Artists that can dig deep and pull sounds straight from their soul are too few and far between. On the heels of his feature with Wretch 32 on the hit “Don’t Go”, Josh Kumra continues forward with the excellent ‘”Call Off The Search”. Powerful, honest, and tuneful in all the right ways, “COTS” is a can’t miss type track. Preview the track and get familiar with Josh Kumra below.
Josh Kumra – Call Off The SearchJosh Kumra 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.8
Flo’s cover of “Take Care” that she put down last week for Radio 1 is awesome. We have here a pretty dope remix of that cover done by Canadian duo ColeCo. It’s a remix of a cover, of a sample of a remix, of a Gil Scott-Heron (R.I.P.) song. Got that? Don’t miss this track.
Florence + The Machine – Take Care (ColeCo Remix)Florence + The Machine 
: (Official)
Rating 8.3
“Lotus Flowerbomb” is no doubt one of favorite beats of ’11 (esp. Miguel’s hook. Shouts to our dude Miguel.) That said, it’s great to hear it without Wale marblemouthing all over it. Raheem’s silky smoothy melodic lines elevate “LFB” from 106 & Park “bottom of the Top 10” status to grown and sexy bedrooms worldwide.
Raheem DeVaughn – Lotus Flowerbomb (Wale)Raheem DeVaughn 
(Official) (Facebook)
Rating 8.2
The Stepkids have just let loose on a new video for their track “Suburban Dream” off their self-titled debut LP. James Brown would have totally partied with these guys. Heavy.
The Stepkids 
(Stonesthrow) (Official)
Rating: 8.3
“OVERdue” tells it like it is. Angry, soulful and overdue. Previewed from ZZ Ward’s forthcoming Eleven Roses mixtape. Get into it!
ZZ Ward – OVERdueZZ Ward 
(Tumblr)
Rating 8.2
Portuguese collective Orehla Negra put down this stunning flip of Betty LaVette’s 1973 tune “Your Turn to Cry”. Listen.
Orelhla Negra – M.I.R.I.A.M.Orelha Negra 
(Facebook) (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.5
Everything this guy puts out just absolutely kills it (If you’re not hip, you need to familiarize yourself ASAP). The reggae-styled “When Will They Learn” is certainly no different. LB’s track record is pretty much flawless but “When Will They Learn” might be our favorite song of his yet.
Liam Bailey & The Dynamic Set – When Will They LearnLiam Bailey (Official) (Facebook)
Rating 8.3
The Roots are prepping the release of what’s probably their 15th or 20th album, Undun. The latest preview of the project is “Stomp” which features fellow Philadelphian P.O.R.N. and knocks really really hard. An electric guitar lead frames P.O.R.N.’s rhymes as the 1-2 pushes underneath what can only be described as a modern take on the blues. Be ready.
The Roots – StompThe Roots 
(Official) (Myspace)
Rating 8.4
Tedsmooth puts Bey on some straight Marvin Gaye shit on this new remix for “Party”. In addition to the new mix, the NYC DJ grabs Styles P for a couple fresh verses. Sweet.
Beyonce – Party (DJ Tedsmooth Remix) (Feat. Styles P)DJ Tedsmooth (Official) (Twitter)
Rating 8.1
By Trevor Meyer
Awesome music continues to pour out of New Zealand. If you’re new to this Wellington-based band, consider this your chance to get funky with the high-acclaimed Kiwi band, The Black Seeds. The soulful “Cool me Down” comes to us off the band’s third album, Into the Dojo. If you see an angry bro in a social situation who is taking that “defensive lion position” (you know what I’m talking about) cool him down with this throwback. He may not dance, but he’ll be unfolding his arms and loosening up his polo shirt in no time. I’m hoping these guys come at it with a new album soon.
The Black Seeds – Cool Me DownThe Black Seeds 
(Official) (Facebook)
Rating 8.5
The brand new “Home Again” is yet another example of what UK singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka does so well. It’s just his soul, a guitar, and some minimal instrumentation all tuned into that special MK frequency. Get (re)familiar below.
Michael Kiwanuka (Facebook) (Official)
Rating 8.2
The dude Mayer Hawthorne takes PB&J all the way back 1970 on this new remix for “Dig a Little Deeper”. It’s a jangly, well-harmonized joint that would be right at home smack in the middle of an all-request triple play on your local Oldies station.
Peter Bjorn and John – Dig a Little Deeper (Mayer Hawthorne Remix)Peter Bjorn & John 
(Official) (Facebook)
Rating 8.0
