WE love G.O.O.D Music! & not just that mainstream music either! We love... anything really & from anyone too! If it sounds GOOD, we'll plug it (plug = spread the word lol)! We aim to bring 2 U G.O.O.D music that radio doesn’t play... that U won't hear anywhere!
Independent singer, songwriter, composer and producer Muhsinah - pronounced Mu•see•na - is back after a long break away from the music scene with a brand new fourth EP titled GONE which she recently released on July 20 for her 28th birthday. The Washington DC native has already performed in front of President Obama at his homecoming inaugural ball in 2009 alongside veteran Chicago rapper Common and has also been nominated for a "Best Vocal Performance" Grammy Award for her work with Hip-Hop/Soul duo The Foreign Exchange. You simply cannot categorize Muhsinah into one genre or box as I found out when I listened to Gone. I found it difficult to place her but after listening to her a few time, I came to the following conclusion: her music and production are very much Electronica/Indie/Experimental but her vocals and lyrics are 100% Soul music and it's therefore no surprise that Muhsinah's dexterity and style have attracted many audiences and acknowledgments such as this one from Radiohead's front man, Thom Yorke.
The best ones are unsigned… This is my professional and one might add very opinionated position. I have been doing this for about two years now, receiving music daily from people across the globe and this is just what I have found. The music industry as we have it now will be so much better, if we could get a lot of our unsigned artists signed and on the radio. Maybe then radio stations will not have to repeat the same songs every hour on the hour
But I digress... If there is one sect that is particularly lacking in the industry right now, it’s the R&B sector - more precisely the female R&B sector. They seem to have died with the start of the new decade, giving way to only Pop artists and left it all - R&B music I mean - to their male counterparts. In this artist I plug to you today, there is definitely cause to be hopeful, we have a revival on our hands people, “R&B’s back” – said in my best Rick Ross imitation.
If you are interested in new age electronica music or just some good electronic band music then listen up because Solar Taxi is the band for you. I am one to listen to all different types of music so finding out about Irish band Solar Taxi was amazing. The instrumentation of their songs make them stand out from most other electronica bands and sets them in a league of their own. Imagine a band that hold onto their electronica roots but with a dash of pop, a hint of alternative, a touch of folk - and there you have Solar Taxi.
Solar Taxi is a 4-piece Irish band made up of superb vocalist Aisling Browne, Peter Vogelaar - on bass and production, John Foley on drums and Jamie O'Hallorohan on lead guitar. The band came to life properly in 2010 with a relentless string of tours and gigs all over Ireland as well as the release of a number of singles and remixes which have gotten thumbs up from the likes of Tom Findlay of popular electronic duo Groove Armada and legendary electronic producer/DJ and remixer Timo Maas.
Emerging South London emcee AKS is no stranger to us at We Plug Good Music, having previously performed at one of our 'One Mic' live music showcases and featured on our critically acclaimed 2010 Prelude to the Future compilation mixtape but he's yet to grace the illustrious pages of the We Plug Good Music review website until now that is, because with the music that this young lyricist is creating these days, it's hard not to plug AKS to you. We would not be doing our jobs properly and if we're about anything, we are about doing our jobs properly!
AKS first came on our radars when we saw him perform with his Midas Touch collective two years ago and firmly when we got to hear debut mixtape - 2009's A Miracle in the Making - which saw the newcomer add his unique rap verses to a wide variety of popular songs from Lily Allen's "The Fear" to Hudson Mohawke's "Overnight" to 88 Keys' "Stay Up" and us certainly paying him ample attention at this point. With the release of his latest opus however - the 8-track debut EP The Bus Stop - AKS does much more than fulfil the promise he showed on his previous outing, he succeeds in putting together a timeless body of work that is seamless, cohesive and well crafted but also very personal, intimate and compelling - highlighting his song-writing dexterities, well honed delivery, amazing ear for production and refreshingly mature and relatable subject matter.
As we usually do in here and because we always have the good music to back us up, you don't just have to take my word for it SO without further ado, let's delve into the music, shall we?
"If I'm nothing more than ordinary then I'm nothing less than necessary"
What you just heard is my favourite song right now from The Bus Stop EP. The song is titled "Truth be Told (I, I, I)" and it features the beautiful vocals of emerging UK soul singer Kadija Kamara with production from P.Y of Our Music. The rich bass guitar and keyboard-driven musical arrangement laced with percussion drums and lush vocal harmonies from Ms. Kamara provides AKS with the ample canvass to paint the perfect picture of his struggle for artistic integrity and staying true to doing what he loves above anything else. It doesn't get more real or relatable to me than this song right here.
