Yeah. I’ve got a ton of them. Songs on my hard drives and ipod that some folks whose opinion I respect would probably be mortified at learning I love.

But if a song hits for you, it hits. That’s just how it is! You just can’t pick the song that grabs you! Its like love! It chooses you!

My latest guilty pleasure by my undercover Haitian brother, Usher. Sak pase, neg!

I wonder if they had Lambi at the wedding

He’s become a papa and has gotten married and divorced since his last “good” album (uh…did you hear/like Here I Stand? Didn’t think so. I did not want to make love in that club. Ew.). It is a safe bet to say he’s got a lot of material for his new album coming out in March, Raymond vs. Raymond.

So what do you do when you are fresh off a divorce and you’re young and wealthy and famous? Menage. a. Trois. As many as possible. Stipulate that any chick that wants to be ‘f*ckin with you’ gotta f*ck with you…and another chick.

Usher feat. Nicki Minaj-Little Freak (click to download)

So why do I like this song? The damn production on the track. You would think that anyone using Stevie Wonder in this day and age would be committing the worst form of sacrilege in my eyes but for some reason IT WORKS FOR THIS SONG. Why? I don’t know! Actually I do. Polow Da Don did a smart (possibly economical?) move using synths to recreate what he lifted [Living for the City] instead of just looping the original because he really creates something much bigger in one’s ears that way.

Second marriage pic? Perhaps!

Don’t get me wrong. The song isn’t perfect. I just cannot ride w/ Nicki Minaj just yet. Her voice is annoying to me. So are her odd modulations. I am unable. When I hear her voice all I can imagine is she probably pops her gum. Loudly. However, she is the newest chick on the scene so not putting her on a song would be dumb. I’m still trying to keep an open mind and ear for now. Listening to a mix on Hot 97 the other afternoon had me hearing what I *hope* was a solo Minaj song (I mean really can she get her own song?) and she actually sounded pretty good on it.

So yeah. Little Freak. A song that probably didn’t merit this much analysis but I did it anyway because I like it. Do you?

 
(photo by Joann Gomez)

Wow. I think after 20 days, I’m recovered. What a night!

Seriously, we (RareForm) do this every year because of the outpouring of love and support folks have for Dilla’s legacy. Its really amazing. We had no clue that when we did the first one at Galapagos Arts Space, that we’d be going strong four years later and beyond!

We raised $4,400 this year! That’s a thousand dollars more than we raised last year! The J Dilla Foundation is incredibly grateful and they are already putting that money to good use and have already located music programs that can benefit from the money!

While DJs Parler, Low Key, and myself held it down in the lounge, DJ Brainchild was absolutely killing it on the main stage with some live blends with some Ruff Draft acapellas he created. He did one with “Nothing Like This” which was really dope.

There was just a ton of great energy in the room when it came time to introduce ?uestlove and Dilla’s mother, Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey (!!!) to the crowd. ?uestlove literally stayed up all night to prep his set and performed in his pjs! The Roots recreated 70 something Dilla beats for the occassion, and we got to hear quite a few woven into ?uest’s set. It was truly a fitting tribute to a great friend of his and I’m glad he was willing to share it with the rest of us.

We are really forever indebted to ?uestlove for bringing Donuts are Forever to a whole other level.

Y’all really don’t want to hear any more of my take on it when you can see and hear a bit of what went down, do you? Of course not.

You can see some photos as well as video of Ma Dukes greeting the crowd on our Donuts Are Forever website.

And since I’ve been away so long, I’d like to do some penance by sharing with you some of the “sandwiches” of Dilla beats that The Roots recorded for ?uestlove’s set. You can download them here.

Finally, there are so many folks to thank and I’m going to try and do this now. We couldn’t do this without the help of: Brooklyn Bodega, DJ Parler, DJ Brainchild, DJ Lowkey, Okayplayer.com, Stones Throw Records, Hot Mop Films, Decon, Rule4080.com, Richard Louissaint, N. Corren Conway, Liz Allen, and Joann Gomez.

