1. Honey – Erykah Badu
2. Come Around – The Foreign Exchange
3. You Better Not Hurt Me – Carol Riddick
4. Love Ultra – Dwele
5. Something About You – Anthony David
6. Spanish Fly – Eric Benet
7. For Always – Lalah Hathaway
8. Get To Know You – Ledisi
9. No Danger – Rahsaan Patterson
10. The Art of You – Sy Smith
11. Love It – BSTC featuring JL
12. Planets – Peter Hadar
13. Tired – S1 featuring Darien Brockington
14. 100 Yard Dash – Raphael Saadiq

Got a request? Send them to sels [at] essencegrooves.com

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Related posts:

1. Episode 11 – 100 Days, 100 Nights
2. Take Your Time
3. Episode 13 – Vibrate On

1. Find The Way – Lisa Shaw
2. Trilogy – Kelis
3. Valley of Love – J*Davey
4. Soul Education – Jamiroquai
5. Feel The Same – Groove Armada ft Angie Stone
6. Spring Summer Feeling – Jill Scott
7. I Don’t Know – Jaguar Wright ft Black Thought
8. Give In – 4hero ft Darien Brockington and  Phonte
9. How Long Do I Have To Wait For You? – Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings
10. Always In My Head – India.Arie
11. No Love – Little Dragon
12. Fade – Sarah White
13. Be Here – Raphael Saadiq ft D’Angelo
14. Dancewitme – Maxwell
15. Think Twice – Erykah Badu ft Roy Hargrove

Related posts:

1. Episode 21 – Electric Love
2. Episode 13 – Vibrate On
3. Episode 17 – Rules of the Game

On to this week’s mix we have Erykah Badu’s Vibrate On which is from the Girlfriends soundtrack. The ever missing D’Angelo is present along with Jaguar Wright, Peter Hadar, Eric Benet, Sarah White and more. If you have checked out PPP’s new release Abundance please do – you’ll be glad you did. Until next week… Enjoy!

1. No More – J*Davey
2. Jonz In My Bonz – D’Angelo
3. More Than Friends – Estelle
4. Free – Jaguar Wright
5. Vibrate On – Erykah Badu
6. Purple Pills (Sleeping Pills Remix) – Peter Hadar
7. Something to Behold – The Foreign Exchange ft Darien Brockington
8. Weekend Girl – Eric Benet
9. Now / At The Party – Maxwell
10. American Pimp – PPP
11. Hiding Blind (Altered Natives Remix) – Sarah White
12. Gary Song – Alice Smith
13. A Long Walk – Jill Scott

Got a request? Send them to sels [at] essencegrooves.com

Subscribe to Essence Grooves by RSS, iTunes or email to stay updated.

Related posts:

1. Episode 15 – Find The Way
2. Episode 16 – Get to Know You
3. Episode 2 – For A Lifetime

1. Where Do We Go From Here – Alicia Keys
2. He Can Only Hold Her – Amy Winehouse
3. Take Off the Blues – The Foreign Exchange ft Darien Brockington
4. Brandi – Dwele ft Slum Village
5. Cheat On You – Peter Hadar
6. Cold Shoulder – Adele
7. Rain On My Parade – Eric Roberson
8. I’m Waiting – Lizz Fields
9. Something – Mint Condition ft Phonte
10. Be OK – Chrisette Michele
11. Be Your Girl – Teedra Moses
12. I Idolize You – Lizz Wright
13. It’s Over – Darien Brockington
14. 100 Days, 100 Nights – Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
15. Girl They Won’t Believe It – Joss Stone
16. Laughin & Cryin – Dionne Farris

Got a request? Send them to sels [at] essencegrooves.com

Subscribe to Essence Grooves by RSS, iTunes or email to stay updated.

Related posts:

1. Episode 19 – Don’t Be Shy
2. Take Your Time
3. Episode 16 – Get to Know You

Raphael Saadiq’s new album was just released today and it was worth the wait. If the thought of another Ne-Yo cd coming out makes you cringe then pick up Raphael Saadiq’s The Way I See It instead. Hidden Beach artist Tony Rich is back with new music as well as Solange. All I can say is at least she isn’t a Beyonce clone and I’m glad she came out with something different. There are a few songs on Sol-Angel and The Hadley St. Dreams (and why that title?) that are nice, Sandcastle Disco grew on me mainly because this is the version with Q-Tip on it. Robin Thicke graced us with his Magic and Something Else is scheduled to be released on 9/30.