This next song you're about to hear is titled "House Called Home" and everybody born and/or living in diaspora should especially be able to relate to this. The Chemo-produced second single from The Bus Stop EP sees the British-born Nigerian rapper eloquently put into a song, his feeling of displacement and seclusion stemming from being removed from what seems to be or rather is his natural and rightful "home". Beginning poignantly with a vocal sample of Enoch Powell's infamous Rivers of Blood speech and closing with a warm dual-request for AKS to return "home", "House Called Home" is backed by a bass-heavy keyboard line, complimentary guitar strings and minimalistic kick drum patterns. Listen below.
Now unto the title track from AKS's The Bus Stop EP aptly titled "The Bus Stop" which was made popular when AKS took to popular online music platform The Cordless Show to perform this record last year. Markedly different from the live performance version, this Nutty P-produced keyboard-driven studio version flanked by bold drum kicks and complimentary hand claps is a honest and sombre but yet auspicious (which especially pours over into the following record titled "Worth Waiting For") start to the The Bus Stop EP which sees AKS reflect over the pessimism and uncertainties surrounding pursuing his music career and sets the entire EP off the right way as we find out whether or not he will take that bus... Listen below.
"Sometimes I Feel Like I Should Have Never Picked The Pen Up..."
As a final foray into our review of AKS's debut EP, allow me to share with you one more song from this 8-track - "The Bus (Outro)" is the final track of the EP and a perfect conclusion to this compelling 30-minute musical journey AKS takes us on and it is over this stripped down version of Nutty P's production from the above track ("The Bus Stop") you just heard that we finally find out whether AKS takes the bus or not. Why don't I just let you listen to it?
Truth be told, we could have easily picked the other four songs from the EP and used those for this review and the outcome would still be nothing short of a glorious review because the other songs that make up The Bus Stop EP are certainly not lacking in any regard.
The Self Taught Beats-produced "Worth Waiting For" is an mid-to-up tempo soulful Hip-Hop number backed by a superb combination of live instrumentation brought together beautifully by glorious bass licks and a lush underlying violin arrangement while "The Monologue" is a straight 3-minute lyrical assault from the London-based emcee packed with punchline after punchline after punchline and some seriously sick wordplay and in addition, the rock-infused "Soul is Sold" as well as the lustful "Blame It On Her" are as good as any of the preceding songs you've just heard and certainly not just on this EP to make up the numbers. You'd be hard pressed to find a skippable song on The Bus Stop EP.
What I am saying essentially if I haven't already made myself clear is this - The Bus Stop EP is one EP you reallneed to get plugged into. You really do not want to miss out on such amazing music. It is certainly already one of my EP's of the year. Get your copy below.
Earlier today (January 9th), UK-based singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran officially released his latest project, 'No. 5 Collaborations Project' on iTunes, an 8-track EP of Folk, Acoustic, Grime & Hip-Hop infused good music featuring some of the best & his favourite rappers in the UK Grime/Rap scene and we had to make sure you don't miss out on this kinda goodness BUT if you're reading this and wondering who the hell Ed Sheeran is (as some of you might), then lemme introduce you to one of the BEST & brightest fast-rising artists in the UK!
Ed Sheeran is an emerging UK Folk singer/songwriter who came into much prominence in 2010 after appearing on UK Urban media outlet, SB.TV and since then, has become somewhat of an 'Urban Cult Classic' here in the UK with the President of Universal Records, Monte Lipman flying him out to New York for a showcase back in the Summer and none other than US R&B star Jamie Foxx co-signing Mr. Sheeran while out there. His gigs in 2010 have all been sold-out & he was a support act for Exmple on his UK tour but let's not be fooled, Ed Sheeran is NOT entirely the new kid on the block. He's been hard on his musical grind for well over 5 years now, with his début album coming as far back as 2006 and 5 EPs under his belt since 2005. Ed Sheeran was at the TOP of my 'new' artists of 2010 list and with the 'No. 5 Collaborations Project', I think he shows you just why he is & should be kind of a BIG deal but I'll spare you the rhetoric and let the music speak for itself!
What you just heard is a track titled 'Radio' which features UK Grime veteran, JME on the verses and Ed Sheeran along with long time co-producer Jake Gosling providing the amazing musical backdrop for this song (as with all of the EP). Can I just say that I LOVE this song and it's gotta be hands down my favourite song off of the EP. On this, JME & Ed Sheeran (hook & bridge) painstakingly & beautifully let us in on the perils of 21st century mainstream radio and the power of the greatly sought after 'radio playlist'. It's a beautifully crafted song and JME pours his heart and frustration out eloquently without ever sounding preachy or fake. I just LOVE it... A perfect 10!
