PopMatters is moving to WordPress. We will publish a few essays daily while we develop the new site. We hope the beta will be up sometime late next week.
Tags
Music

50 Years Ago B.B. King's 'Indianola Mississippi Seeds' Retooled R&B

B.B. King's passion for bringing the blues to a wider audience is in full flower on the landmark album, Indianola Mississippi Seeds.
Recent
Music

Otis Junior and Dr. Dundiff Tells Us "When It's Sweet" It's So Sweet

Neo-soul singer Otis Junior teams with fellow Kentuckian Dr. Dundiff and his hip-hop beats for the silky, groovy "When It's Sweet".

Music

The Masonic Travelers Offer Stirring Rendition of "Rock My Soul" (premiere)

The Last Shall Be First: the JCR Records Story, Volume 1 captures the sacred soul of Memphis in the 1970s and features a wide range of largely forgotten artists waiting to be rediscovered. Hear the Masonic Travelers "Rock My Soul".

Music

Kirby Sybert's Soulful Live Take on "My Maker" (premiere)

Captured live at Philadelphia's Johnny Brenda's, Kirby Sybert breathes new life into "My Maker" from his LP, Happy People Make Happy Things.

Music

Tikyra Jackson's Empowering "No More Fear" Comes to Video (premiere)

Southern Avenue drummer and backing vocalist, Tikyra Jackson offers a new video for "No More Fear". "My intention is to show that I stand and rejoice in my identity."

Music

Georgia Anne Muldrow's New Jyoti LP 'Mama, You Can Bet!' Is a Revelation

Jyoti's Mama, You Can Bet! is a revelation -- of time, of rhythm, of sound. It takes the free-ranging jazz sensibilities of Georgia Anne Muldrow's previous outings under the Jyoti moniker and gives them a next-level boost.

Music

Gregory Porter Creates Another Collection of Soul-Jazz Gems on 'All Rise'

All Rise is another diamond in Gregory Porter's catalog of precious gems. There is studied wisdom, a graceful sagaciousness that accompanies the tracks.

Music

Sola Rosa and Thandi Phoenix Are Onto "Something Good" with Their Soulful New Single

New Zealand dance producer Sola Rosa teams with rising soul singer Thandi Phoenix for the upbeat, discofied, joyful, and positive "Something Good".

Music

Bette Smith Offers Ear-Razing "I'm a Sinner" (premiere +interview)

Soul singer Bette Smith teamed with Matt Patton of Drive-by Truckers for new album, The Good, the Bad and the Bette, that strikes several deeply personal chords. Hear her latest blistering single, "I'm a Sinner".

Music

"Let the Sunshine In" with Tony-Winning Legend Melba Moore

After blazing trails at the Met and in the Broadway cast of Hair, Melba Moore reflects on her groundbreaking career while celebrating a pair of new gospel and dance releases.

Music

Soul Legend Bettye LaVette Gets Jazzy on New Covers LP 'Blackbirds'

Bettye LaVette offers jazzy interpretations of past classics on Blackbirds.

Music

Soul's Busty and the Bass Talk to Their Younger Selves on 'Eddie'

Macy Gray and George Clinton contribute to Montreal-based soul collective Busty and the Bass' smooth R&B based sounds on new album Eddie.

Music

Blues Legend Bobby Rush Reinvigorates the Classic "Dust My Broom" (premiere)

Still going strong at 86, blues legend Bobby Rush presents "Dust My Broom" from an upcoming salute to Mississippi blues history, Rawer Than Raw, rendered in his inimitable style.

Music

Jamila Woods' "SULA (Paperback)" and Creative Ancestry and Self-Love in the Age of "List" Activism

In Jamila Woods' latest single "SULA (Paperback)", Toni Morrison and her 1973 novel of the same name are not static literary phenomena. They are an artist and artwork as galvanizing and alive as Woods herself.

Music

The Devonns' Debut Is a Love Letter to Chicago Soul

Chicago's the Devonns pay tribute the soul heritage of their city with enough personality to not sound just like a replica.

Music

Finding the Light: An Interview with Kathy Sledge

With a timeless voice that's made her the "Queen of Club Quarantine", Grammy-nominated vocalist Kathy Sledge opens up her "Family Room" and delivers new grooves with Horse Meat Disco.

Music

Soul Blues' Sugaray Rayford Delivers a "Homemade Disaster" (premiere + Q&A)

What was going to be a year of touring and building Sugaray Rayford's fanbase has turned into a year of staying home and reaching out to fans from his Arizona home.

Music

The Greyboy Allstars Rise Up to Help America Come Together with 'Como De Allstars'

If America could come together as one nation under a groove, Karl Denson & the Greyboy Allstars would be leading candidates of musical unity with their funky new album, Como De Allstars.

