H.I.S.D. (Hueston Independent Spit District) - The District (2008)

Brinig you something from Houston. 8 members crew H.I.S.D. (Hueston Independent Spit District) brought back progressive styles of Digable Planets and De La Soul in their own flavour. They are band that underground Hip Hop scene needed. Realy good album that pays homage to the H.I.S.D. hometown with intellectually-minded, straight ahead hip-hop. Even, Ahmir "Questlove" Thomspon has already endorsed this crew on okayplayer website calling them "The next best thing in Hip Hop".

.

Tracklist:

1. A District Story
2. Only A Fool
3. Spitterlude
4. Jussayin'
5. Show Up & Po Up (Yung Boi)
6. 2 Strong
7. Cold World
8. Galleria Chix
9. 3 Story House
10. No More
11. Recess (U & Me)
12. The City
13. Cold Lingo
14. Runnin'
15. Cowboys
16. Paper Bag Rap
17. Pay As You Go Flow
18. Peace Uv Mine Experience Pt. 1
19. The District

buy here

ROBERT GLASPER - Double Booked (2009)

Great work from Robert Glasper, one of our favorite new artists on Blue Note in years, a hell of a great piano player, with a fluid groove that just gets better and better with each new record!! Glasper has a way of warming us up right away, sliding into a compelling piano line that holds us rapt, and really takes us on a journey, a bit like the best work of Bheki Mseleku back in the 90´s, but with an undercurrent of funkier NY modes too!! Half the record features Robert in trio format, playing both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes, and the rest of the set moves into "experiment" tracks that bring in Casey Benjamin on saxes, plus some electric bass, and very funky drums from Chris Dave, who also plays on the trio numbers. Mos Def makes a vocal appearance on one track, and Bilal appears on two more, but our favorite grooves are always from Glasper's keyboards, especially his acoustic piano!!

Tracklisting:

The Robert Glasper Trio
1. Intro
2. No Worries
3. Yes I'm Country (And That's Ok)
4. Downtime
5. 59 South
6. Think Of One

The Robert Glasper Experiment
7. 4eva
8. Butterfly
9. Festival
10. For You
11. All Matter
12. Open Mind

Buy Here

JASPECTS - Polkadotted Stripe (2009)

There's plenty to love in the music of Jaspects, a groove that's fresh, instrumentation that's real, and a solid, soulful sound all the way through!! The group have a wonderful way of mixing Jazz with heavier rhythms, a dose of Hip Hop production, yet never in ways that kill the instrumental sensitivity of the group, nor the warmer Soul of their lyrics. Keyboards figure heavily on most numbers, bumping along with the beats, but always keeping things cool, and there's kind of a slow-bubbling groove to the record that makes for a real change from other sets of this nature. Things are somewhat more cosmic than before, yet never too spacey, and the set marks a great leap forward for the group, who should hopefully reach a big new audience with this release!!

Tracklisting:

1. 2012 feat. Janelle Monae
2. Fallin'
3. Polkadotted Stripes
4. Play On
5. Unifunk
6. Like a Drum
7. Be Your Man
8. Find My Way To Love (Chantae Cann)
9. Chuck Jones
10. Liquid Sounds (Pj Morton)
11. 1963

Buy Here