Oakland-based True Vibe Records
has reached a new milestone, as it releases its newest and
hottest single yet, titled Give It
All U Got!It
will be on the album Mucho Mas Jazz Funk Hip
HoPoetry, and it will be released in 2012."
This will be the third in
a series of CDs,
following the highly-acclaimed Paradise Presents Jazz Funk HipHoPoetry
and “Jazz Funk Hip HoPoetry—Phaze
2.” Two
outstanding bonus tracks are also included with this new single.
As the title
suggests, according to True Vibe
Records
owner/ producer Bill Jackson,
“this fast, upbeat, inspirational song is a celebration of
life, encouraging people to live life to the fullest.”
And this phenomenal trailblazing track guarantees to thrill the
listening public with its unique dazzling mix of various genres
of music and performance art, including: Afro-Cuban/Latin Jazz,
R&B, Funk, Conscious Hip Hop, and Spoken Word.
A line up of
top flight artists affiliated with the non-profit organization
Urban VoicesCollectivewere recruited to lay down this slammin’ new joint. Elegant
songstress extraordinaire Shavone
Pickettgrabs your attention and engages you right away with her
dynamic, rapid fire delivery of the chorus, penetrating through
the fanfare of hard-accenting horns, pulsating funk-style bass,
and Latin rhythms. Then lovely and talented background
vocalists Chayla Smith, DerekahJayne,
and Ardra Taylor
pave the way for lead vocalist Bill
Jackson
to take this irresistible groove to new heights, as he and
Chayla
urge people to “Be real with ya self.”
Listeners get a
special treat as the red hot, new on the scene Salvadorian MCKalizay
(pronounced Cal-i-zay) prompts them to pursue their dreams and
aspirations with her smooth flow and exotic style of hip hop
lyrics in both Spanish and English. She also praises “my
brothers for breakin’ the cycle away from stereotypin’.”
Then the party continues as charismatic San Francisco Bay Area
slam poetry icon Paradise
captures your imagination with his lofty visions of a
“cultural world fair in Oakland”
and a “United States of
Africa.”
To take it on
home, accomplished pianist Ben Ball
(he plays other instruments too) and veteran tenor saxophonist
Melvin Bell
(both graduates of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in
Boston) really light spirits up on a high note with their
blazing solos, leaving you wanting more.
But that’s not
all! Two outstanding bonus tracks have been included to top it
off. Sensuous
songstress Shavone Pickettis featured running down a love theme along with special guest
sexy hip hop artist Wisdom(Meisha Page) and a spicy guitar solo by Jam ‘G
in this new rendition of the Reggae/ R&B/ Hip Hop mix titled
“I
Can” (Make You Love Me). On the last track, highly-acclaimed
featured vocalist RufusWonder
is joined by Chicago native Jam ‘Gplaying
a funky-style blues guitar, monster pianist
“Spiderman”
(Michael Robinson), and
virtuoso alto saxophonist Ben Ball
in this lively up tempo cover version of
Charles Brown’s
classic “Merry Christmas
Baby.”
In early 2008, True Vibe Records releasedJazz Funk Hip
HoPoetry-Phaze 2, the follow up to the
highly-acclaimed CD Paradise Presents Jazz Funk Hip
HoPoetry.
The Phaze 2
release, a CD double set, will also be the debut
for Oakland Ca.-based spoken word/hip hop group Sounds Of
Urban Life Soldiers or S.O.U.L.S., as the acronym
is spelled and their bulging fan base refers to them as. The
group members and song writers are poets Raquel Ramsey,
Keith Thompson,
and President L. Davis, rap and hip hop
artist Keldamuzik and songstress
Shavone Pickett. Together, they have a very
unique and diverse blend.
According to
TrueVibeRecords
owner and producer Bill Jacksonregarding
Phaze 2 he says, “as the genesis of the first CD was my
pilgrimage to Senegal’s Goree Island (a United Nations
historical site in West Africa which was a holding pen for
slaves), this music was born from the compelling social concerns
that continue in America and is musically upbeat funk with jazz,
hip hop, R&B and Caribbean influences.”
The lead single Squash It! featuring Keldamuzik with
guests D Labrie and Rufus Wonder
certainly supports the concept of “social concerns” as it
addresses the grave problem of violence in America’s urban
cities, and from early indications this seems to be the song
that radio will embrace and help Squash It! be a
part of the solution! Following that theme is On The
Street, outlining the conditions and perils in some of
our urban communities.
There are lighter
more playful moments on the CD as with All The Above
that again features Keldamuzik at the mic running
down a love and relationship theme. Then there is the
Caribbean-flavored I Can with vocalist Shavone Pickett delivering a very tender vocal with an
almost dancehall track. Associate ProducerJam
G "JR" Tall
intensifies the groove with his lead guitar riffs.
(He also was the chief sound engineer for this album.)
The jazz lover isn’t
forgotten here with contemporary tracks like The Man
Upstairs with its hip hop /trip hop feeling and a
scorching tenor sax lead from guest artist Ben Ball and thepulsating drum work from Lorca
Hart, son the legendary drummer
Billy Hart, and on What kind Of Dreams Have You whichfeatures guests such as the smooth-talking
percussionist/spoken word artist Bill Norwood,
renownedguitaristCalvin Keys,
pianistextraordinaireMichael “Spiderman”
Robinson, tenor sax man
Ben Ball again,and veteran drummer E.W.
Wainwright.This isa track
that swings with the best of them!
All three poets are
full of fire and earth moving emotion here addressing issues
such as fatherhood with the piece The Role of Men
by Keith Thompson and coming of age with Rites of Passage by President L. Davis,
while Raquel Ramsey delivers supremely and
passionately with a piece titled Connections and
again on the exalting Apology, a duet with bassist
Nelson Braxton (Braxton Brothers). There is
more contemporary conscious-raising spoken word from the three
poets of Sound Of Urban Life Soldiers on other
tracks as well.
This album also
showcases the talents of a host ofhighly-talented
and dynamic guest spoken word artists such as Roxanne
Hanna-Ware and poets Big Dan and
Alejandra Mojica running down a Latino perspective.
Jazz Funk Hip
HoPoetry- Phaze 2 is a well-balanced, well-crafted, and
cleverly-written collection of urban life experiences and
feelings delivered with the often pulsating bass line that locks
everything in place and drives it home. With all the tracks
above and more this will no doubt be a radio, retail and down
loading favorite!!
___________________________
This is what Urban Buzz Internet magazine
wrote:
"Sounds Like Life.
'Squash It!' is the anti-gun violence single by Sounds Of
Urban Life Soldiers 'Squash It!' is getting airplay at WJJN, KWZA, KJMH, WESE, WBAI and more!
Plus new this week
at WLYX! "Squash It!' is from the forthcoming CD, "Jazz Funk Hip
HoPoetry-Phaze 2" on
TrueVibeRecords."
