Lots of tasty-tasty new music out this week. Check out the ones you want to know about below, with audio & video for your listening and viewing pleasure. Click here to check out releases that dropped over the past few months …
Beyoncé, 4 (Sony)
Ms. Knowles issues her fourth full-length LP, which her letting go of her alter-ego, Sasha Fierce, and exploring new sonic territory as inspired by Fela Kuti and with help from the band who performed in the Broadway musical, Fela!. Other cited inspirations — '90s R&B, Earth, Wind & Fire, DeBarge, Lionel Richie, Teena Marie, The Jackson 5, New Edition, Adele, Florence and the Machine, and Prince.
Betty Black, Slow Dance EP (Frau Pink Productions / KID Recordings)
Multi-talented singer, songwriter, musician and artist Sylvia Gordon (who's worked with the likes of Black Eyed Peas and Moby) dons one of her many musical personalities for her latest release, the first in a trio of thematic EP releases "about the blossoming of young girls into womanhood (from blissful naivete and longing to the harrowing pangs of self discovery, maturity and independence) … Southern-steeped storytelling anchored with smoldering, lilting vocals and slow-burning musical landscapes heavily inspired by early 60's girl groups (The Shirelles, The Ronettes), Nashville country, Memphis blues and Phil Spector's cacophonous wall of sound." Check out the title track below.
Big Sean, Finally Famous (Def Jam)
Burn Halo, Up From The Ashes (Rawkhead Records/ WMG Independent Label Group)
Chucha Santamaria Y Usted, Chucha Santamaria Y Usted (Young Cubs)
Clams Casino, Rainforest EP (Tri-Angle Records)
David Cook, This Loud Morning (19 Recordings/RCA Records)
Curren$y, Weekend At Burnies (Warner Bros.)
The young and prolific rising star rap artist releases his sixth studio album, with eight tracks produced by Monsta Beatz and two others, including "She Don't Want A Man," by Havoc of Mobb Deep. Check out the video for the sexy-slow bump and groove of "She Don't Want a Man" (she just wanna fuck) after the jump.
This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2011.