Erykah+badu

Black Radio, the title of the Robert Glasper Experiment's proper Blue Note debut, is a double signifier. There's the dictionary's definition: "the device in an aircraft that records technical data during a flight, used in case of accident to discover its cause." And there's Angelika Beener's in her liner essay. She defines Black Radio as "representative of the veracity of Black music" which has been "…emulated, envied and countlessly re-imagined by the rest of the world…." With jazz as its backbone, Glasper, drummer Chris Dave, bassist Derrick Hodge, and Casey Benjamin on reeds, winds, and vocoder, cued by the inspiration of black music's illustrious cultural past, try to carve out a creative place for its future…

Macy Gray's unique, sandpapery voice–something of a cross between Erykah Badu and Eartha Kitt–and her mixing of vintage soul values with a more contemporary sound, earned her a 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for the song "I Try"). LIVE IN LAS VEGAS captures Gray performing three years later, on November 18, 2004 at the Vegas venue House of Blues…

Alicia Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, made a significant impact upon its release in the summer of 2001, catapulting the young singer/songwriter to the front of the neo-soul pack. Critics and audiences were captivated by a 19-year-old singer whose taste and influences ran back further than her years, encompassing everything from Prince to smooth '70s soul, even a little Billie Holiday…

Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums celebrates the timeless artistry of an American master. The set includes the nine albums that Bill released between 1971 through 1985…