STREETNOTES!
Manu Dibango
The most widely known musician from the French West African nation of Cameroon, Manu Dibango was one of the pioneers of world music in the early 1970s and remained one of the most internationally celebrated African musicians into the mid-1990s. The Boston Globe considered his 1994 hit Wakafrika to be his “best album in [...]

STREETNOTES!
Omar
Omar has just re released  “Sing [If You Want It]“, on Tru Thoughts Records, the British soul supremo’s sixth and perhaps funkiest album so far. Featuring guest appearances from Stevie Wonder, Angie Stone, Common, Estelle, Rodney P, JC Bentley, Canitbe and Ashman, and with additional production from Omar’s brother, Scratch Professer, it’s a brilliant collection [...]

STREETNOTES!
Alton Ellis - King of Rocksteady
Alton Ellis was born into a musical family in Trenchtown, Kingston. He was the older brother of reggae singer Hortense Ellis and at the end of his life father of 20 children including Noel Ellis.
He grew up being a good dancer and winning some dance contests at Vere Johns’ [...]

STREETNOTES!

Osunlade
Osunlade is a gifted and respected deep house / nu - jazz producer and DJ. Growing up in a musical environment, he knew music would rule his life. As a teenager in the 70s, he joined the cast of Sesame Street and later began producing music for the show. An ordained priest of the African [...]

STREETNOTES!
Lou Bond
Misplaced on the We Produce imprint of the legendary Stax label, soulful troubadour Lou Bond never received the recognition befitting his talent and the strength of his recordings. A voice of conscious strumming an acoustic guitar with a magnetic vocal delivery, Bond should have taken his rightful place among his more lauded peers during [...]

STREETNOTES!
Martha High & Speedometer
Martha High’s impeccable soul credentials are beyond question. She was a member of The Jewels, who in the mid 60s were part of The James Brown Revue, and also released two 45s produced by James Brown. Although The Jewels eventually disbanded, Martha continued to be a part of the live James Brown [...]

STREETNOTES!
The Wonderful Ms. Ann Sexton!
Born In Greenville,South Carolina Mary Ann Sexton was raised by a family influenced by gospel music. As a child she sang in her church choir and spent her adolescent and teenage years  singing in school and winning talent shows. In 1967 Ann recorded her first song. She was featured on a [...]

STREETNOTES!
Szjerdene
Born and raised in the Hackney neighborhood of North London, 23-year-old Szjerdene (pronounced JhurDEEN) has quietly commanded the attention of music lovers, journalists and artists.
Citing Mariah Carey as her sole childhood inspiration, Szjerdene credits the superstar with introducing her to a life-long love of music. “I listened to her most of my childhood,” she reveals, [...]

STREETNOTES!
Ojos De Brujo -
UrbanWorld Records and Al Lindrum have released  “Ojos De Brujo Reworked”, a remix compilation of the music of Grammy award-winning, Spanish flamenco-fusion group, Ojos De Brujo.
Throughout the past ten years, Ojos De Brujo have represented the freshest fusion of flamenco and urban music. By staying true to their Catalan roots, they [...]

STREETNOTES!
Sixto Rodriguez
I edited down an interview Sixto did for the London Telegraph this week.
I first heard his debut album “Cold Fact” when it was re-released last year: that the only thing more amazing than the record – a fried, hazy, gloriously tuneful, psychedelic folk rock classic to rank with “Love’s Forever Changes” – is the [...]