Urban Music 2000 - New Music Releases - Week of August 25, 2009

Bandana Fever - Custom Clothing

They specialize in turning everyday clothing into something unique and artistic. Bandana Fever sells footwear and apparel for men, women, and children.

"It doesn't have a specific theme - each [song] was so different from the next, me being the common denominator. And I realized my different characters were coming through on these [songs]. My acting, singing and rapping identities all came together under one roof as well as my taste in different kinds of music. I'd say it's half rap and half singing. If I had to categorize it, it would be more like hip hop urban alternative".

# Audio CD (August 25, 2009)
# Original Release Date: August 25, 2009
# Number of Discs: 1
# Label: Verve

1. The Light
2. Fast Cars
3. My Couch feat. Dre
4. Hard To Love Ya feat. Busta Rhumes, Shawn Stockman, and Dre
5. Runnin Listen
6. Take Me Away (with you) feat. Marsha Ambrosius
7. Cue The Rain
8. Long Ass Week
9. People feat. Mary J. Blige & Jadakiss
10. The World
11. Spotlight
12. If You Want To produced by Pharrell
13. Over The Mountain
14. Champion
15. Fair Weather Friend

Queen Latifah
Persona

This album is about adoration and praise and worshipping the Most High God. Every track is different and he showed a variety of musical styles. You can understand the meaning behind the title of the album. He is simply just James, revealing his true heart. I didn't get complicated fancy melodies that were on his previous albums. No doubt I loved his other albums but sometimes you just want to really get to know the man without all trimmings.You get that on this one. You get James.

# Audio CD (August 25, 2009)
# Original Release Date: August 25, 2009
# Number of Discs: 1
# Label: Gospocentric

1. I Gave It Up
2. So Into You
3. Restored
4. Anointing
5. Sweet Jesus
6. No More
7. God Happens
8. Holy One
9. Rebuild
10. Just James

Sometimes making music is all about the mechanics - balancing the melody with the harmony and the rhythm, making sure the tempo is right from the beginning of the song to the end, matching the right vocalist to the story within the lyrics, knowing when to come in with the solos and when to hang back...the litany of technical details to consider in crafting a piece of good music can be endless. But sometimes the process is much more intuitive and effortless. Sometimes the planets line up and the right groove emerges on its own, and all anyone needs to do - musicians and listeners alike - is get on board and ride into a realm of limitless possibilities.

That intuitive approach is at the heart of Mind Over Matter. In addition to Najee's fine balance of songcraft and musicianship, the album also includes songwriting and guest appearances by keyboardist Jeff Lorber and vocalists Eric Benét and Gary Taylor. The album title, says Najee, is inspired by Miles Davis' approach to songwriting, especially in the latter part of his career. "In his later years, he took a very loose and improvisational approach," he says. "He would start with nothing more than a groove that Marcus Miller or some other member of his band would lay down. And from there he would just develop these melodies that were very simple but at the same time very compelling and very memorable. It was a creative process that bypassed the nuts and bolts of the song and just got right to the essence of it."

Whatever the groove - be it R&B, neo-soul, contemporary jazz or an intriguing blend of all these styles and more - Mind Over Matter adds another layer of sophistication and polish to Najee's substantial and diverse body of work. "Whenever I go into the studio, I try to make a record that's a little different from the last one," he says. "I want people to get the same Najee that they're familiar and comfortable with, but at the same time, I want them to hear something fresh, something interesting, something unpredictable - with a couple extra voices in the mix that they haven't heard on my records in the past."

# Audio CD (August 25, 2009)
# Original Release Date: August 21, 2009
# Number of Discs: 1
# Label: Heads Up

1. Love You A Life Time
2. Sweet Summer Nights
3. Mind Over Matter
4. Forever And A Day After
5. We Gonna Ride
6. The Journey
7. Stolen Glances
8. Needless To Say
9. One More Thing
10. Moon Over Carolina

Najee
Mind Over Matter