BAY AREA, CA. (Top40 Charts/ True Vibe Records) - On Tuesday, March 25th, 2008, True Vibe Records will release Jazz Funk Hip HoPoetry-Phaze 2, the follow up to the highly-acclaimed CD Paradise Presents Jazz Funk Hip HoPoetry.
The Phaze 2 release, a CD double set, will also be the debut for Oakland Ca.-based spoken word/hip hop group Sounds Of Urban Life Soldiers or S.O.U.L.S., as the acronym is spelled and their bulging fan base refers to them as.
The group members and song writers are poets Raquel Ramsey, Keith Thompson, and President L. Davis, rap and hip hop artist Keldamuzik and songstress Shavone Pickett. Together, they have a very unique and diverse blend.
You can order The Phaze2 CD at www.trueviberecords.com, www.cdbaby.com, www.itunes.com, and www.myspace.com/trueviberecords .
According to True Vibe Records owner and producer Bill Jackson regarding Phaze 2 he says, 'as the genesis of the first CD was my pilgrimage to Senegal's Goree Island (a United Nations historical site in West Africa which was a holding pen for slaves), this music was born from the compelling social concerns that continue in America and is musically upbeat funk with jazz, hip hop, R&B and Caribbean influences.'
The lead single Squash It! featuring Keldamuzik with guests D Labrie and Rufus Wonder certainly supports the concept of 'social concerns' as it addresses the grave problem of violence in America's urban cities, and from early indications this seems to be the song that radio will embrace and help Squash It! be a part of the solution! A critically-acclaimed video for Squash It! is available for viewing at www.trueviberecords.com and www.youtube.com. Following that theme is On The Street, outlining the conditions and perils in some of our urban communities. There are lighter more playful moments on the CD as with All The Above that again features Keldamuzik at the mic running down a love and relationship theme. Then there is the Caribbean-flavored I Can with vocalist Shavone Pickett delivering a very tender vocal with an almost dancehall track. Associate Producer Jam G "JR" Tall intensifies the groove with his lead guitar riffs. (He also was the chief sound engineer for this album.)
The jazz lover isn't forgotten here with contemporary tracks like The Man Upstairs with its hip hop /trip hop feeling and a scorching tenor sax lead from guest artist Ben Ball and the pulsating drum work from Lorca Hart, son the legendary drummer Billy Hart, and on What kind Of Dreams Have You which features guests such as the smooth-talking percussionist/spoken word artist Bill Norwood, renowned guitarist Calvin Keys, pianist extraordinaire Michael 'Spiderman' Robinson, tenor saxman Ben Ball again, and veteran drummer E.W. Wainwright. This is a track that swings with the best of them!
All three poets are full of fire and earth moving emotion here addressing issues such as fatherhood with the piece The Role of Men by Keith Thompson and coming of age with Rites of Passage by President L. Davis, while Raquel Ramsey delivers supremely and passionately with a piece titled Connections and again on the exalting Apology, a duet with bassist Nelson Braxton (Braxton Brothers). There is more contemporary conscious-raising spoken word from the three poets of Sound Of Urban Life Soldiers on other tracks as well.
This album also showcases the talents of a host of highly-talented and dynamic guest spoken word artists such as Roxanne Hanna-Ware and poets Big Dan and Alejandra Mojica running down a Latino perspective.
Jazz Funk Hip HoPoetry- Phaze 2 is a well-balanced, well-crafted, and cleverly-written collection of urban life experiences and feelings delivered with the often pulsating bass line that locks everything in place and drives it home. With all the tracks above and more, this will no doubt be a radio, retail and downloading favorite!!
