Sound Check's Blog (479)

Bam! We told you about Wu-Tang Clan's new album to be released in July. You can now download previously unreleased (new?) track 'Execution in Autumn', produced by Frank Dukes. Not sure yet if it will be included on the album. Get it quick while it's free. You're welcome!…

R&B and soul took a dark turn when synths got good enough to almost realistically replicate the sound of a full orchestra in the late 80's. A sound more or less defined by raw human emotion and lush (AKA expensive) arrangements traded a big chunk of it's human element in exchange for “sure that sounds enough like a violin and just saved us a few hundred bucks in session fees!” So it's encouraging to see the triumphant return of the orchestra in R&B. The latest in this…

BIG BABYYY! It's another one from Queen's finest, BIG BABY GANDHI, better-than-your-average-favorite-rapper emcee with the super awesome new mini-tape "America Eats It's Babies". Compiled by Yuri Beats it wonder ride through celebrity personal politics, time and of course madonna.…

Purple Partying with Prince- Prince and 3

As an 80’s baby whose parents took her to see Prince play Madison Square Garden on the Purple Rain Tour, suffice to say my love affair with the brilliant, enigmatic musical genius began eons ago.…

OH.my.god. This is the banger of the day, possibly the month and MAYBE, even the year. It's the wobbly bang-bang from Stones Throw Records maniac DJ CX Kidtronik "Lady's Krak" which features the welcome additions of Lady Miss Kier and The Ladybug Mecca (yes, the one from Digable…

What a voice on our new discovery LadySoal! But she's not new to making music or spreading her powerful voice all over the world. You can check out her bio and more info and music over on …

P.O.S. has a crew, it's Marijuana Deathsquads, who are an indie improv clique of 3 or 4 drummers, programmers and various others contribute to the madness that is Marijuana Deathsquads.

By: Jon Jon Scott, AFROPUNK Contributor

Marijuana…

It's maybe weird to call yourself a fan of a band after only hearing one track, but that's how it went with American Fangs. The first time I heard “Le Kick” on the Afropunk Vol 2 comp I was hooked. I hunted for their album. But no luck. Since 2009 they've released a few singles and an EP and a WWE theme song because why the hell not?…

YES! The highly anticipated debut album "American Love" is out now and it's all the things we love about the Rabbits: It's funky as F, hella groovy, cheeky, Dua's vocals are CRAZY and the musicality is right.on.point! The ASS…

Are you in the mood for some "homopop, queercore, punk, non-college rock, bullshit"? Brooklyn-based band Aye Nako got just what you need with their new track 'For The Inverted'. Debut album 'Unleash Yourself' to be released on May 31.…

For those of you who were wondering if electro-punk-hip-hop band Death Grips were 1) still together and 2) planning on releasing new music, the answer is: yes and yes. In a recent statement, the band clarified a few things: "Zach is currently writing, directing and soundtracking an original feature film. The movie is of his own creation, fictionally based and not related to the group. The film will be soundtracked with all new Death Grips music. He is also working on and…

Did you know that Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and drummer Tony Williams were planning to record an album together? They also tapped Paul McCartney to play bass with them. The project didn't come to life but Associated Press reports some details about the telegram Hendrix sent to McCartney's camp…

There are some collaborations that seem like they'd make perfect sense on paper, and yet somehow fail to work. (I remember being so excited when I first heard that one of the 90's greatest singers - Chris Cornell - would be teaming up with the 90's greatest rhythm section - Rage Against the Machine - for what turned out to be the 2000's most meh band. No matter how good they may taste separately, nobody wants a peanut butter and goat cheese sandwich.) Then there are other…

THE FUNK IS BACK! We were stoked to hear some never-before-heard music from LA keytarist/DJ/Producer funk bruh, Dam Funk today! Although Dam has opt'ed out of releasing any free music for a while, you know he wasn't going to leave us hanging for too long. Check this super tight…

The Brand New Heavies came up in UK's Acid Jazz scene in the mid-80s. After adding lead singer N'Dea Davenport, they had a string of unimpeachable hits like “Never Stop,” and “Dream on Dreamer.” Their latest record Forward (due out May 21) is their first in 6 years and features N'Dea sharing lead vocals with new singer Dawn Joseph. I spoke with Jan and Simon about the new record and the legacy of…

What do you know about Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings? Did you check their new song "Retreat!"? It's a cut off their new album 'Give The People What They Want', to be released August 6th. If you pre-order the album on iTunes you'll get the track "Retreat!" immediately.…

Yuna breaks it down on her upcoming Sixth Street EP. "I Wanna Go" is a starlit song about young love! hile "Let Love Come Through" is a little more upbeat and…

Last night Red Bull Music Academy packed Glasslands Gallery in Williamsburg with event-goers, videographers and photogs as an eclectic mix of music…

At first glance one might take Janelle Monae’s new track Q.U.E.E.N. as a funky…

We went to see Danny Brown in NYC last night and it was the f-ing bomb.

By: Alexandria Gamlin

Photos by: Alex Kusak Smith 

I've been listening to Kush Coma since it's internet…