Kanye West does it again! Pushing the envelope and continuing to be thought-provoking as well as innovative in his approach to the music that he’s creating. He successfully paints an abstract visual picture for us to interpret however we may. I am absolutely blown away by the juxtaposition of elements, the color, the cinematography, the story, the sets, etc. Impressive to say the least. Enjoy the visual preview, but peep the extended gallery on my creative inspiration site, here…
This is a recent video by Fresh Daily (a dope Brooklyn-bred emcee), that he was inspired to create over the “Stuyvesants Swing” track from our Brooklyn’s Finest record. It meant a lot to me and AL that people were influenced enough by the sound of the record to go out and create to it. From a visual standpoint, this is a well shot vid! To Fresh…much respect. Enjoy…
The Stuyvesants (Algorythm and myself), will be participating in this monthly beat showcase hosted by Guerrilla Words, and producer Illmind. Come out and support us if you can. The legendary Buckwild will be in the building! If you don’t know his production work…PLEASE GET FAMILIAR WITH IT!!!
Review / Hands down, this is one of my favorite Donny Hathaway records. His vocals are always on point, but I felt like the music production was very strong on this particular LP. I’m kind of at a loss for words because there’s TOO MUCH to say, the man is a legend. (Throws in the towel) Just enjoy this one…
Design / White space! I love it. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love white space (The Beatles White Album cover comes to mind). Simplicity at it’s best, with a little flavor thrown into the display type to bring some life to the cover. The illustration is funky to say the least, not dominant, yet not that subtle either. The balance is just right across the composition, creating a very nice tension.
Info / Artist: Donny Hathaway / Album: Extension of a Man / Year: 1973 / Label: Atco
Donny Hathaway / Someday We’ll All Be Free
Donny Hathaway / Valdez in the Country
Donny Hathaway / Love, Love, Love
Review / This is a super obscure album, by the super obscure musician Tony Wilson. Honestly, I don’t like this album…BUT…there is one song that shines EXTREMELY BRIGHT, “New York City Life”, this one song alone made the record post-worthy. The instrumentation and arrangement of “New York City Life” blew me away!!! Synths, strings, bass, percussion, all on point…then his vocals lay over the dark landscape of this track quite nicely. Enjoy…
Design / Weird to say the least. But I can appreciate the personality that’s shining through here. Though I can’t help but feel like he’s about to do a magic trick (???), anyway… Though subtle, and not terribly exciting, the type is quite nice in it’s non-intrusive, centered, all caps, classic serif visual appeal.
Info / Artist: Tony Wilson / Album: I Like Your Style / Year: 1976 / Label: Bearsville
Tony Wilson / New York City Life
Review / One of the most consistent jazz/funk fusion groups throughout the 70′s, The Blackbyrds hold it down once again with this 1977 release, Action. This record is flooded with some amazing harmonies, and deep grooves. Nothing out of the norm for these guys, however, there are a few tracks on the record that venture into the midnight grooves space…which was a nice surprise. But the major pluses here were the unified harmonies, and (continued) synthesizer experimentation by group leader Kevin Toney. He took their sound to a higher level with each release. Enjoy…
Design / This is one of the best covers I own (in the photography realm, not the typography). I like the composition of the group at the starting line, and can’t help but to appreciate the essence of the time period through the sneakers, wristbands, headbands, nappy fro’s, eyeglasses, etc. Visually, it speaks to the word “Action” without any of them actually being in physical motion, they’re all in a static state. However, one can feel the momentum building up, leading to the action thats about to ensue.
Info / Artist: The Blackbyrds / Album: Action / Year: 1977 / Label: Fantasy
The Blackbyrds / Mysterious Vibes
The Blackbyrds / Dreaming About You
The Blackbyrds / Soft & Easy
Exclusive / This is an unreleased track from our Stuyvesants project that we released back on June 1st. The “Taaffe Place Theme” is an ode to our folks living on that street in Brooklyn (L, Matt, Mal…), it follows in a line of other homage tracks on the album, such as “Greene Ave. Anthem” (my street) and “Jefferson Ave. Theme” (AL’s street). Enjoy…
The Stuyvesants / Taaffe Place Theme
Tuesday / Andre 3000 is easily in my top 5 emcees, here is a dope single from him, “I Do”. The production is awesome, as are the lyrics. You can always count on Dre 3K to bring something fresh to the table! Enjoy…
Andre 3000 / I Do
Flwrpt / PTAYP 2: Last Call for Alcohol
Tracks / Twista & Pharrell – Lavish / Missy Elliott & 702 – Beep Me 911 / Amerie – Red Eye / Pleasure P – Gotta Have You / Justin Timberlake – My Love / Lil’ Wayne – Maneater / Ludacris – Move Bitch / Timbaland – Carry Out / PPP & Tiombe Lockhart – Stay with Me / Busta Rhymes & Marshia Ambrosious – Get You Some / Mary J. Blige & Will.I.Am – About You / Jay-Z & Pharrell – Excuse Me Miss / LL Cool J – Love You Better / Jay-Z – 30 Something / Lloyd – Girls Around the World / Amerie – That’s What You Are / Do or Die & Kanye West – Higher / Jay-Z – Nigga What Nigga Who? / 8Ball & MJG – You Don’t Want Drama / Three 6 Mafia – Stay High / Snoop Dogg & The-Dream – Luv Drunk / T-Pain – Can’t Believe It / Kelis & Andre 3000 – Millionaire / Beyonce – Get Me Bodied / The Neptunes – Frontin’ / Diddy Dirty Money – Hello Good Morning / Timbaland & Missy Elliott – Cop That Shit / The-Dream – All Black Everything / Mario – Music for Love / Snoop Dogg, Brandy & Pharrell – Special
DEVIL IN A NEW DRESS
You’ve all heard this track by now, but regardless, it’s such a great record and I felt like it should be a part of my blog in some way. From the style in which the sample is flipped in the production, to the lyrics, the vibe of this song just resonates with me on a few different levels! On another note, I’m really digging the design direction of these G.O.O.D. Fridays album covers, executed by Virgil Abloh. Enjoy…
Kanye West / Devil in a New Dress