This one's called 'Goodbye To You' and it features emerging grime artist, Dot Rotten. I really really like this song and I've got it on repeat for the longest time. Now typically I doubt that I'd ever actively seek out to listen to Dot Rotten as I'm not a huge fan of his but on this song, he is the epitome of sheer brilliance! The deep, retrospective style of his verses draw you in to the realness, pain, remorse & truth his words embody. Something has to be said about Ed Sheeran's songwriting and music-making ability, he crafted out each of these songs with each rapper/emcee in mind and it's NO wonder that Dot Rotten does brilliantly on this, the song feels and sounds like it was made for him and him only but let's not take anything away from Dot Rotten, he brings this song to life with his emotionally-drenched verses & serves as a beautiful closing track to the EP... 2 for 2 on amazingness from the 'No. 5 Collaborations Project'
The final song I'll be sharing with you is 'Little Lady' featuring emerging UK Hip-Hop artist, Mikill Pane. If you knew Ed Sheeran before this then this song already sounds familiar to you as 'Little Lady' is the remix of Ed's 2010 smash single 'The A-Team' off of the very beautiful 'Loose Change' EP. On this, Mikill Pane adds his EXCELLENT story-telling skill and ability to an already brilliant song and dare I say, makes it BETTER! Mr. Pane brings a new dimension to this song and when I first heard his verses over this (especially that 3rd verse), I was close to tears and that goes to show the realness of his lyrics. The detail in his story-telling and his carefully crafted choice of words bring the song to life and it's as if you're right there in that room and you wanna do something, you really wanna do something but you can't... Beautifully told!
'No. 5 Collaborations Project' is beautiful music! The more you listen to it, the better it gets and the fusion of Folk & Acoustic music with Grime/Hip-Hop music is genius and serves a real delight but some traditional fans of Ed Sheeran and those who fell in love with the 'Loose Change' EP may be weary of this EP and the direction it takes but I will say that they should trust it's creator because he's poured his heart & soul into this which shows from every side of this EP and it looks like his fans agree with me as at the time of publishing this, 'No. 5 Collaborations Project' seats at #9 on the iTunes UK album chart and at #1 on the iTunes UK Singer/Songwriters chart. On the other hand, staunch fans of Grime will flock to this and absolutely love it as Ed succeeds in showing some of it's (Grime) usual suspects in a new and different light, in a more accessible way if I may be so bold. 'You' featuring Wiley as well as 'Lately' featuring Devlin stand out also as foreseeable favourites amongst Grime fans.
This EP works & all in all, the 'No. 5 Collaborations Project' is a very GOOD body of work filled with amazing vocals, musical backdrops to die for + hard-hitting emotional lyrics and it's worth every penny... You really need to get this EP!
Wow! Before I go on I would like to apologise for stalling on plugging this particular band to you. The thing is; I have been waiting for the perfect time to put this up but I just realised that the time might never come. Truth be told I am not a big fan of Alternative music, but then again, when it is good music, my ears have got to listen ... So without further ado, iPresent to you THE FIFTH MEMBER!
The Fifth Memberis a band made up of Louis Ktisti, Marek Razzouk, Nick Treloar and Oliver Gorrie. Like most other bands, they all share responsibility in the band's music production, as they all each play an instrument (as you would). I love the fact that I can't really put my finger on the exact sound of music that they make, so I'm going to stick to it being rock music.
The band have not always been called The Fifth Member however, they were formerly called Attic Noise but due to copyright issues, they had to look for a more suitable name. Sort of how every time you plug in your earphones to listen to the band, you become the fifth member; this notion is what unearths the logic behind the new name The Fifth Member...
Now down to the music; This first track is called "Eyes" & unlike alot of songs you hear today, this track draws you into the mind and core of the band even before you here any vocals. Marek Razzouk, the lead singer has a very distinct voice that makes you love the song even more. The chorus has that bittersweet tune to it...
"He looks into the darkness of her eyes but he cant seem to say what she wants to despise... he'd never know until he dies"
Yeah! Unto the next one. You trust us to always bring you more than one song, so as per usual, here's another one for your perusal. This track is a special dedication to Biggie Smalls (R.I.P) & thats especially why I'm plugging it apart from the fact that its GOOD MUSIC of course, lol. The song is called "Everybody's Gotta Go" and what I like is the way they transformed the tune, you would be forgiven for not remembering the track that they cover.
You know what they say about leaving the best for last? Well trust me to do the same... When I sent this particular tune to the boss, it stuck to him like a leach. It is the type of track that gets you involved, Jheez!! The dude on the guitar (Louis Kristi) is amazing with the vocals to match the quality of the strings, when you listen to the track you'll understand what I'm trying to say.
"if I stay then I'll stay, but if I go, no I wont always be the same"
Well, you've heard The Fifth Member, what can I say? #TeamUk!