I’ll always have a Valentine as long as I have music. Come through to Fat Baby on Sunday. DJs Chela, Stimulus, Parler, and myself will be spreading the love in a friendly battle of the sexes.

Remember when you couldn’t wait for Tuesday? On pins and needles trying to get to the record shop on your lunch break and cop all the new stuff out? Yeah, those days are a thing of the past between iTunes, bootlegging/leaks, and just the decreasing presence of the ‘mom and pop’ record store.

Not to say there aren’t good albums dropping, but Tuesdays just don’t feel as special anymore. Is it just me?

Well today is a pretty exciting Tuesday because 3 dope albums drop today!***

First up is DJ Center-Everything in Time. DJ Center is one of my favorite DJs hands down. He spins soul, hip hop, reggae, and other international sounds effortlessly. His sets are inspiring and the crowd is always drawn in by the good vibes he creates with his sets.

It is no surprise that this carries over into his production. His latest album Everything in Time brings together some of the most cutting edge singers and MCs to create an album that satisfies everyone from the hip hop fan to the jazz enthusiast to lovers of Brazilian beats. I’m still getting through the album but I can tell you, its a journey.

Here is a song off the album courtesy of the gentlemen from ihearditon.com.

DJ Center feat Middle Child-In A Sound

You can purchase the album off iTunes.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock since November or so when it was revealed that this album would be dropping, you know today is also the release date for Sade’s latest album, Soldier of Love. I can’t say I am a fan of the title track, which is also the first single off the album. I thought it was a bit too literal (the military drums, the boot-camp like chants) but I’ve been anticipating this album nonetheless.

I mean really, can the woman really ever do wrong? Of course not every song of hers is a win but the quality of work she brings forth every time can’t be denied. I might have to start selling organs in anticipation of her upcoming tour dates because she is on my list of performers I need to see live before I die. I’ve seen both DVDs of her live performances from her tours with the albums Love Deluxe and Lover’s Rock and I’d love to be able to experience her show first hand.

I haven’t purchased the album yet, and I’m hesitant to post any links of leaked mp3s since they’ve been getting shut down faster than noisy bars on residential blocks. I have to say the two other tracks I’ve heard -Skin and The Moon and the Sky-are definitely more my speed.

So yeah, Soldier of Love. Cop that.

Also, Massive Attack snaps out of their five (!) year hiatus and drops Heligoland today. I haven’t heard it yet but all I know is that the track w/ Hope Sandoval is the TRUTH. You can download a dope remix of the track by Gui Boratto here.

For those wondering how this year’s Donuts Are Forever turned out, I have to say it was a HUGE success. We’re still wading through all the photos and press and finalizing the amount we raised from the evening. I’ll give a proper recap when I have more stuff to show. Thanks to all who came out!

***OK OK So I messed up. Earlier today this post only had 2 albums. I TOTALLY forgot Massive Attack dropped today. I should be flogged. Forgive me, Brother Numpsi.

Its time!

My third job involves throwing on and supporting dope events in NYC. This by far is our biggest event each year and is the one we hold dearest to our hearts: Donuts are Forever-our annual tribute to James Dewitt Yancey aka Jay Dee aka J.Dilla aka Dilla aka my most favorite producer/MC. This is the reason why my blog remains without updates for yet another week and rightly so-there’s a lot of work to be done and this year is going to be EPIC.

We finally were able to get Drummer/DJ/Producer/Bandleader/Music Director extraordinaire Questlove to DJ. If you’ve been following him on twitter (@questlove) you already know he’s literally in the studio prepping for this event. We also have some other suprises up our sleeves so if you can make it out, please do so. GET THERE EARLY.

I love our event because its also a great mix of folks who knew Dilla personally, as well as DJs and MCs who were personally influenced by his body of work, which was prolific during his short  time here on earth. This year I’m honored to be a part of the DJ lineup. I’ll try my best to honor the man who gave me so much enjoyable music.