WILT_2022-44

A playlist of songs that intrigued me from Sunday to Saturday. Week of 30 Oct 2022 to 5 Nov 2022.

1. The 6th Sense – Common
2. Didn’t Cha Know – Erykah Badu
3. Know That – Mos Def, Talib Kweli
4. For You – Bilal
5. Untitled (How Does It Feel) – D’Angelo
6. Sage Projection – Afrikan Sciences
7. These Arms – Young Legionnaire
8. See Thru To U – Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu
9. Eternal Light – Free Nationals, Chronixx
10. Dedicated – Digable Planets
11. HR3 – Overmono
12. All Good – Illa J
13. Sirens II – Bilal

Hyperlink to Spotify playlist: WILT_2022-44

Notes

I came across a video called The Musical Movement We Don’t Talk About Enough by Digging The Greats. In it, he discusses the Soulqurians, a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Members of the collective included singer and multi-instrumentalist D’Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, producer J Dilla, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, rapper-producers Q-Tip and Mos Def, and rappers Talib Kweli and Common. [Wikipedia]

If you want a playlist of the albums listed in the video, click here.

From this playlist, I selected some of my standout listens, as well as tried to give a variety of the musical artists that were part of the Soulquarians. This list included:

The 6th Sense by Common is a pensive, passionate and uplifting rap performance with a tight and dialed-back beat that puts the listener at ease, and also receptive to the message underscoring the lyrics.

Didn’t Cha Know by Erykah Badu features soulful bongo flourishes paired with a steady lazy beat and various melodic ideas that support Badu’s beautiful voice.

Know That by Mos Def and Talib Kweli is a hard step hustle hard beat and rap with fantastic energy and delivery.

For You by Bilal has a standout guitar line that’s chopped up just such. It’s a great introduction into Bilal’s brand of nu-soul.

Untitled (How Does It Feel) by D’Angelo is a soulful tribute to Prince. There is so much restraint in the performance, but when it goes off, there’s nothing standing in its way. The bass performance by Raphael Saadiq in particular is a masterclass in tension and release.

From there I was recommended the artist, Afrikan Sciences from the Facebook group, Unpopular radio. Sage Projection features a great beat with lots of soaring synthwork atop electronic afro beats.

For some reason, I started to revisit Bloc Party, and I ended up re-engaging with Young Legionnaire, the next project by Gordon Moakes, the original bass player for Bloc Party. These Arms is a straight ahead indie rock song with great melody and great energy. It was just a good tune that I had to include it. It winds up being a good break in the playlist as well.

The next half of the playlist was generated as recommendations based on the playlist thus far.

See Thru To U by Flying Lotus and Erykah Badu is from the producer’s seminal 2012 album, Until The Quiet Comes. The song features a soaring bass performance by Thundercat, and also a beautiful tribal beat that is elevated by Badu’s vocal performance. It’s psychedelic, jazzy, and altogether soulful.

Eternal Light by the Free Nationals and Chronixx features a stanky-ass bassline that I can’t get enough of, and a chillax-ed Chronixx taking it easy and giving a coast-worthy vocal performance.

Dedicated by Digable Planets is super smooth, but it’s the drum part that really shines for me. The way the snare shimmers with each hit is just a great vibe. It gives just the right amount of looseness in an otherwise tight performance.

HR3 by Overmono was so interesting with the bleeps and bloops that I just wanted to collect it somewhere.

All Good by Illa J is a slow poignant piece that respects space and pace.

Sirens II by Bilal is a loose and jammy soul piece with a slinky bass tone courtesy of a low action. It’s actually quite addictive, all these imperfections.