Check out Brooklyn-based DJ/Producer Sam Champion’s remix of D’Angelo’s “Left And Right” for a new take on the first single from D’s Voodoo album.

Download Sam Champion’s remix for free on Bandcamp.com!

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His debut single, “Me & You” has just been independently released through his crew, The Honor Roll.  I’ve been digging on an unfinished version of this song for over a year now, and I’m glad that I can finally share this jam with the rest of you!

Me & You (prod. by 1-O.A.K.) by The Honor Roll

Let us know what you think of “Me & You” in the comments!

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Back in 2002 when Raphael Saadiq released his solo debut, Instant Vintage, all ears were tuned in to the lead single which was a duet between Ray and D’Angelo.

This remix done by Hi-Tek was only released as a limited promo-download on MTV.com for a very brief time.

Fortunately for all of you, I’ve dug into my archives and pulled this version out for your listening pleasure!

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Summer hits its the halfway mark this week, so we’ve got awhile longer to deal with the heat and humidity.

While you’re sitting on your front porch or stoop,  chillin in your backyard with a glass of lemonade, or sitting in front of a table top fan trying to stay cool, here’s some old school jams to keep you company.

Ramsey Lewis “Sun Goddess”

The legendary jazz pianist teamed up with Earth Wind & Fire’s frontman, Maurice White, who was also his former drummer, for this classic bit of jazz-funk from 1974.

Rotary Connection “I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun”

Rotary Connection were a Chicago based psychedelic soul group that featured a young lady by the name of Minnie Riperton as a vocalist. The group’s final album, 1970′s Hey Love, featured this soul classic which reached a whole new generation of listeners thanks to a cover by Masters At Work’s Nuyorican Soul project in the mid ’90s.

Sugarhill Gang “Hot Hot Summer Day”

Everyone knows “Rappers Delight,” but few really know this gem from their second album, 1982′s 8th Wonder.

Sly & The Family Stone “Hot Fun In The Summertime”

Released not long after their now legendary performance at the original Woodstock festival in 1969, Sly & The Family Stone accurately captured the sound of the carefree summer of love in this staple of summertime listening.

Heatwave “Send Out For Sunshine”

This British funk outfit may be better known for songs like “Boogie Nights” and “Always And Forever,” but this jam from their Central Heating album is just as good as those. This is a perfect song for you if you’re stressed out, got a pocket full of lint, and wanna have some fun.

Roy Ayers Ubiquity “Everybody Loves The Sunshine”

Every time I listen to this song, in my head I immediately see fire hydrants spraying water on kids playing on the street, kids playing hopscotch, double dutch and skelly on the sidewalk, and the someone’s grandma sitting on an empty milk crate on her stoop.

The Commodores “High On Sunshine”

Before Lionel Richie became a total cornball artist (I still got love for you though, Lionel!), he and the Commodores were an unstoppable group of musicians who could do a jam like “Fancy Dancer” one moment and a tender sappy ballad like “Still” the next.  “High On Sunshine” is one of those feel good songs that you just don’t hear enough of anymore.

Bob Marley & The Wailers “Sun Is Shining”

From the island of Jamaica comes one of my favorite summer songs.  Put this on your iPod, go outside early one morning just after the sun rises, and stand in its rays.  It’ll change your outlook for the day.

The Isley Brothers “Summer Breeze”

This is grown folks music, for real.  The Isleys turned Seals & Croft’s soft-rock tune into a bonafide soul classic.  Peep Ernie Isley’s great guitar work on that solo and try not to break out your air guitar.

Kool & The Gang “Summer Madness”

I’ve had an internal debate about this song for years. Kool & The Gang released two versions of this song, one done in the studio, and a longer live version.  Both of them are absolutely essential, but I can’t for the life of me decide which one is the better one.  Ultimately, I decided to go with the studio version as it’s quite a bit more laidback and mellow, which is what summer should be like.  This song is the quintessential summer song and even found its way into hip-hop’s official song of the summer, Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “Summertime.”

Catch DJ Brainchild spinning at venues around New York City or subscribe to his “Gordon Gartrell Radio” podcast hosted by Phonte of Little Brother!

