mistica
8. Canto Para Elewa Y Chango
9. Madre
10. Orishas Llego
11. 537 C.U.B.A.
12. Connexion
14. Triunfo

..:|:Burning Spear:|:..

Reggae artist Burning Spear, who chose his music name in honor of Kenyan freedom fighter and first president Jomo Kenyatta, presents his latest album in a decades-long career promoting peace, unity, and love. Burning Spear has traveled to violence-torn Nairobi at the behest of the United Nations to offer the positive influence of his music; now listeners across the globe can feel his strong, positive message of self-reliance, African unity, and respect for one's fellow man in Jah is Real.

Burning Spear - Jah Is Real [2008]

1. Cruise
2. Step It
3. You Were Wrong
4. Run For Your Life
5. Jah Is Real
6. People In High Places
7. One Africa
8. Grandfather
9. Wickedness
10. Stick To The Plan
11. No Compromise
12. 700 Strong
13. Grass Root
14. Step it [Remix]