One of the recent highlights of my musical endeavors would undoubtedly be the...
Robert Glasper Experiment
The Robert Glasper Experiment consists of renown jazz-pianist Robert Glasper, bassist Derrick Hodge, drummer Mark Colenburg and saxophonist Casey Benjamin.
I'm a big fan of jazz, soul, hip-hop, and r&b music, so when I discovered these guys last year, I was delighted to hear a band that was able to masterfully fuse all of these genres together. Their debut album "Black Radio" was one of my favorite releases of the year, and even won a grammy (which shocked the hell out of me since you wouldn't imagine a band that isn't very highly publicized receiving such an award!). Now, in 2013 they've returned with an even more immaculate album, aptly titled "Black Radio 2"!
This album was instant love for me. With so many artists featured on one album (Common, Lupe Fiasco, Snoop Dogg, Jill Scott, Norah Jones, Lalah Hathaway, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Anthony Hamilton, Brandy and more), you might expect the flow to be disjointed, but the Experiment keeps things amazingly cohesive. It's one of those records that I can turn on and play without skipping anything. Seriously, the album is ridiculously easy to listen to, yet the quality of musicianship, songwriting, and vocal performances is pretty staggering. I think that's the brilliance of Rob's experiment - his ability to take genres like r&b and hip hop, give them a sophisticated edge and leave their accessible nature intact. His choice of features is also damn near flawless - he chose performers that are all talented in their respective fields and not just people who are "hot" for the moment (although I do scratch my head at the snoop dogg feature - lupe and the band manage to save the song he's on thankfully lol).
"Black Radio 2" is also very organic - not just the composition of the songs, but the album itself. From the intro track with snippets of the featured artists introducing themselves, the introspective monologues, the hilarious interlude with Wayne Brady, to the spoken word by Malcom Jamal Warner that closes out the album - it feels like something much more than just a collection of songs - I think it's a statement. I feel like this album and their first are also beautiful pieces of social commentary; urging listeners (especially the black community) to discover (and rediscover) their creativity and originality instead of falling into trends.
But anyways, I love this album. I love their music. It's classy, it's hip, it's beautiful. I think it's clear that Glasper and his friends are trying to make music that will stand the test of time - and to me, this album has instant classic written all over it!
Here's a song from "Black Radio 2" featuring the lovely and gorgeous Jill Scott. :>