I love Teena Marie, I grew up listening to her and Where’s California has to be my favorite song. I remember looking for this song for years on something other than vinyl and finally found it a few years ago. Bah Samba remade Portuguese Love and while that isn’t a song I would think should be remade but with the UK’s Alice Russell on vocals they did it justice and then some.

The Playlist:

1. Back In Love – Estelle
2. My Pride – Algebra Blessett
3. Never Give You Up – Raphael Saadiq ft Stevie Wonder & CJ
4. Sweet On You – Hil St. Soul
5. Truth – Dwele
6. Part The Waves – The Tony Rich Project
7. Let Go – Lalah Hathaway
8. Sandcastle Disco – Solange ft Q-Tip
9. You Know I’m No Good – Amy Winehouse
10. Magic – Robin Thicke
11. Lucky Day – Faith Evans
12. Portuguese Love – Bah Samba ft Alice Russell
13. BraveBird – Amel Larrieux
14. I Miss You – Darien Brockington
15. Where’s California – Teena Marie

Subscribe to Essence Grooves by RSS, iTunes or email to stay updated.

Related posts:

1. Episode 20 – Yes (I’ll Be Your Baby)
2. Episode 1 – Hello It’s Me
3. Episode 19 – Don’t Be Shy

The Playlist:

1. Empty – Raheem DeVaughn – Amazon | iTunes
2. Lovely Lovely – Me’Shell Ndegeocello - Amazon | iTunes
3. Good Stuff – Kelis - Amazon | iTunes
4. Orbit – Maiysha - Amazon | iTunes
5. Settling In – Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Amazon | iTunes
6. Early In The Morning – The Gap Band - iTunes
7. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) – Michael Jackson - Amazon | iTunes
8. I Got What You Want – Darien Brockington - Amazon | iTunes
9. Ooo La La La – Teena Marie - Amazon | iTunes
10. I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love – Stephanie Mills - Amazon | iTunes
11. If Only You Knew – Patti LaBelle - Amazon | iTunes
12. Never Felt This Way – Alicia Keys - Amazon | iTunes
13. Complain – Tweet - Amazon | iTunes
14. Nobody Knows – The Tony Rich Project - Amazon | iTunes
15. Chasing Pavements – Adele - Amazon | iTunes
16. Couldn’t Hear Her – Eric Roberson ft. Curt Chambers - Amazon | iTunes

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Related posts:

1. Episode 12 – Always Will
2. Take Your Time
3. Episode 11 – 100 Days, 100 Nights

We have to look around us and contemplate what really is going on around us. Yes, we are making progress. Last week marked the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee and can potentially be the first black President of the US.

Yet the country as a whole is hurting. We are in the middle of an economic crisis and gas is teetering around $4 a gallon. Families don’t have health care, houses are being foreclosed on daily. And then there is the war in Iraq.

How much progress have we really made? Is the one step forward, two steps back scenario playing on repeat? Are we going to keep moving forward or end up with more of the same? The choice is in our hands, just something to think about. Be blessed.

The Playlist:

1. Sumthin’s Gotta Give – Big Boi ft Mary J. Blige – Amazon | iTunes
2. Down ‘N Out – Nappy Roots ft Anthony Hamilton – Amazon | iTunes
3. Dreams – Little Brother – Amazon | iTunes
4. Testify (Remix) – Common ft Darien Brockington – Amazon | iTunes
5. I’ve Read About – D’Nell – Amazon | iTunes
6. Upside Down – Ledisi – Amazon | iTunes
7. Doo Wop (That Thing) – Lauryn Hill – Amazon | iTunes
8. What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye – Amazon | iTunes
9. I Believe – Q-Tip ft D’Angelo – MySpace
10. Black President – Nas ft Johnny Polygon – Amazon | iTunes
11. Little Weapon – Lupe Fiasco ft Bishop G & Nikki Jean – Amazon | iTunes
12. Twinkle – Erykah Badu – Amazon | iTunes
13. My Petition – Jill Scott – Amazon | iTunes
14. Krooked Kop – Anthony David – Amazon | iTunes
15. Mr. President – Janelle Monae – Amazon | iTunes

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Related posts:

1. Try Again
2. Episode 15 – Find The Way
3. Episode 16 – Get to Know You