“Woke, Leery “

True Vibe Records, based in Oakland, California, takes a bold stand on freedom and democracy as well as the plight of marginalized and disenfranchised people with the recent release of its single titled “Woke, Leery.”  Producer “BJ” (aka Bill Jackson) expands his contribution to this Socially-Conscious Multi-Genre (SCMG) music as a lead vocalist and gets things poppin’--performing dynamic spoken word and singing on this emotionally-charged track.  Over the polyrhythmic Afro-Latin beat with Hip-Hop, Jazz-Funk, and R&B influences, he promotes eternal vigilance and empowerment to overcome the challenges that many underdogs face in American society.

Bay Area hip hop star, D Labrie the E.O.G. (East Oakland’s Greatest), a representative of Hip-Hop Congress who often tours the U.S. and Asia, shows his lyrical mastery and poetic genius during the second verse of the song, as he comments on the state of affairs in America.  “Flip the script like an acrobatic actress.  Watch for the theatrics, we leery of their tactics.”  He also offers solutions for concerned people in the fight for equal opportunity for all.
 

“It’s OK to Be a Black Girl”

Paradise the Poet’s touching and brilliant spoken word piece, “It’s OK to Be a Black Girl” (related to the Crown Act regarding racial discrimination based on black hair styles), affirms the value of black women and encourages them to embrace natural hairstyles that don’t require dangerous hair-straightening chemicals and painful hot irons to straighten their hair just to be accepted in American society

Even though Paradise asserts “I’m not trying to tell anybody how to wear their hair,” he also encourages black women to ditch wigs, weaves, and extensions in favor of a natural look.  He says, “celebrate your uniqueness.”  But he also adds that “black hair so flexible that you can wear it any way you want to.”

Paradise is accompanied by virtuoso alto saxman Ben Ball, whose extra musical flavor makes this song a classic.

The stunningly gorgeous cover art was designed by Anna Moon.

“From the Bottom Up”

Hailing from True Vibe Records and chocked full of unpredictable melodies, chunky grooves, and plenty of stylistic flair, "From the Bottom Up" is an exciting slice of funk-laced Hip-Hop that is both wholly unique and wildly creative in its musical approach, giving listeners a track that feels distinct and refreshingly different with regard to its character. Fronted by gifted lyricist and vocalist DLabrie and produced by Bill Jackson, "From the Bottom Up" offers an eclectic mix of off-the-wall synth lines, rousing grooves, soulful backing vocal layers, and daringly adventurous harmonic progressions, ensuring "From the Bottom Up" is never short of an exciting moment or intriguing spark of creativity, resulting in a piece of songwriting that feels quite unlike anything I've encountered in the Hip-Hop genre before, and that's quite something!