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Vikter Duplaix may not be a familiar name to many of you, but surely you’ve heard his work before.

The multi-talented singer-songwriter-producer-DJ has made a name for himself over the last 10+ years penning and producing songs for Erykah Badu (“Green Eyes“), Eric Benet (“Love Of My Own“), Leela James (“My Joy“) and Musiq (“Momentinlife“) to name but a few.

He’s also got an impressive career as a solo artist, having released two albums and being nominated for a Grammy in 2008 for his song “Make A Baby.”

In 2010, he’s gearing up for the release of a brand new album and just released the video for the lead single “Electric Love,” a slow and sexy jam that should come packaged with birth control pills and a couple of condoms.

Click here to download “Electric Love” for free at Vikter’s website!

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First off, let’s get one thing straight: Hollyweerd rep Atlanta, not Hollywood.

That will be more than obvious once you listen to “Love Me” from their forthcoming Edible Phat 2.0 mixtape.

These four ATLiens bring to mind the Dungeon Family back in its heyday and they’ve brought along Little Brother’s Rapper Big Pooh to guest on this song that should be coming out of every car this summer.

Hollyweerd’s Don Cannon-hosted mixtape drops soon!

What do you think of Hollyweerd’s “Love Me”? Leave a comment below!

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It’s been awhile since we’ve heard any new music from Cody ChesnuTT, the guitarist that took the underground music scene by storm with his lo-fi, bedroom recordings in the early 2000s.

ChesnuTT’s debut, The Headphone Masterpiece, was an ambitious two-disc album featuring recordings mostly made in his bedroom.  The album crossed all sorts of genres touching on folk, pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B and blues and caught the attention of tastemakers worldwide.

The Roots tapped ChesnuTT for a reworking of his song “The Seed” which appeared on their 2002 release, Phrenology.

Now it appears that Cody’s finally back for round two, as he’s released the light and breezy “Come Back Like Spring” for free on Bandcamp.com

Hopefully a new album isn’t too far off!

Download “Come Back Like Spring” for free at BandCamp.com!

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German producer Suff Daddy and Kansas City-based MC/singer/producer Miles Bonny teamed up for this track from Suff Daddy’s forthcoming album, The Gin Diaries.

I get frustrated listening to songs like this one because I know they’ll be ignored in favor of the disposable flavor of the month who, like Craig Mack said, won’t be around next year.

*Rant Over*

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The southern California trio known as Pacific Division (or Pac Div for short) has been buzzing on the underground hip-hop scene for awhile.

“Rollin’” from their forthcoming mixtape Don’t Mention It recently leaked and sets a good vibe for the mixtape and their upcoming album, Grown Kid Syndrome.

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Shafiq Husayn is one-third of the production crew Sa-Ra Creative Partners who have lent their talents to artists ranging from Jill Scott to Killer Mike.

Shafiq’s solo record, Shafiq En’ A-Free-Kah dropped last year on independent record label Plug Research and was a critics favorite.  The eclectic album includes the brand new single “Cheeba” featuring Bilal.

The video for “Cheeba” is rather appropriate as I almost feel like I should have a spliff in hand while watching… or maybe I already smoked that spliff…

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I first heard Miguel Jontel back in 2006 on Exile’s “Summertime In L.A.”  For the next couple of years, Miguel would work closely with underground hip-hop favorite Blu, and Exile.

Miguel inked a deal with Jive a few years back and it looks like they’re finally moving towards putting out an album.

Peep Miguel’s single “All I Want Is You” featuring J. Cole.

What do you think?  Does Miguel have a hit single on his hands?

RELATED: AUDIO: Adriana Evans “Weatherman”

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Phonte of Little Brother and yours truly are back with episode 17 of our podcast, Gordon Gartrell Radio.

In this episode, Phonte breaks the myth (excuse me, “the myff”) of sexism in the music industry, explains why he’s “old and over it” in regards to discussing hip-hop, and why bad music is like gay porn.

Also, you’ll get to hear new music from Adriana Evans, Yahzarah, Consequence, Teedra Moses, HomeMade, and more!

