Future Classic: Robert Glasper “Afro Blue” (9th Wonder Remix feat. Phonte)”
The jazz pianist’s 2011 release “Black Radio” contained an insane amount of highlights, and one of them certainly was “Afro Blue”, the oh-so-soulful collab with Erykah Badu… The album is really good, and I was (half) surprised to hear that he’s been masterminding a remixing project of several tracks from his fifth studio album. Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP is set to be released on October 9.
Glasper is probably one of the few jazz artists who has (and draws on) deeply rooted Hip Hop influences… Yo, I remember him coming through for the Montreal Jazz Fest a few years ago with the illest Alife tee. It had, front-&-back, a big-ass quote of Q-Tip’s first bars on “Excursions”… More facts? I mean, he’s a Dilla fan… Nuff said…
9th Wonder and Phonte teamed up for this remixing project, and as with most remix projects I’ve come across in recent weeks (Danny Brown x Knxwledge, anyone?), the new flavor they came up with enchants… It was an already amazing take on the “Afro Blue” jazz standard (created by Mongo Santamaria and then famously revisited by John Coltrane) from Glasper & Badu, but that Blue Light Basement remix?… Man, it’s as if they managed to mellow out the mood even more and infuse even more soulfulness into an already oh-so-soulful song, in one fell swoop… You know when a first listen sparks a gleeful FTW moment coming from deep within?…
Yeah, it’s that good… Or like the homie Dr. MaD would say: “Oh sa mère!!!”
So here’s what you need to do: get together with your lovely lady (or that girl you’ve been admiring from afar for days, weeks or months), find a cozy blue-lit basement or any other intimate setting, put on this song, and let your soul speak…
Cuz this is what fly ❤ songs are all about…
Bonus: Mongo Santamaria’s original “Afro Blue” standard
Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio Recovered (Remix EP) Tracklist
1. Afro Blue ft. Erykah Badu (9th Wonder’s Blue Light Basement Remix feat. Phonte)
2. Black Radio ft. yasiin bey (Pete Rock Remix)
3. The Consequences of Jealousy ft. Meshell Ndegeocello (Georgia Anne Muldrow’s Sassy Geemix)
4. Twice (?uestlove’s Twice Baked Remix feat. Solange Knowles & The Roots)
5. Letter to Hermione ft. Bilal (Robert Glasper and Jewels Remix feat. Black Milk)
6. Dillatude #2
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