Music

John Fusco and the X-Road Riders Get Funky with "It Takes a Man" (premiere + interview)

Screenwriter and musician John Fusco pens a soulful anti-street fighting man song, "It Takes a Man". "As a trained fighter, one of the greatest lessons I have ever learned is to walk away from a fight without letting ego get the best of you."

Music

A Look Back at the Troubled Sessions for James Booker's Final Album, 'Classified'

Producer Scott Billington remembers capturing New Orleans piano legend James Booker's final, troubled days as a performer."One night he might wander around the club, staring at the ceiling, or he might get up and imitate Woody Woodpecker."

Music

Bobbie Gentry's Neglected Masterpiece 'The Delta Sweete' Returns

Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete has been hailed as a lost and unjustly ignored masterpiece. Now it's finally being reissued after more than 50 years with ten bonus cuts.

Music

Counterbalance 26: Prince - 'Sign o' the Times'

Prince’s 1987 Sign o' the Times was His Royal Badness’ second double LP. Counterbalance discuss this critics’ darling over starfish and coffee.

Music

Danielle Ponder and Karate Boogaloo Stand in Solidarity with BIPOC on "Look Around" (premiere)

Danielle Ponder and Karate Boogaloo join forces for "Look Around", a harrowing slice of classic soul that observes the present state of the world.

Music

Going Beyond the Neutron Dance with Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters

Ruth Pointer reflects on her multi-faceted career with the Pointer Sisters, honors the memory of her sister Bonnie, and shares the joy found in her music -- and fashion.

Music

Khruangbin Add Vocals But Keep the Funk on 'Mordechai'

Khruangbin's third album Mordechai is a showcase for their chemistry and musical chops.

Music

Why Australia's Alice Ivy Doesn't Want to Sleep

Alice Ivy walks a fine line between chillwave cool and Big Beat freakouts, and her 2018 debut record was an electropop wonder. Now, in the middle of a pandemic, she tries to keep the good vibes going with a new record decked out in endless collaborations.

Music

Lianne La Havas Is Reborn After a Long Layoff

British soul artist Lianne La Havas rediscovers herself on her self-titled new album. It's a mesmerizing mix of spirituality and sensuality.

Music

Mourning [A] BLKstar's 'The Cycle' Is Secular Gospel for Healing a Damaged Nation

Mourning [A] BLKstar's The Cycle is necessary, secular gospel for the healing of a truly damaged nation. Their music somehow sounds like salvation.

Music

How the New Jack Swing Movement Redefined an Era

New Jack Swing was the soundtrack to young America of the late 1980s and early 1990s in the same vein that Motown was the soundtrack to young America of the 1960s.

Music

Brilliant Memphis Soulman Don Bryant Says 'You Make Me Feel'

Legendary Memphis soulman and songwriter, Don Bryant returns with a vengeance to spread a much-needed message of love. You Make Me Feel is vital soul music for these times.

Music

This Rainbow Dragon Has Fire Inside: An Interview with Keiynan Lonsdale

For outspoken actor and singer Keiynan Lonsdale, his unabashedly queer debut album centers on sexuality and politics, making for a striking release in the age of quarantine. "There's rhythm to it: there's rhythm in blackness, and it's saying 'Stop being crazy, stop being dangerous, quiet the fuck down, and move your feet.'"

Music

Soul Legend Eddie Floyd Shares His Musical Journey (interview + book excerpt)

Co-authored by Tony Fletcher, Knock! Knock! Knock! On Wood features interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Bill Wyman, Paul Young, William Bell, Steve Cropper, and more. Eddie Floyd gives insights into some of his most beloved songs and relationships with Bell, Cropper and Wilson Pickett.

Music

JD Simo's Psychedelic Soul in Spotlight With "One of Those Days" (premiere)

Jack White/Luther Dickinson collaborator, JD Simo delivers the trippy, soulful, and emotional "One of Those Days" about the importance of perseverance.

Jedd Beaudoin
Music

Dancing in the Street: Our 25 Favorite Motown Singles

Detroit's Motown Records will forever be important as both a hit factory and an African American-owned label that achieved massive mainstream success and influence. We select our 25 favorite singles from the "Sound of Young America".

Music

12 Essential Performances from New Orleans' Piano "Professors"

New Orleans music is renowned for its piano players. Here's a dozen jams from great Crescent City keyboardists, past and present, and a little something extra.

Music

Reaching for the Sky: An Interview with Singer-Songwriter Bruce Sudano

How did Bruce Sudano become a superhero? PopMatters has the answer as Sudano celebrates the release of Spirals and reflects on his career from Brooklyn Dreams to Broadway.


Reviews
Collapse Expand Reviews
BROWSE ALL ALBUM REVIEWS



Features
Collapse Expand Features

PM Picks
Collapse Expand Pm Picks

© 1999-2020 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters is wholly independent, women-owned and operated.