dopeishmusic

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CRAIG WAYNE BOYD “I Walk the Line”

Originally sung by Johnny Cash, Craig Wayne Boyd slows this classic down a few notches and sings as if it were written just for him. This man is a TRUE artist. You cannot deny greatness and authenticity, and from what I can see, Boyd is also very humble. With his Bluegrass and Gospel roots, his unique sound is capable of being embraced outside of a country music audience. Please also check out his rendition of "Old Rugged Cross", which literally touched me to tears. Good music is good music, and music lovers recognize that! CWB is DEFINITELY my prediction as the winner of The Voice Season 7!!!!!!! #CWByall

craigwayneboyd.com

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#the voice #craig wayne boyd #winner #cwb CWByall

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STEPHEN MARLEY "False Friends"

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#Dopeish #dopeishmusic #stephen marley false friends

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PURPLE FERDINAND

Purple Ferdinand is like ice cold water on a sizzling hot summer day, a breath of fresh air after being cooped up at work for hours on end, the first day of a month long vacation.. ok ok.. you get what I’m saying, lol. Purple Ferdinand is a refreshing artist. I literally inhaled her precious melodies all weekend and could not get enough! As a music enthusiast I LOVE moments like this. The moment you discover some musical dope ish that does something for your soul. Yes.

Equipped with just a ukulele and the most tenderest of voices, Purple pulls you in in the most intimate way. I found myself mesmerized by not only her sound, but her look as well. A visual, tangible oxymoron of the sweetest bad ass you may ever come into contact with. Her piercings, tattoos, and that angelic face coupled with that voice. And just when I thought her image may have been some clever marketing tactic, I discover that she’s a tattoo artist who has inked the likes of Ed Sheeran. Cool. 

Purple clearly comes off as an independent artist. Once my A&R alter ego kicked in, I wanted to sign her right away. Too late. She recently signed with Columbia Records UK, which I found to be another surprise since I was sure this chick was from Brooklyn or some other dope American borough. Nope. She’s from London. East London, Stratford Newham to be exact. (Another dope UK artist?? What’s in the water over there??).

Purple Ferdinand is the real deal. Her three song introduction to the masses, The Dragonfly EP, is available for free download on her website. You can also check out her YouTube page or SoundCloud for an instant listen. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this thought provoking quote from her tumblr…

"on going thoughts

creating more and more, in different ways.

I’ve got a fair bit of work to do which I’m really really ready to get at. 

I've found my patience can grow.. and it has grown to a very impressive level so far. Not just with others, but also (very importantly) with myself. 

Knowing what you want, how and when can be so motivational that it can turn into a ‘run before you walk’ situation. I’ve found some situations need to be approached the same way you would paint a canvas, you have your inspiration, outline or rough guide, apply your work, step back and get some perspective, walk away and look at it a little later.. Look at these things with new eyes. No preconceived mumbles in my mind, just an honest view to what I’m doing. 

Simply analysis without judgements or negativity toward what I do, just ‘What I will do next to progress” 

1. I NEED to make to-do lists "

purpleferdinand.com

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#dopeish #dopeishmusic #purple ferdinand ukelele acoustic soul uk artists

[dopeishmusic]

JOJO's remix of "Caught Up in the Rapture" by the incomparable Anita Baker. Pretty dope.  

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RAPHAEL SAADIQ "Good Man"

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#dopeish #dopeishmusic #raphael saadiq #good man

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BOB MARLEY

Bob Marley’s given name was Nesta Robert Marley. His mother was pressured to rearrange his name to make it socially acceptable. They thought Nesta sounded feminine, but what they didn’t realize is that Nesta means “Messenger”.

Marley went on to become one of the most distinguished musical artists in history, with Time Magazine naming his 1977 album, “Exodus”, the “Best Album of the Century”. 

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#dopeish #dopeishmusic #bobmarley #nesta #exodus #robert nesta marley #bob marley #time magazine

[dopeishmusic]

MNEK

Have you ever heard a song covered by an artist whose interpretation almost makes you feel like you’re hearing the song for the first time? Such was the case when I stumbled upon MNEK’s cover of “Magic" by Coldplay. Magic is one of my most favorite songs of all time and MNEK’s sincere, vulnerable expression of the song touched me deeply. This acoustic performance made me want to learn more about this obviously incredible artist.

Let’s fly to London, England where Uzoechi Osisioma Emenike, musically known as MNEK (his last name pronounced out loud.. get it?), grew up and honed many of his songwriting skills as a teenager. Before emerging on the path as a solo artist, MNEK wrote and produced for a number of established artists, gaining his first GRAMMY nom at 19 years old. His consistent track record could easily suffice for placement as a respected hit songwriter, but many of us are glad he’s chosen to emerge as an artist in his own right.

MNEK’s live performances are sincerely good. His vocals are on point, and his band seems to capture his electro-soul/dance sound effortlessly. Image-wise, each member has a fashion sense that cohesively accentuates MNEK’s. This brother is obviously proud of his Nigerian heritage and I’m really diggin his old school hip hop/African mix. 

