The HighLife

Music for sunny days.  The sounds of Summer Vol. 1


Summer Vol. 1 Tracklist
Theme from a Summer Place - Percy Faith
European Comfort - GOTA
Dreadlock Holiday - 10 CC
One Nation Under Groove - Parliament Funkadelic
That Girl - Stevie Wonder
The More I Get - Consequence
When Everything Changed - Oddissee
Feelin' It - Jay-Z
Camera - Oddissee
Sounds G.O.O.D. 2 Me - Consequence

Happy Friday people!  I've been in a great mood all day and it seemed like a good idea to share some of the goodness.  I put up a few On Point posts last week about Dimitri from Paris and Fantastic Plastic Machine, that if you peeped will be a perfect segue into this contents of this post.   There have been a few new releases in the past few months that have got me pretty excited about life.  Mos Def's The Ecstatic, Brother Ali's US, Gossip's Music for Men, the second half of Jay-Z's Blueprint 3, and Ghostface Killah's Ghostdini, Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City, to name a few.   So for those who haven't been on top of their music game lately, here's a refresher course in what you've been missing.  Plus a few other gems from Saint Etienne, Syreeta, The Disco Biscuits, Ugly Duckling, and Pharcyde.  It's music to handle bidness to.   Welcome to The Jumpoff!

Business Related Affairs


That's all today.  Rock it out this weekend, or at least try to be creative.  Until next time, be easy.
-Afolabi

Hello people! Hope your day has been going swell.  Welcome to The Jumpoff!

A-Side
I stumbled on this song recently, and it brings back a lot of memories.  I remember, my friend Zach and I used to listen to this before every soccer game our senior year of high school.  We were actually pretty good that year, so i hear this with a fond ear.  It all seems like ages ago now, but it really wasn't that long ago.  Oh well, here's some nostalgia for you.  New Radicals - You get what you give


B-Side
George put up a post a few weeks ago about Eminem.  The leaked track, Crack a Bottle, which thoroughly disappointed me in its lack of anything good past the intro.  For redemption sake, I have since held off any judgment and been waiting to see what Em does next.  Fortunately for me, i came across this song in the interim to tide me over until the new album comes out.  Eminem ft Jay-Z - Renegade


Aaaand i'm spent.  That'll do it today.  Keep on keeping on.  Until next time, be easy.
Afolabi

The mashup was artfully compiled by Gareth's friend from New York, Minty Fresh. He was featured on MTV.com for his work.

"Do it"

Selections from the mashup of Jay-Z's American Gangster album with various Fela Kuti afrobeat selections.  Courtesy of  Mike Love.

Party Life

American Dreamin'

Sweet

Roc Boys

American Gangster

If you like what you're hearing, get the entire album here. Suppport independent music.

 

Yay! it's almost the weekend!! This is The Jumpoff, no need for formalities at this point.  So let's get to it. The first track today is a song that many people know, but this version is probably not that well-known.  From 1964, here's the original version of The Isley Brothers - Who's that Lady

As we proceed, here's an original of a song that's been sampled by a contemporary hiphop artist.  Bobby Blue Bland - Ain't no love in the heart of the city

We'll keep on moving with yet another different version of a very popular song.  This song was made famous by Marvin Gaye, but i found this version a while back and it blew my mind.  In my humble opinion, Marvin can't touch this performance.  From the live album LIVE! this is Donny Hathaway - What's goin' on

I really don't remember where i heard this song. i found an old napkin with some notes on it, and this gem was just chillin' right there.  Check out some youtube videos of this group if you get a chance, they're quite interesting.   The Undisputed Truth - Smiling Faces Sometimes

This next artist is relatively obscure, but i sometimes wonder why.  Especially for someone who released an album by the name of "Who is this bitch, anyway?" Talk about attention grabbing.  Anyhow, this is her 1969 version of a song by The Fifth Dimension. Marlena Shaw - California Soul

OK, i just had to. I really firmly believe that as much as music may change over time, it still really doesn't.  As this artist himself has been known to say, "it's so soulful!"  So here it is the before mentioned contemporary hiphop artist's take on this track. Jay- Z - Ain't no love (Heart of the City)

Well, that does it for today then.  Happy Thursday y'all!! 'Til next time, be easy.

Afolabi