G.O.O.D Soul Food Volume 4... iHeart Shanaz Dorsett

Ladies & Gentlemen... Welcome to the fourth installment of our G.O.O.D Soul Food series & I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do! Ever since I thought up this series of features, one artiste has been in my mind's eyes to bring to you... Actually that's a lie, ever since I started this website, I had always wanted to get this 21-year old Singer/Song-writer from London, England by way of Houston, Texas on here for you! My friend Sean Deez a.k.a Mr. Contributing Writer for Kevin Nottingham & OkayPlayer, put me on to the G.O.O.D.N.E.S.S that is Ms. Shanaz Dorsett back in March if my memory serves me correctly & I've been hooked ever since!

Let's just go straight into the music, I think we've waited a while for this one... I Know I have!




That one's called 'Man Thing' with production from We Plug GOOD Music Alumni, REMOT & it was the very first song I heard from the Songstress... As I would eventually call it, the moment the love affair began & what about the production on this record though? Maddd Genius I tell ya BUT you already knew about the kid Remot, didn't ya? Well if you didn't, you need to download his American Gangster Remix album right HERE & NOW for starters (get your knowledge up please!)... Anyway what do you make of 'Man Thing' then? I'm in love with this record... Just listen to the, for the lack of a better phrase, beautifully-vivid lyrics on this... Coupled with Ms. Dorsett's soulful voice & melodies... With Remot's musical backdrops (tell me you hear the flutes on this) that all come together perfectly on 'Man Thing'.

Another gem from Ms. Shanaz Dorsett right after the jump ladies & gentlemen...




What you just experienced is the EOM produced 'Next Life'... You'd remember EOM (Elements of Music) as one half of the L.A/Virginia Hip-Hop group Wax & EOM that were featured on HERE a few months ago... well Goodness hooked up with Goodness and they created this beautiful record about moving on from a break-up & finding one's self... The thing about Shanaz's song-writing (which I will forever go on about) is that it's so real, it's NOT some far-fetched far-away notion about love & heart-break & relationships & life... I'm sorry if that kinda stuff is your thing but I just appreciate the realness of this woman's songs & is it just me BUT aren't those vocals just so soothing to the ear???

Some more Shanaz, did I hear you say? Well you're in luck cos YES we have got some more...




'Would have took a bullet in your defense BUT you shot me with your own hand...' - Shanaz Dorsett (Battle Scars)

As if one Shanaz Dorsett + EOM collaborative work wasn't 'heaven' enough, we've been blessed with two... This one's 'Battle Scars' and if you will, please allow me to marvel at the beautiful music. This is Shanaz's personal favorite & without making any assumptions here, I kinda see why... It's a painful record & quite the personal one on that level I'd imagine plus it sucks your very emotion right in with it (atleast it does mine) & I feel a sense of dejavu coming because this will be the 2nd time I'm saying this about an EOM production BUT there's something eerily haunting about the musical backdrops to the record especially how the keyboards intertwine with Shanaz's vocals... It almost screams out the fear Ms. Dorsett feels towards love and loving again as loud as the lyrics do. Beautiful Music is what it is!!!

We love Shanaz Dorsett here @ We Plug GOOD Music & we hope you heart her too because she is so the BIZINESS... She's currently working on her debut E.P which should be with us sometime in 010 so prepare your ears ladies & gentlemen, it's gonna be amazing! However while I've still got you here, let's enjoy some more GOOD Music from her, shall we?




Shanaz Dorsett ROCKS! Get with it OR go home... Can I just say that I love people that believe in love, that have faith in it or like my friend would say, that love 'LOVE' & this song, titled 'Need Love' as produced by Remot, shows me that Shanaz is a big fan of 'love' (don't you need to be to write love songs? I dunno lol) and as if to say there is hope yet left for her & all the hopeless romantics out there... After all the heart-break on 'Battle Scars' & the walking away on 'Next Life', the hope springs eternal on 'Need Love' & not that she's found some 'new' love but that after all that, after all is said & done, she still will embrace 'LOVE'. This is my favorite Shanaz Dorsett song, it's a hopeful soulful record that blows me away every time + if there's anything I need right now, it's hopeful & soulful...

Soooo... what's your two pence on Ms. Dorsett? Lemme know aight!!!

Until the Next Time...

We Pluggin G.O.O.D Music Like The Blogspot...

OK I seriously dunno how 2 introduce these next cats 2 ya so i'm jus gonna let y'all feel this 4-minute lyrical bombing!!! Who or shall I say WHat (cos dude's a BEAST lol) you jus heard is WAX, one half of Wax & EOM (aka Elements of Music), the L.A/Virginia Hip-Hop Duo that was quite literally formed on Myspace, No Word of a LIE! Any relevant comparisons would do this duo a huge disservice but the similarities with Slug & Ant of Atmosphere are uncanny HOWEVER we're not here 2 talk bout similies... Lets get to the MUSIC mehn... Wax & EOM recently dropped their debut album, 'Liquid Courage' and we've got some cuts for y'all to rock wiv...

Damn mehn! The colossal that you've jus witnessed is called 'Air Timpani' & its f**kin HEAAVVVYYY!!! EOM is sampling an Opera Choir on here if my ears don't fail me & he pulls it off sublimely turning it into a seriously haunting beat that WAX and D Pryde have no choice BUT to spazz all over!