Click here to stream or download Gordon Gartrell Radio!

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After debuting in the late 90s with her self-titled album and hit single “Seein Is Believing,” Adriana Evana dipped out of the spotlight.

She released a few albums in the mid-2000s independently, and is back with another new album, Walking With The Night.

Check out the song “Weatherman” from the album which hits stores in the US in May of this year!

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Detroit’s Mayer Hawthorne (also known as DJ Haircut) released his debut album, A Strange Arrangement, last year on Stones Throw Records.

The album sounded like a great rare soul album from the ’70s that was only heard by a lucky handful of people.

Since the release of the album, Hawthorne has been tapped to collaborate with Snoop Dogg and shared stages with The Roots.

Check out the video for “I Wish It Would Rain”

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Little Brother’s back with the first single from their last album, Left Back.

I’d been sitting on this track for a couple of weeks now, as me and Phonte were gonna premiere it on the next episode of our podcast, Gordon Gartrell Radio, but thanks to a last minute illness, plus the fact that MySpace grabbed the premiere from under us, it didn’t happen that way.

But here’s the song in all of it’s Khrysis produced glory!

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Hailing from New Zealand, Electric Wire Hustle have been buzzing around the future soul underground for quite some time now.

Their debut album, Every Waking Hour, made TUD’s list of 15 Albums You Didn’t Hear In 2009 list.

Peep the video for their single “Perception” and dig on the way they flipped that Minnie Riperton sample… literally!

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Brooklyn bred emcee, Spec Boogie blesses us with his ode to his neighborhood, Bed-Stuy.

Bed-Stuy, which happens to have been my former home of 8 years, not to mention Jay-Z & Biggie’s old stomping grounds, is represented lovely in this video, directed by Ali Santana.

Spec is part of The Lessondary crew that includes underground favorites Tanya Morgan, Che Grand and many others.  His Introspective album is due out this year!

Check how Tanya Morgan’s Von Pea (another Bed-Stuy native) flips Take 6′s radio jingle from Do The Right Thing for the beat.

Niiiiice!

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Back in the 90s and early 2000s, West London’s 4Hero took the dance music world by storm with singles like “Mr. Kirk’s Nightmare” and albums like Two Pages, Parallel Universe, and Creating Patterns.

In 2010, one half of the crew, Dego aka Mr. GoodGood is back with the second album from his new project, Silhouette Brown.

With the help of Philadelphia power-house vocalist Lady Alma, and Kaidi Tatham of London’s Bugz In The Attic production crew, the trio has just released two.

Decidedly different from 4Hero’s breakbeat-heavy early years and their later more mellowed out West London boogie, Dego’s work with Silhouette Brown highlights his own talents as a songwriter and producer working with much more R&B oriented material, but still with the feel you would come to expect from the man who penned 4Hero’s dance floor classic, “Hold It Down.”

two is available for sale now at Dego’s website www.2000black.com and on iTunes.

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As a DJ who prefers to play more than just the same music every other DJ is, I find that it’s really telling when I have to look to countries other than my own to find some decent soul music.

For years now, I’ve had to resort to keeping tabs on what’s going on in Europe if I want to hear music with real soul, and more often than not, it’s being made by white people. First there was Lewis Taylor who evoked the spirit of Marvin Gaye better than anyone stateside (D’Angelo even summoned Lewis to the U.S. for a duet that was never finished during the Voodoo sessions).  Next up was Amy Winehouse who, when her demons weren’t dragging her down, sang circles around most of the females she shared Billboard chart space with.

Now we’ve got Quadron.

The Danish duo consists of singer Coco and producer Robin Hannibal (who along with Phillip Owusu created my favorite album of 2006, Owusu & Hannibal’s Living With…).  Their debut single “Pressure” finds them skipping through the vintage Motown-era girl group door that Winehouse blew wide open in 2006.

Their self-titled album drops in March on the Plug Research label, which is also releasing Bilal’s highly anticipated new album later this year.  If you can’t wait until March, you can head over to iTunes now and buy the whole album, which has a very smooth, almost Sade-like quality to it.

Highly recommended listening!

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