The countdown 2017 | Kin4Life

From our label affiliate Artists First Records here in Philly comes the unique and articulate duo Kin4Life - IQ and Nor - the self described answer to the question 'what happened to the female rap game?'. These two are electric, full of energy and purpose and not afraid to have fun. 

A brilliantly woven mix of hip hop and R&B offerings, Firewerk from Kin4Life features production from Los Angeles based producer Parker Lewiz, Mount Vernon, NY’s Marsie Music, legendary New York producers DJ Mary Mac and DJ Jazzy Joyce, and in-house duo The KIN Factory. Other collaborators include musician prodigy Tosh the Drummer, NBC’s “The Voice” season four contestant Karina Iglesias and New Orleans rapper Look Alive.

The counTdown 2017 | Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah

Beginning 100 years after the first jazz recording, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah announced The Centennial Trilogy : three full length albums that reflect deeply on the history of Jazz. In his words, Christian was ‘trying to create a document that fully acculturated all of the things that grew from the first century of jazz…. To force all of those things into one context as a means of creating a newer, larger context for artists to be able to grow from’

The scope of the trilogy is not limited to the music; Christian is using broad strokes to present his vision of the world. Growing up in the upper ninth ward he witnessed people enduring the same challenges regardless of their race or ethic background. Undereducated to serve the tourist culture, facing food insecurity and viewing each other as different because of the lens of race. He understood that race was and is a social construct, and saw that people could be working together to build and move forward.

The first release in the trilogy, Ruler Rebel, vividly depicts Adjuah's new vision and sound - revealing Adjuah to the listener in a way never heard before via a completely new production methodology that Stretches Trap Music with West African and New Orleanian Afro-Native American styles. Ruler Rebel is set for pre-order on 2/17/17, to coincide with the first annual Stretch Music Festival at Harlem Stage. The Stretch Music Festival, created and curated by Adjuah, explores the boundaries of Stretch, Jazz, Trap, and Alternative Rock with some of music’s most poised and fiery rising stars. The festival consists of five days of events, culminating with concerts on February 17th and 18th at Harlem Stage with performances by Butcher Brown, Braxton Cook, Venus, The Bridge Trio, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, and Matthew Stevens.

The countdown 2017 | Matthew Stevens

'Opening with a distant glow of synths and a dissonant, strobing pattern on acoustic guitar, it leads to a melody suffused with unhurried grandeur. Archer and Doob keep the motor humming at an unpredictable frequency, and Stevens reels off a calmly self-assured solo.' (Nate Chinen)

So the praise for Matthew Stevens' second album, Preverbal, begins. Matt tours regularly with Esperanza Spalding (who appears on a track), yet clearly has his own uique vision of what Jazz can be. Virtuosic, Shape Shifting, and visceral are all used to describe this kinetic exploration of harmony and rhythm as Stevens bridges his garage band past with the present. Recorded without charts, Preverbal features Eric Doob on drums and Vicente Archer on bass.

The Countdown 2017 | Maurice Brown

THIS RECORD! Maurice Brown joined the Ropeadope family with his Mobetta label in a whirlwind session of discussions, and he dropped this gem that we rank as one of our top releases of the year. Maurice has a brilliant combination of purpose, perserverance, and talent that set him in the front of his generation of musicians. The Mood features incredible performances by Kris Bowers, Chelsea Baratz, Chris Turner, Joe Blaxx, Weedie Braimah, Saunders Sermons, J. Ivy, and Talib Kweli. The expected groove, polish, and trumpet pyrotechnics are there, yet The Mood reaches much further with adventurous exploration and rounds out with the message of 'Stand Up', delivered by Talib Kweli. This song should be the anthem of 2017.