This week we have Lisa Shaw, Jamiroquai, Jaguar Wright, 4hero, Sarah White and more. Enjoy!

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

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Now that I’m done with school and probably taking Spring semester off it’s time to get back to what’s important – the music of course. The Internet has been buzzing with Maxwell releasing the first official single for his upcoming summer release ‘Black’Summers’night. Pretty Wings is available on iTunes and
Amazon and the video [via Honey Soul] premiered on BET this week. Tavis Smiley had the great honor to interview Prince this week and if you missed it part 1 and part 2 are available online. The Foreign Exchange dropped the video for Take Off Your Blues last week with Darien Brockington. And congrats are in order for Jill Scott and her fiance Lil John Roberts who are celebrating the birth of their baby boy Jeff Hamilton Roberts.

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

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This week we have some old school goodness from the late Luther Vandross, New Edition, and Atlantic Starr. Also we have some not so old music from Ledisi, Rahsaan Patterson, Sharon Jones and J*Davey. Jazmine Sullivan’s debut cd Fearless is available today so make sure you check it out. Until next time…

The Playlist:

1. Joy – Ledisi – Amazon | iTunes
2. Never Too Much – Luther Vandross – Amazon | iTunes
3. When The Other Foot Drops, Uncle – Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – Amazon | iTunes
4. Need U Bad – Jazmine Sullivan – Amazon | iTunes
5. Soundboy Rock – Groove Armada – Amazon | iTunes
6. Cocaine – Robin Thicke – Amazon | iTunes
7. Slooow – J*Davey – Amazon | iTunes
8. Water – Rahsaan Patterson – Amazon | iTunes
9. For Real – Amel Larrieux – Amazon | iTunes
10. All That I Can Say – Mary J. Blige – Amazon | iTunes
11. I’m Not Afraid – Jill Scott – Amazon | iTunes
12. Motel – Tweet – Amazon | iTunes
13. Can You Stand the Rain – New Edition – Amazon | iTunes
14. Secret Lovers – Atlantic Starr – Amazon | iTunes
15. Searching – Erykah Badu – Amazon | iTunes

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Marvin Gaye’s classic album What’s Going On released in May 1971 focused on the social and political ills of that time. Thirty seven years later the album is still relevant today as the same issues that Marvin Gaye sung about then are still affecting us now.

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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In this week’s episode we’re leading off with The Roots Rising Up featuring Wale and Chrisette Michelle. The intro echos how I feel about the radio lately but I’m not going to get started with that, not today anyway. I’ll save that for another day and just enjoy the go-go beat. Remember is on J Dilla’s unreleased Pay Jay cd which hopefully will be released soon. I know posthumous releases can get a bit numerous and dated but this is DIlla. Erykah Badu’s Soldier makes an appearance followed by 4hero’s Stoke Up the Fire. Since I love just about anything with Andre 3000’s name on it we also have John Legend’s new single Green Light. It’s good to hear John Legend switch it up with something more uptempo. Ledisi’s Alright has been getting me through a few things here and there. I’ve been on a dance kick lately and for that there’s Groove Armada and Ananda Project. Cosmic Girl was part of my introduction to Jamiroquai back in my dorm cafeteria working days at MSU (another story for another day). Let’s just say that Traveling Without Moving was the work soundtrack. Closing out this mix are two artists who shouldn’t be slept on and a legend. Rahsaan Patterson’s Feels Good is from his latest cd Wines & Spirits, Al Green’s latest featuring John Legend Stay With Me and finally Lina is sticking around with her latest cd Morning Star. Enjoy this week’s mix.

Last weekend we were hit with the double loss of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes two great entertainers. I’m still at a loss for words even after having a few days to let it sink in. My thoughts and prayers are with they’re families.  TGrundy’s latest podcast is a tribute to Isaac Hayes. Make sure you check it out.

The Playlist:

1. Rising Up – The Roots ft Wale and Chrisette Michelle – Amazon | iTunes
2. Remember – J Dilla ft Bilal
3. Soldier – Erykah Badu – Amazon | iTunes
4. Stoke Up the Fire – 4hero ft Face – iTunes
5. Soul Spaceship – Me’Shell Ndegeocello – Amazon | iTunes
6. Green Light – John Legend ft Andre 3000 – Amazon | iTunes
7. Chaka Khan – Ain’t Nobody – Amazon | iTunes
8. Alright (Matty’s Soulflower Mix) – Ledisi – Amazon | iTunes
9. Love Sweet Sound – Groove Armada ft Candi Staton – Amazon | iTunes
10. Kiss Kiss Kiss (Alternative Mix) – Ananda Project – Amazon | iTunes
11. Cosmic Girl – Jamiroquai – Amazon | iTunes
12. Glow – Kelis ft Raphael Saadiq – Amazon | iTunes
13. Feels Good – Rahsaan Patterson – Amazon | iTunes
14. Stay With Me (By The Sea) – Al Green ft John Legend – Amazon | iTunes
15. I’ll Stick Around – Lina – Amazon |iTunes

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