Sound Check's Blog Posts Tagged 'Interview' (19)

Vernon Reid is the legendary guitarist of the band Living Colour and the founder of the Black Rock Coalition. He'll be performing as part of a retrospective of the career of the late great poet, performer, and teacher Sekou Sundiata at the…

On a warm April afternoon, I walked over to the Daptone offices to meet soul singer Charles Bradley. Just a few blocks away from my apartment in northern Bed Stuy, the label office and studio are housed in an old Brooklyn brownstone. So unassuming, I nearly missed it. This is the famed Daptone records headquarters? I walked by three times before realizing where it was. Inside I met Charles. 64 and just getting started, the Screaming Eagle of Soul somehow matched the building. On…

Congrats to Badass Guitarist and Singer Malina Moye for her feature in Guitar Girl Mag. Guitar nerd talk, business talk, being a part of the Chuck Berry Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame tribute (with Chuck in attendance!) and more. Click here to read the interview.…

Jck Dvy made her name as the lead singer of synth-pop duo J*DaVeY. She's released her first solo record, a gritty lo-fi double EP fittingly titled L0-F!. The EP combines her innate pop sensibility with noisy overdriven guitars for something fresh. Stream the record below, and click here to check out the accompanying gorgeous full color eBook, which includes…

Party Animal is a new hardcore band featuring Kool AD of Das Racist. Their debut record drops later this month, and is one of my most anticipated records of 2013. I recently spoke with the band about DIY, punk rock, and moving out…

Husband and wife team Dessy Di Lauro and Ric'key Pageot have concocted a style of music they call “neo-ragtime.” Their latest album “This is Neo-Ragtime” (out Feb 5th) blends hip-hop, soul, RnB, and ragtime into a sound and style that looks back on the last 100 years of Black Culture while simultaneously looking forward. We spoke with them about their upcoming release, Black History Month, and the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance.…

Funky singer Andy Allo has had about as good a year as it gets. After landing a gig that most people would kill for--guitar and backing vocals in Prince's band--the singer from Cameroon has just released her latest solo record Superconductor. She recently spoke with Afropunk about her musical upbringing, the new record, and of course playing music with Prince.



Interview by Nathan…

After writing the book on hardcore on their first 3 records (while moonlighting as a tight reggae band on those same records), Bad Brains expanded their sound to include elements of thrash, funk, metal, and even a bit of hip-hop. Meanwhile their reggae tracks gradually switched from being breaks from face-pummeling hardcore to being the main attraction. By the time 2007's Build a Nation came out, the band's faster songs sounded more like an obligation than a passion. Where Build…

For 35 years (with a few notable breaks...) HR has served as the lead signer of the groundbreaking hardcore band Bad Brains. Patient zero for the Afropunk movement, Bad Brains' classic run from 1977-1985 produced 3 of the best hardcore records, period. The band's latest, Into the Future comes out November 20th.

Leading up to the interview, I admit I was more than a little nervous. Beyond being simply a legend and the singer for one of my favorite bands of all time, HR has a…

After she enjoyed the Afropunk Fest performances like the rest of us, AP member Olivia Haynes got a chance to catch up with hilarious mad scientist Reggie Watts and Alexis Brown of Metal band Straight Line Stitch.

They told her about what Afropunk means to them and what they have in store for us in coming months. Check it out.



(Straight Line Stitch photo by wagz2it/TimeOut NY)…

If you know your backpacker/indie hip-hop then you have heard of the rap duo Blackalicious. MC Gift of Gab is the tongue twisting, lyrical gymnast of Blackalicious and he is about to drop a solo disc entitled “Next Logical Progression”. As he gears up for a tour to support his new record, The Gift of Gab (aka Tim Parker) chatted with me about his latest musical offering.



Interview by…

Femi The DriFish started doing spoken word in the mid-90’s but recently switched over to his more alternative sound where his poetic skills still resound. He has shared the stage with KRS-ONE three times, traveled with Raheem Devaughn during the Slaminomics tour in the early 2000s, and opened for Saul Williams. Femi started to explore and evolve his own artistic imprint with Clown Without a Circus,…

According to the calendar it’s harvest time. All the hard work put in over the summer months shows itself as a bounty of good things to share with loved ones. I guess this applies to vegetables, but I’m talking about music. Bands put in countless summer sessions, tour in the most blazing of months and we in turn, get to enjoy the harvest of the beat. Phony Ppl are the 8 piece funk-hop R&B rock boys I was introduced to this summer. I dug them immediately and would play their…