[MP3] Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake – Love Never Felt So Good

When this track leaked last week, I said at the time, “I can’t decide if I think this is great or an absolute travesty!”

I liked the track because it seemed to hew closely to the spirit of Off The Wall which is the era of Michael Jackson solo stuff I probably like the most, but adding Justin Timberlake??! While I get it (kind of), I feel like he is not worthy to be on a track with Michael. Honestly, he’s not fit to shine Michael’s shiny black loafers IMHO. But then again, few are. The good news is that you apparently get to hear the original demo version without Timberlake on the forthcoming Xscape album if you’re a bit of a purist like me. The new version’s production is not bad though.

Speaking of which, been hearing good things about the Xscape album and how L.A. Reid really took pains to take all the left-over pieces of vocals & demo tracks they used to construct the songs for the album to create songs that sound like classic Michael Jackson instead of trying to shoehorn them into a 2014 sound or production template. Glad to hear that and looking forward to hearing how the whole thing sounds.

[MP3] R.I.P. Frankie Knuckles, The Godfather of House Music (1955-2014)

When this news came through late Monday night, I was hoping against hope that it was just a bad April Fool’s joke. Wishing that it were but sadly learning that it was not.

Frankie Knuckles was and will forever be a towering legend in not just dance music, but music as a whole, deserving much of the credit for creating what we now know as House music. This is an absolute tragedy. He will be missed.

In tribute here are some tracks that span the arc of his fantastic career: first the seminal house anthem, “Tears” produced with Satoshi Tomiie and featuring the inimitable Robert Owens from 1989, his 1995 remix of Michael Jackson‘s “Rock With You” and from more recently, his remix of Hercules & Love Affair‘s “Blind”, produced at a time (2007) when he thought he was ‘washed up’ and out of fashion in House and EDM circles. The fact that a buzz act like H&LA would chase Knuckles down to remix their music just about says it all as far as his stature, respect and legacy in the game even if he didn’t feel it any more. “So many tears…” is what many of us will be shedding because of this tremendous loss. R.I.P. Frankie….

For more, including some incredible DJ mixes by Frankie Knuckles, go to the Different Kitchen Tumblr page.

[MP3] De La Soul – Vocabulary Spills (Produced by J. Dilla)

Oooh, oooh, oooh! Here’s another track from the Smell The Da.I.S.Y. (Da Inner Soul of Yancy) mixtape project De La Soul created to celebrate the life and legacy of James D. Yancy aka J Dilla which drops this Wednesday (3/26/14) as a free download at www.wearedelasoul.com!

Sounds like the homies in De La have got a battery in their back and have a gang of new (and free!) music in the works. Check out these other upcoming projects in the works besides Smell The DA.I.S.Y.:

– The Premiem Soul On The Rocks Mixtape (produced by DJ Premier & Pete Rock – whaaa??!)

– You’re Welcome (Album)

Can’t wait!

[MP3] Pharrell feat. The Notorious B.I.G. – Happy (DJ Rob Dinero Remix)

What coulda been, huh? A little track remixing Pharrell‘s Oscar-nominated smash, “Happy” interpolating Notorious B.I.G.‘s feature verse from R. Kelly‘s “(You To Be) Be Happy” (you see what he did there??) to celebrate the anniversary of the passing of one of Brooklyn’s finest yesterday. This ain’t bad but wish I could say hearing this made me happier though! : ( RIP B.I.G.

[MP3] De La Soul – Dilla Plugged In (Produced By J Dilla)

Rap nerds, don’t get too excited but yeah, De La Soul STILL kill it. Love that “Plug Tunin'” style of speak that Merce (Pos) is flaunting here. Dilla, RIP.