Well, it is still here. For my tastes, unfortunately not much in the funk/R&B front. But Indie releases from local bands and some R&B/Rock has moved over to the umbrella called "Americana." Yola is one Black artist who has a great voice and good songs; her style she calls "country blues" (if I'm wrong correct me). The other genre that seems to have great new albums lately is Metal! Believe it or not.The new Mastodon album "Hushed and Grim" is all killer, no filler IMO. Vibes of Pink Floyd and King Crimson. What are your new music discoveries--old or new?

https://youtu.be/nIlKhQPBvC4

[Edited 11/4/21 8:46am]

Thanks, Emma! I actually went to see Mayor Hawthorne twice. Once I took my son to see a triple shot--Mayor Hawthorne, Janelle Monae, and Bruno Mars for $35 bucks before they all blew up. Also, saw Mayor Hawthorne doing Tuxedo at a small club on Mother's Day. That was a treat! I'll check out the other acts you listed--thanks!

EmmaMcG said:

If you want good, new funk and RnB you should check out Mayer Hawthorne. His solo stuff is fantastic but his work as half of Tuxedo, a funk double act with producer Jake One is on another level. Boulevards had some great funky stuff a few years ago but he kind of disappeared up his own arse with his latest album. His earlier work from a few years ago is top notch though. Then of course there's Chromeo. I liked their early, mire electronic sound but their last album "Head Over Heels" is my favourite so far from them. A richer, more natural sound. Plus Jesse Johnson features on it, which is always a plus. There's a whole bunch of others I'd recommend. Diamond Ortiz, XL Middleton, Ekkah (basically a female version of Tuxedo), Dogg Master, Gavin Turek, Funk Leblanc and Dornik. And as an added bonus, one or two of the acts above have songs featuring yours truly [Edited 11/4/21 9:13am]

Yup I have been into XL Middleton lately, Dornik is nice, seen Chromeo live in 2019 (they have a new live album out as well) and just found out about Ekkah.

The radio not playing them but they are all good.

I second Chromeo and Hawthorne. I think the latter once said he created sounds to sample in his own music, instead of sampling existing music.

Also, Gabin, Confection, Sneaky Sound System, Ghostland Observatory, Clean Bandit.

Sam Smith's music is good, and settling into an Adele album is luscious.

Had a friend turn me on to Mf Robots with their current release "Break The Wall" and while it's cleaner than I usually like my funk, it's pretty good from a vibe/groove standpoint.

[Edited 11/4/21 16:20pm]

EmmaMcG said:

SoulAlive said:

EmmaMcG said:

If you want good, new funk and RnB you should check out Mayer Hawthorne. His solo stuff is fantastic but his work as half of Tuxedo, a funk double act with producer Jake One is on another level.

What do you think of his latest album ‘Rare Changes’?

Looking forward to another Tuxedo album.Those old-school styled grooves are hypnotic!

EmmaMcG said:

If you want good, new funk and RnB you should check out Mayer Hawthorne. His solo stuff is fantastic but his work as half of Tuxedo, a funk double act with producer Jake One is on another level.

JakeOne, interesting. You always rep Tuxedo, so JakeOne is the producer of Tuxedo... His rap beats from a couple years back were legit.

[Edited 11/5/21 4:38am]

EmmaMcG said:

SoulAlive said:

What do you think of his latest album ‘Rare Changes’?

Looking forward to another Tuxedo album.Those old-school styled grooves are hypnotic!

I love it. Man About Town is still probably my favourite album of his though. My only complaint about Rare Changes is that it was too short. I would have liked to have gone to see him perform it on tour this year. But what with the pandemic, the fact I'm in another country and due to give birth in the next couple of weeks it would make traveling a little difficult

WhisperingDandelions said:

SoulAlive said:

EmmaMcG said:

I love it. Man About Town is still probably my favourite album of his though. My only complaint about Rare Changes is that it was too short. I would have liked to have gone to see him perform it on tour this year. But what with the pandemic, the fact I'm in another country and due to give birth in the next couple of weeks it would make traveling a little difficult

my favorite is his first album ‘A Strange Arrangement’…superb all the way through.

OH! Also, check out YahZarah. She had an album out around 10 years ago called The Ballad of Purple St. James. She's a huge Prince fan. I interviewed her on my radio show once. She has a song on that album that I told her, "Prince wishes he wrote this one."

But Ima let y'all listen to it before I point that song out. But she's good. She's more recently on Madonna's Madame X tour as a backup singer.

TrivialPursuit said:

Hamad said:

I loved that album, she made a superb cover of Syreeta’s Stevie Wonder-pinned classic “Come Back As A Flower”, both versions brings me to tears.

"Come Back As A Flower" is such a great song.

To the OP: I should also mention:

Leela James

N'Dambi (who sang on a Prince track I believe)

Michael Franti

Monet

Sy Smith

Allen Stone

Conya Doss

Amel Larrieux

Angela Johnson