Aloe Blacc, Jennifer Hudson, Ed Sheeran, Nicki Minaj and The Roots performed at the Wawa Welcome America on July 4th, hosted by Marlon Wayans. Joining The Roots were Philly R&B singer Bilal and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Earlier last week, Aloe Blacc stopped by WXPN to record a session for an upcoming World Cafe with David Dye.
Below, watch the July 4th Jam in its entirety via VH-1.
Union Transfer welcomes North Carolina soul singer Lee Fields to its stage tonight. Over his impressive 43-year career, Fields has released multiple albums and inspired generations of R&B singers. His most recent effort Faithful Man was released last year via Truth and Soul Records. Fields recorded the album with the label’s house band The Expressions who also accompany his live sets. Get tickets to the show here and watch his video for “You’re The Kind Of Girl” below.
Philly native Bilal (who now resides in Brooklyn) spent much of the aughts with only one album to his name, 2001’s lauded 1st Born Second. Things picked up again in 2010 with Airtight’s Revenge and last February A Love Surreal, last February, and Bilal has once again begun getting out there as both a performer with an imaginative and distinctive style (see the above artwork from Surreal). This week Mikael Colombu, who has directed music videos for artists such as The Weeknd and Cee Lo, uploaded his own fan-made video of Bilal live in Paris. The video features Bilal performing a ten minute long jam of “Slipping Away” off his new album. After a few minutes of warming up, Bilal really cranks it, showing his incredible vocal range as he dashes around the stage. Below, check out what may be the best iPhone concert video you’ll ever see.
Philadelphia native Bilal will release his new album A Love Surreal on February 26th but you don’t have to wait that long to listen to the record in full – NPR is currently streaming the funky R&B effort in their First Listen feature. Bilal, who quickly fell into the Soulquarians scene with The Roots, Erykah Badu and D’Angelo in New York City after graduating from Philadelphia’s High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, smooths his funky style with bright, psychedelic overtones on this latest effort while the lyrics explore the many facets of love. Stream “West Side Girl” below and stream the full record here.
New York experimental rock band Psychic Ills headline Johnny Brenda’s tonight. The psychedelic-infused outfit recalls the distorted and distressed, laidback sound of early Kurt Vile with lo-fi vocals and hypnotic arrangements that seem on the verge of exploding. Psychic Ills will be releasing One Track Mind on February 19th via Sacred Bones Records, following up 2011’s Hazed Dream. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Nothing and Mike Bruno & The Black Magic Family Band can be found here. Stream “Might Take A While” from the upcoming record below.
Over the course of his excellent career, musician, producer and songwriter Bilal has taken elements of R&B, funk, and hip-hop and mixed them together with fantastic results. His soon to be released new album, A Love Surreal (out on February 26th), continues to build on his career. Bilal has his record release party at World Cafe Live on Wednesday, February 13th. Go here for tickets and more information about the show. Below, listen to the ridiculously funky “West Side Girl.”
Listening to Aaron and the Spell‘s new full-length Sing, you can tell that songwriter Aaron Brown pulls from a large pool of influences. The primary sound is soul, for sure, but there’s a lot more going on than just that. We asked Aaron put together a video playlist of artists that have shaped him as a songwriter. Here are his picks.
Wilco “Side With the Seeds”
“I am a huge fan of Wilco and was so excited to see them at the XPoNential Music Festival. They definitely seep into my music (especially this song).”
Nina Simone “I Love You Porgy”
“Maybe my favorite musician ever. This is the tune that first broke Nina to a wider audience and it happened in Philadelphia! I believe she used to live in West Philly for a time. I’m always walking Philadelphia hoping to bump into one of her relatives still living here.” Continue reading →
Yesterday The Roots released their new album undun. It’s not every day that bands need to work their “day jobs” when they release a new album, however last night The Roots performed songs from the album on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Below, watch “The Other Side,” and “Tip The Scale.” That’s Bilal singing with the band and on “Tip The Scale” they were also joined The Metropolis Ensemble and pianist D.D. Jackson, who performed with ?uestlove during the Philly Paris Lockdown. On this performance of “The Other Side,” the band expand on the studio version with an energetic back and forth between Bilal and guitarist “Captain Kirk” Douglas that you don’t want to miss.
The Roots premiered the first of a series of new videos for songs from their forthcoming album undun on Okayplayer yesterday. The album is being released on December 6th. From Okayplayer:
Here is the first of four videos from The Roots undun, the next three to be released at 12:06pm the next three Tuesdays leading up to release on 12/06. Watch the clip for “Make My” above and stay tuned for “Stomp” next week.
Okayplayer also premiered a new video from the husband-wife soul music duo Kindred The Family Soul. The video is the song “Take A Look Around” from their album Love Has No Recession. The video features Philly’s Bilal and BJ The Chicago Kid. Watch the video below.
