The best Summer anthology from a dance perspective. This gives the full view of Summer's best tunes the way they were played in the clubs; all the added loops, orchestrations, and extra production, plus her voice mixed to its fullest and even boosted. It covers 73 minutes, which is more than anyone except the disco junkies would ever need, and even has an extra cut on the cassette, rather than on the CD.

The cult compilation Shaolin Soul meets Motown Records, with 21 soul gems unearthed by Uncle O directly from the archives of the legendary Detroit-based label.

Released to celebrate soul legend Johnnie Taylor’s 90th birthday, One Step From The Blues is a 12 song collection from the “The Philosopher of Soul”. Delivered in Taylor’s distinctive style with roots in Blues and Gospel, the tracklist includes “Steal Away,” “Cheaper To Keep Her,” “Stop Doggin’ Me,” and the Hayes/Porter penned “I Had A Dream”. One Step From The Blues is released on Stax Records and including new liner notes by Memphis journalist Andria Lisle.

New album from the South African musician + creative visionary, known for her vibrant, inimitable style + affirming lyricism. Full Moon is a collection of 12 songs which displays Sanelly's unique sonic fingerprint, joyous attitude, distinctive vocals + genre-bending hits. Recorded in multiple locations while on the road, Full Moon is an introspective yet kinetic display of her versatility. "I can make any genre, I have fun creating music because I'm not limited," she says. Its club-ready beats oscillate between electronic, afro-punk, edgy-pop, kwaito, + hip-hop sensibilities.

It happens at times that a stone cold classic from a bygone era gets rediscovered. But how often does that rediscovery happen when the band is still around? And how often does it lead to a new album? That’s the surprising circumstance behind the Staples Jr. Singers’ long-awaited second album, Searching (out June 14).

Today, multi-Grammy and Emmy-winning artist and producer Robert Glasper releases a new holiday EP, In December. Featuring an esteemed roster of frequent collaborators—PJ Morton, Sevyn Streeter, Cynthia Ervo, Tarriona Tank Ball, Alex Isley, Andra Day, and The Baylor Project—the eight track project is an evocative and moving addition to Glasper’s critically lauded catalog. In December sees Glasper’s unique approach to contemporary R&B and jazz, encapsulated in his famed Black Radio series, applied to what is a sonically unique take on holiday music. This non-traditional holiday release brings a weight and musical funkiness to a genre and time of year that is often seeped in campy or classic holiday motifs. Speaking on "In December", Robert Glasper says, “I’m excited to drop my first holiday record. I hope it brings as much joy as I had making it. Sip some eggnog and enjoy.”

Initially created from the ranks of a group of 60s female background session singers that at one time included Dionne Warwick, her sister Dee Dee, adopted sister Judy Clay and Just One Look singer Doris Troy, The Sweet Inspirations became an official Atlantic recording artist after being the label s go-to studio backup vocal group for many of the label s primary artists including Aretha Franklin (with whom they toured in 1967 and 1968), Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, The Drifters and Esther Phillips among others.

The last in Kent’s trilogy spotlighting black America’s involvement in the Vietnam war. It’s been a long wait but we feel that the 23 tracks here more than uphold the high standard of its predecessors – A Soldier’s Sad Story and Does Anybody Know I’m Here. Presented in loosely chronological sequence, Stop The War contains many highly significant musical statements on various aspects of the conflict, from shipping out to coming home. Even though the Vietnam war has been over for almost half a century it’s still possible, through these songs, to feel the frustration, anger and sadness that many Americans felt towards a conflict that lasted far too long and claimed far too many lives on both sides.

Tied to a significant new exhibition at Tate Britain, a killer collection surveying Black Soundsystem culture’s indelible influence on UK over successive generations from the ’70s to the ’00s.

Internationally-renowned British singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé with her forthcoming album Let’s Say For Instance, and her first release on an independent label, and it marks a new era of Emeli’s expansive artistry after a decade on stage and on the airwaves. Exploring new sonic territory through shades of classical, disco, nostalgic R&B and more, it sees Emeli freeing herself from the expectations of others, flexing her holistic skills as a songwriter, producer and vocalist in new, versatile ways. In her words: “‘an ode to resilience, rebirth, and renewal”.

The new album from the original founding member of Kool & the Gang — 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees! Drummer George “Funky” Brown, along with Robert “Kool” Bell on bass, his brother Ronald Bell on tenor and lead vocalist James “J.T.” Taylor, was one of the main songwriters in their pop/R&B band Kool & The Gang, whose classic hits like “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Celebration,” “Get Down on It” and “Joanna” made for a novel and immensely successful pop-funk groove in the 1970s and ‘80s. Such songs have been featured in films (“Jungle Boogie” was in Pulp Fiction while “Summer Madness” appeared in Rocky) and have been sampled countless times by artists including DJ Kool, Mase, Too Short, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Boogie Down Productions, Brand Nubian, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, N.W.A., Kris Kross and Jermaine Dupri. Aside from being crowned 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Brown, with Kool & the Gang, has been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame–and there’s a street in Jersey City named in the band’s honor. The Grammy-winning group has received the Soul Train Legend Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Collaborating once again with Black Acid Soul producer Chris Seefried, the pair produce a second album that not only embodies the freewheeling, emotive Lady Blackbird sound, but that also taps into deeply vulnerable lyrics that recount the singer’s challenging ascent to musical stardom. In taking charge of her own life and her own sound, Lady Blackbird walks a new path, making each note on Slang Spirituals a step in a radically different direction. Across 11 tracks Lady Blackbird puts her sweeping, cinematic vocal power to use on everything from the soulful orchestral fanfares of ‘Let Not (Your Heart Be Troubled)’ to the finger-picking folk storytelling of ‘Man On A Boat’, euphoric gospel empowerment of ‘Like A Woman’ and the seven-minute psychedelic soul instrumental of ‘When The Game Is Played On You’.

Ray Charles’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Volumes 1 & 2 are major landmarks in American culture. Charles demonstrated that great songs with signature performances work in all genres. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was a standard in country, soul and R&B, as he proved. Modern Sounds also brought America together during the Sixties’ civil rights movement. Charles became one of the first recording artists to have ownership and complete control of the masters. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music has been listed among the greatest slbums of all time, along with the Beatles, Dylan, Motown, Springsteen, Hendrix and the Beach Boys.