Lets go to fly

Esperanto - Night Of The Wolf

If you've listened to Top 40 radio or flipped through the video channels during the past few years, odds are pretty good you know something about John Legend. He played piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything" and might as well be considered Kanye West's sidekick, having assisted the producer and MC on several sessions — Jay-Z's "Encore" and Slum Village's "Selfish" being two of the more prominent 2004 singles featuring his work. A former choir director, he has also released a handful of energetic live discs, some of which are credited to his less hubristic birth name, John Stephens. And though he claims "I've got something new," you've also heard substantial chunks of Get Lifted in records made decades ago by Sly & the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Quincy Jones, and Bill Withers. This might not be a problem for listeners who crave anything that recalls the music they first heard in their youth, but Legend's over-reliance upon his inspirations is an impediment as much as a slick way to grab attention. That's because he has more than enough talent and charm to get by on his own. His own lyrics and hooks are unique and clever enough to get the point across that he's no everyday R&B artist and, just as importantly, he has a personable and instantly fetching voice you could listen to all day long. However, the association with West — whose Sony-distributed boutique label released the record — is very helpful. Without it, Legend would likely be zoned into neo-soul (2003's Live at SOB's New York City really makes this notion apparent), thereby standing little chance of reaching the ears of anyone younger than 30. The production work supporting his songs strikes a fine balance between soul and hip-hop, allowing him to appeal to those who are coming from either angle. This is a very good record. It's a given that Legend is destined to make at least two others that top it. 

Get Lifted

John Legend - Used to Love U

John Legend - Tonight (Best You Ever Had) feat. Ludacris
Check out my new single “Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” available on iTunes 1/31 from the “Think Like A Man” movie soundtrack on Epic Records!

Tonight (Best You Ever Had)

Tonight (Best You Ever Had) feat. Ludacris

▶ Preorder on iTunes UK/Europe/ROW: http://itunes.kud.li/fsrcd099
▶ Preorder on Amazon UK: http://kud.li/12DcY6C

<b>OUT: 24 June 2013</b>

"When I grow up, I wanna be like Omar" - Stevie Wonder

There are precious few, if any contemporary UK artists whose creative credentials and influence extend as far and so consistently wide as Freestyle Records' most recent signing Omar. Since first breaking through to worldwide renown all the way back in 1991 with his first releases on Gilles Peterson's seminal Talkin' Loud label, and since going on to work with all manner of musical legends including a certain Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, Syreeta Wright, Common, and Carleen Anderson.

Omar returns with a brand new album that many say is without doubt the strongest of his entire career. The buzz generated by the single release of the album's title track, The Man, confirmed beyond doubt that Omar is very much at the top of his game, with everyone from BBC 6 Music's Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 2's Trevor Nelson and Jamie Cullum giving both major support and high praise for the simply magnificent new high point for Omar's renowned ability to write devastatingly catchy melodies.

Across the rest of this new album, opener Simplify sets the template, with its luscious and majestic string backed introduction raising the curtain on this deep, hard grooving number. Omar also joins forces with Germany's Hidden Jazz Quartett on High Heels - growling organ spars with the tough, jagged drumbeat on this tough, funk driven collaboration. Elsewhere, latin textures and rhythms have always been part of Omar's far reaching musical vocabulary, and on Come On Speak To Me and Ordinary Day restless south American beats underpin the crisp and fresh melodies.

Soul II Soul's Caron Wheeler offers her distinctive voice on the duet Treat You, allowing these two legendary voices to unite beautifully. Completing the circle that began all the way back in the early 1990s, Omar has re-recorded his classic love song There's Nothing Like This, which this time features bass player to the Gods Pino Palladino. The touching sentiment remains undiminished, but the addition of soaring strings, soulful, jazzy horns, a vibrant live and acoustic feel, plus an extended and new arrangement.

This album will surely become known as the most eclectic, confident, mature and soulful album of his career. After all, Stevie Wonder knows, Erykah Badu knows... and now everyone knows; Omar is The Man.

John Legend - Used to Love U

johnlegend

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