Kelela – ‘RAVE:N, The Remixes’ (Stream)

February 9, 2024 Jon Powell Electronic, Local, Music No Comments  

Since the end of last year, fans worldwide have been enthralled in excitement for the highly anticipated, “RAVE:N, The Remixes” album. Known for her exquisite decorum and musicality, Kelela thrives in every body of work she releases. The long-awaited release of the original RAVEN album ushered in a new era of Kelela, an expertly crafted body of work that served as a palate cleanser for critics and fans alike. Kelela began teasing remixes in October, intuitively adding another piece to the RAVEN tapestry and firmly establishing her place as a force to be reckoned with in the dance electronic space. From A.G’s drill rework of Happy Ending to the sexy amapiano remix of Contact by Karen Nyame KG, each were paired with otherworldly vignettes adding another dimension to her visual language.

“These remix projects are not only about the joy and catharsis I get from flipping and rearranging — they’re also about highlighting the brilliant work of artists who I’m inspired by in dance music. I had so much fun curating, editing and recording the 20 tracks on this project with my partner-in-crime Asmara and I’m so proud of the range of sounds and dance music traditions represented. I can’t wait for people to experience each remix in the holy trinity of intimate space — their bedrooms, cars and in the club. a gift to all my kelelians 🖤👽” – Kelela

Kelela returns on this remix project with a plethora of familiar collaborators who are on the frontlines of the underground renaissance permeating pop culture. From old friends to dream collaborators, Kelela teams up with artists such as LSDXOXO, Yaeji, Shygirl, BAMBII, Liv.e, Asmara, Ms. Carrie Stacks and more. This eclectic masterpiece illustrates the breadth and depth of Kelela’s reach as well as the profound presence of Black and Brown artists and producers in dance music. The album is a testament to her creativity and overall musical spirit, straight from Kelela’s mind into our hearts.

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Kelela – “Happy Ending (A.G. Remix)”

December 27, 2023 Jon Powell Electronic, Local, Music No Comments  

Photo credit: Justin French

With the announcement of her upcoming release, RAVE:N, The Remixes album & the release of the second official single “Closure” (Flexulant x BAMBII Remix feat. Rahrah Gabor + Brazy) getting instant buzz, she returns revealing yet another track from the album, “Happy Ending (A.G Remix).” This single—a grimy, euphoric flip and a nod to the rhythm & grime subgenre from London-based producer A.G—brings new flavor to a popular fan favorite from the original album. In this car and club-ready banger, A.G distorts Kelela’s vocals over a drill instrumental with Jersey club breaks to transport us deeper into her sultry universe while building the anticipation for the full album to a climax.

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Kelela – ‘Raven’ (Stream)

February 10, 2023 JUKEBOXDC Staff Electronic, Local, Local, Music, R&B 3 Comments  

As seen on Apple Music:

The nearly six-year period Kelela Mizanekristos took between 2017’s Take Me Apart and 2023’s Raven wasn’t just a break; it was a reckoning. Like a lot of Black Americans, she’d watched the protests following George Floyd’s murder with outrage and cautious curiosity as to whether the winds of social change might actually shift. She read, she watched, she researched; she digested the pressures of creative perfectionism and tireless productivity not as correlatives of an artistic mind but of capitalism and white supremacy, whose consecration of the risk-free bottom line suddenly felt like the arbitrary and invasive force it is. And suddenly, she realized she wasn’t alone. “Internally, I’ve always wished the world would change around me,” Kelela tells Apple Music. “I felt during the uprising and the [protests of the early 2020s] that there’s been an external shift. We all have more permission to say, ‘I don’t like that.’” Executive-produced by longtime collaborator Asmara (Asma Maroof of Nguzunguzu), 2023’s Raven is both an extension of her earlier work and an expansion of it. The hybrids of progressive dance and ’90s-style R&B that made Take Me Apart and Cut 4 Me compelling are still there (“Contact,” “Missed Call,” both co-produced by LSDXOXO and Bambii), as is her gift for making the ethereal feel embodied and deeply physical (“Enough for Love”). And for all her respect for the modalities of Black American pop music, you can hear the musical curiosity and experiential outliers—as someone who grew up singing jazz standards and played in a punk band—that led her to stretch the paradigms of it, too. But the album’s heart lies in songs like “Holier” and “Raven,” whose narratives of redemption and self-sufficiency jump the track from personal reflections to metaphors for the struggle with patriarchy and racism more broadly. “I’ve been pretty comfortable to talk about the nitty-gritty of relationships,” she says. “But this album contains a few songs that are overtly political, that feel more literally like no, you will not.” Oppression comes in many forms, but they all work the same way; Raven “imagines a flight out.”

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Kelela – “Enough For Love”

February 7, 2023 JUKEBOXDC Staff Electronic, Local, Local, Music, R&B No Comments  

RAVEN drops this Friday (Feb. 7). You can also check out upcoming tour dates — which includes a 9:30 Club stop — below.

Kelela’s RAVE:N Tour 2023
Mar 16 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
Mar 17 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
Mar 18 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
Mar 23 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Mar 24 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House
Apr 01 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda
Apr 07 – London, UK – Outernet
Apr 08 – Paris, FR – Le Trianon
Apr 11 – Berlin, DE – Huxleys

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Big Flock Drops Single with Rico Nasty, Sentenced to Federal Prison

April 1, 2017 JUKEBOXDC Staff Local, Music, News 1 Comment  

UPDATE: I’ve added some more information to the post.

Local rap star Big Flock was sentenced to federal prison this past week, for charges dating back to October of 2016, after he was arrested in a joint police and ATF raid of his Prince George’s County Home. Flock plead guilty to possession of a firearm as a felon and possession intent to distribute Alprazolam (Xanax) in December.

Since then, his management has asked people to write letters to the court in hopes of a lesser sentence. Flock, born Charles Bowman-Bey also penned his own open letter to fans, and family, explaining his situation and cautioning those traveling on a similar path in “the streets.”

Early this week, the Department of Justice announced that he will serve 45 months in Federal prison for those charges. Rod J. Rosenstein, the United States Attorney for the District court of Maryland, mentioned Flock’s letter in the release about the sentencing; “Charles Bowman-Bey realized too late that ‘the streets don’t love anybody,’ as he wrote in his letter to the world, apologizing for his life of crime and his music videos glorifying drug dealing and gang violence…His letter should be required reading for young drug dealers.”

Source; Justice.gov

While Flock may be away from some time, you can still support him if you like. I’ve embedded the Spotify stream of his new single above. “They Won’t Believe You” was recorded before Flock’s arrest and features fellow Maryland artist Rico Nasty. The song is available on Apple Music/iTunes as well.

 

Also, for those interested, Mr. Rosenstein is Donald Trump’s pick for assistant Attorney General, under Jeff Sessions, with a vote pending. He has served in his position as US attorney for Maryland since 2005.

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Goo Glizzy – Gustavo (Mixtape)

October 11, 2016 JUKEBOXDC Staff Local, Music No Comments  


Is this the year Goo Glizzy finally takes his well-deserved rise to the big-time? Gustavo might be the tape to do it. Only amazing tracks, a wide array too, not just “street” tracks, everything…Only great producers; AB The Pro, J5, Big Moon, Tweeze, ILL Wonka, Rick Flare and others. Enough said, just listen

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