Next up will be MNEK’s debut album on Virgin EMI Records. The U.S. will hopefully get a good dose of this dude once his album drops and he crosses continents with that soulful, universal sound. Make sure to check out the video for “Wrote a Song About You” above, with strong harmonies reminiscent of Boyz II Men and an unfair slayage of vocals at the end. That boy betta sing. 

mnekofficial.com

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#dopeish #dopeishmusic #wrote a song about you #mnek

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LIL BOOSIE ft. WEBBIE & KIARA "Show the World"

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#dopeish #dopeishmusic #lil boosie #webbie #kiara

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MIGUEL "Use Me"

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#dopeish #dopeishmusic #useme #miguel

[dopeishmusic]

JHENE AIKO

I recently had the pleasure of taking in a Jhene Aiko performance at One Music Fest in Atlanta. Her debut album, “Souled Out” hit the world on 9/9/14 and she’s been booked to capacity ever since. In layman’s terms, Jhene is blowing up. Despite her intriguing sound and infectious beats, I was not “souled” on Jhene. After some serious prompting from my bestie ~and thanks to Spotify~ I decided to give her album a free listen. Hmmm. I still wasn’t convinced. What was missing?

Jhene has ridiculously dope tracks, a dope ass, light~airy~jazzy/hip hop vibe, a pretty, innocent tone on top of colorful melodic vocals, a vibrato that flows effortlessly throughout her falsetto and full voice, thought provoking lyrics, and let’s face it~ she’s cute as a button.

But I still wanted more.

Most of her songs have a freestyle vibe, which is cool, but when an artist flows off the top, they forego the opportunity to search deeper within to paint the truest picture of what they are trying to express. How many times have you blurted out something in an emotional moment, just to come back moments later to clear the air on what you were really trying to say? I also noticed minimal background vocals. Her sound definitely draws you in, but with no real "hook" and few harmonies, the listener is not easily invited to sing along and get into what she’s saying.

Jhene Aiko is dope. Most def. Her performance at One Music Fest was on point, and her voice was much stronger than I expected. She was bare-feet comfortable on stage, confident, funny, (spontaneously blurting out, “Do I smell weed?!!”), and showed another side when she paid tribute to her favorite artist, Tupac. We’re just getting the tip of the iceberg of what she has to offer. I hope she challenges herself to delve more into her lyricism so that she truly touches us on the level she aspires.   

Take a listen to a few of her tracks here, including her current single, “The Pressure” and a heartfelt plea to her brother Miyagi, simply called “For My Brother”.  

jheneaiko.com

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#dopeish #dopeishmusic #jheneaiko #theworst #thepressure #onemusicfest

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JASMINE THOMPSON 

I have a special affinity for naked songs. Where the delicate intricacies of the voice can be clearly heard, with minimal instrumentation. That's exactly what caught my attention to Jasmine Thompson's very unique take on "Aint Nobody", a Chaka Khan classic. Something about the song just catches your ear. You find yourself smiling at her bold choice to cover a Chaka Khan classic, and even more so because you're actually diggin it.

This half Chinese/half English youth from Central London enjoys singing, dancing and playing the guitar. Sounds pretty simple, right? Not so much. Her CK cover was picked up by a supermarket chain for a commercial, which led to her hitting #32 UK's single chart. The rest has been history in the making. Not bad for a 12 year old. 

What strikes me about Jasmine is her self assurance. She seems to be very comfortable in her own skin. Is she shy? Not at all. Is there an air of cockiness about her? Not at all. She' s just a cool chick-let. I believe this balance will take her far. I'll be watching out for Jasmine. She's fresh. And her sound is dope. 

jasminethompsonmusic.com

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MALI MUSIC

I first heard of Mali Music about 5 years ago. His unique sound & overall vibe caught my attention immediately. It was incredible. Full of conviction, his free flowing delivery was just dope. He had this underground hip hop, spoken-word type vibe, with raspy tenor vocals and some sick runs. I knew this guy would be huge.

His independent album, "The 2econd Coming", debuted in 2008. This platform allowed him to generate a loyal following, which captured the attention of a major label. He performed on the 2011 BET Awards as a Music Matters artist, and was also featured (quite dopely, might I add) on Kirk Franklin's Grammy award-winning album, "Hello Fear" on a song called "Give Me". But what really got my attention was his performance of the new single "Beautiful" on the Queen Latifah show (see video above). 

I was mesmerized by this performance. It truly was beautiful. Lyrically, the song is a "thank you" to his supporters. Musically, his band was on point. And the intimate ending just drew you in more. The only thing, missing in my opinion, were live background vocals.

This prompted me to look up his live performance of the same song on American Idol, where he was personally by Jennifer Lopez to perform. 

Click here to see Mali Music's American Idol performance

Funny thing is, I wasn't blown away by his American Idol performance. I think Mali Music should have performed on a much larger scale for this type of show. Some dancers and LIVE backgrounds would have helped a lot. Or he could have brought some of the audience members onstage to make it more engaging. His mic also could have been turned up to showcase more of his beautiful voice. I'm assuming he is used to performing for more intimate crowds, and the Queen Latifah show provided that type of atmosphere. Despite the technicalities, he still put on a very good show. You can tell Jennifer Lopez is really rooting for him. And being on American Idol was definitely great promotion.

This is only the beginning for Mali Music, as I'm sure we will hear and see great things from him. I hear he recently signed with Akon/Konvict Muzik, which is causing some controversy. There are a lot of questions and some confusion over his change from being a Gospel artist to R&B. I have to admit, even I was scratching my head on that one. But I feel he answers the question quite well, removing any doubt that he still loves Jesus. Props to Mali Music for stepping outside of the box while maintaining his spiritual integrity. His current single, "Beautiful", can be found on iTunes, and his crossover R&B album, "Mali Is..." will be released June 17 on Bystorm Entertainment/RCA Records. 

Click here to hear Mali Music talk about his transition from Gospel to R&B music 

malimusicofficial.com

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