This next track, 'Its All Love', is my fav track off of 'Liquid Courage' & if you're thinkin 'better than "Air Timpani"? Surely Not!', well IMO it is but it's jus my opinion and I could be wrong so you take a listen & tell me whatchu think aight...





What can I say? I'm a sucker for them deep positive lyrics cos true say the world needs more love! Y'all can cop the record here!!! Its definitely got the 'WE PLUG G.O.O.D MUSIC' co-sign...

BUT if by some reason, you're still not convinced by Wax & EOM, asides from the question I wanna ask you which is 'WTF???', I've got another 4-minute musical spectacle for ya but this time it's not on youtube, it's on the album baby!!! It's soo aptly called 'Ridiculous' and it features Raw B & Bakktron from Grilled Lincolns!





Say NO More & No More Said!!! Liquid Courage is one record you definitely need to have in your record collection!!!

I first heard this next dude on his freestyle remix of Gigg's 'Talkin The Hardest' on which he boldly kicks off sayin 'Talk is cheap so f**k talkin the hardest...' & he goes on to say he's 'a G! I got my spot around the clitoris...', I dig the wittiness lol! Although his rhyme skills were quite basic, his one-liners & punchlines were real refreshin! I like his flow & 'similies' style (lol), its reminds me somehow of Fabolous...

Anyway his name is Pepe (pronounced Peppy) & he said it here first that he would be jumpin on D'banj's 'Gbono Felli Felli' jus like M.I & Falz before him and he comes HARD... Check it!





Did you hear homeboi biggin US up on there? Naah seriously didn't ya lol? Lemme jus tell ya! He goes 'I'm pluggin GOOD music like the blogspot...', you jus know I had 2 rep the track lol! And does he not jus give you punch line after punch line lol, although some of em still don't make sense to me (like 'i'm "KU" like "SUDO"? I know its a reference to the numbers game but what does it mean though lol? Colour me thick maybe lol!) & a few of em are playground stuff really ('i'm super like duper'?) but he got me @ 'Money is my chaffeur, you can say I'm cheddar driven!' and then he totally DESTROYS the track with 'I put my dick in your face so you see where I "CUM" from...'!!! OK i'm talkin too much, please jus tell me whatchu think...

Dude also went one further and did a refix of Donaeo's funky house smash 'Party Hard', its called 'Funk You Hard' and Me, I'm a funky house head so I'm already skankin out to this tune and the one-liners & punch lines don't stop either (lol) BUT essentially this one feels like a fun time playin-around-in-the-studio kinda track and on this yeah, where he lacks in ingeniuty, he makes up for with creativity... I'll leave you 2 analyze this cos once I hear my funky riddims, my judgement gets all fuzzy & s**t lol!





COMMENT! COMMENT!! COMMENT!!!

So apparently this next record has been out & about for a couple months now but unfortunately it's not gotten the hype that it deserves! Half of y'all who read this will not have heard or even heard of this track... Its Fr3style... yup 'Freestyle' from the Trybesmen! Remember them? They brought us the 1999 classic album 'L.A.G. Style' which included the NOW cult classic, 'shake bodi' & effectively wrote the blueprint for what alot of Nigerian emcees try & capture in their records today (that hip-hop essence mixed with the cultural heritage, I guess you'd call it Afro Hip-Hop) and guess who he managed 2 get on the track? 2 words... Nappy Boy! Its Fr3style featuring T-Pain & it's called 'Everybody Else'... let's listen...





You know what? I actually like this record which leads me 2 wonder why it's NOT been gettin no love back in naij... I dunno if this has anything to do with the record being shunned or anything but apparently this record has about 1000 different versions of it floatin around in the world! Here's what it was, T-Pain put out the (incomplete) track on the web for emcees to complete with their own verses, as part of his 'Step In The Ring' challenge... well some Twankstar fella won the competition with this one! Personally I prefer Fr3style's version but it's hard to take it as a credible collaboration really... jus my 2pence OR am I being overly critical? WHat do you think???


... And I've got suthin straight outta left field for y'all! Straight OUT I tell ya (lol)! Sooo I was trawling my Myspace lookin for some fresh new sounds cos you know... I love music like that (lol)... I came across this European broda Constantin (producer/singer/song-writer) & I dunno why his sound reminds me a lil of some old skool Jamiroquai but wiv more of an electro feel. He calls his style 'clean cut electro-pop' & he & co-producer Jaz 'Ill Child' Seehra are actively workin on the debut album but he indulged our pestering (lol) wiv this... 'London Girl', enjoy!





I love this song, it has that kinda Daft-Punk/Old Skool David Bowie/Depeche Mode feel to it & i hope you like it BUT if not, PLEASE do let us know!!!

And before I go, we've got some new FREE music from M.E.R.C.U.R.Y (Messenger Expressing Rhymes of Consciousness Unto Revolutionary Youths), Merc for short, Cali's Up & Coming Emcee. He released his debut E.P 'Because I Felt It' last week and its 5 tracks of that Hip-Hop you'll like. My favorite on the E.P is 'New Beginning' & if production on 'Ya Love It' can be tweaked a lil, it has 'SUMMER HIT' written all over it... you can download the whole thing for FREE here.

Until the next time...

Keep it G.O.O.D Music