Podcast: "Less Than Smart" (The BackBeat)

On this week’s episode, we discuss Tina Campbell’s less than smart choice to vote for Donald Trump for president. We discuss Azealia Bank’s apology to Nicki Minaj and beef with Cardi B. Speaking of Cardi B, we praise her achievement of securing the first number 1 record by a solo female rapper since Lauryn Hill’s Doo Wop (That Thing) in 1998. We end the episode with a brief discussion of Jhene Aiko’s top 5 debut for her new album, Trip.

Stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear our songs of the moment. Marcus chooses new cuts from Tamar Braxton, Ledisi and Kygo. Kyera breaks down her favorite songs by Jamila Woods, Ravyn Lenae, and Daniel Caesar.

Enjoy!

Podcast: "Receipts Paid" (The BackBeat)

This week, we get into the moment the internet exploded with snake emojis after Kim Kardashian exposed Taylor Swift for lying on Kanye West. We talk about Lauryn Hill and financial literacy as well as Rihanna joining the new season of Bates Motel. We end with a shout-out to Rhapsody for signing to Jay Z’s record label, Roc Nation.

Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear our songs of the moment. Marcus chooses cuts from Lil Kim, Ariana Grande, and Alicia Keys while Kyera highlights new songs from Kehlani, Lizzo, and SchoolBoy Q.

Enjoy!

Podcast: "#FactsOnly" (The BackBeat)

In this week’s episode of The BackBeat we get into some of 2016’s highly anticipated releases including Rihanna’s Anti, Ariana Grande’s Moonlight, Christina Aguilera’s follow-up to 2012’s Lotus, Kanye’s Swish, and Missy Elliott’s followup to 2005’s The Cookbook. In addition we speculate about new releases from D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Beyonce and Maxwell with a shoutout to Drake. We then tackle Complex’s list of the best rappers each year since 1979, which shamefully only features one woman, Ms. Nicki Minaj. We then rejoice at Beyonce joining Coldplay at this year’s Super Bowl in addition to rumors that Rihanna might join the festivities, get into some of the new music thus far in 2016 (Kanye West’s “Swish” and “Best Friend”; Brandy’s “Beggin and Pleadin”; Fantasia’s “No Time For It”), talk about Netflix’s highly anticipated series “The Get Down,” and interrogate RZA thinking Black youth should stop scaring police.

Make sure you stay tune to the end of the episode when Marcus and Kyera get into their songs of the moment from Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt, Whitney Houston, and Kelela.

Cut: "Lose Myself" (Marsha Ambrosius)

Back in 2011, Marsha Ambrosius released her debut solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings and one of the standout joints from her LP has to be her rearrangement of the Lauryn Hill penned and original "Lose Myself."

While Lauryn Hill's rendition was featured on Surf's Up (Motion Picture Soundtrack), Ambrosius'  smooth silky soulful take of "Lose Myself" is a welcomed cover from Late Nights & Early Mornings.

With that said, take a listen below to Marsha's smooth cut and cover of the Lauryn Hill original "Lose Myself" and Enjoy!

Podcast: "Hotline Bling" (The BackBeat)

In this week’s episode of The BackBeat, we get into Nicki Minaj’s new ABC Family show, Whitney Houston’s upcoming Hologram, Drake making history on the Billboard Hot 100, Erykah Badu's remix of Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” a status update on Lauryn Hill’s highly anticipated followup to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, as well as our reviews on both Tamar Braxton’s (Calling All Lovers) and Janet Jackson’s (Unbreakable) new albums.

Kyera also gives us a brief Culture Talk regarding the musical Hamilton, and Marcus offers a Blast from the Past regarding Donny Hathaway. Make sure you tune into the end of the episode where we give our Songs of the Moment.

Take a listen below and Enjoy!

Podcast: "Girl, You Tried It" (The BackBeat)

In this week’s episode, we get into Andra Day’s sublime debut Cheers To The Fall, Taylor Swift’s problematic music video for “Wildest Dreams,” Miley’s traumatic hosting duties at the VMAs, Macklemore getting praise from Big Daddy Kane, Tyler the Creator getting banned from the UK, as well as our excitement over Janet Jackson’s Unbreakable era.

We also introduce a new segment Minute Update regarding Aretha Franklin’s documentary Amazing Grace, and get into a Blast from the Past regarding Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

And make sure you stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear our songs of the moment.

Song of the Day: "Lost Ones" (Lauryn Hill)

"Lost Ones" - Lauryn Hill

• Writer: Lauryn Hill 
• Producer: Lauryn Hill, Che' Guevara and Vada Nobles
• Record Label: Ruffhouse, Columbia Records
• Featured on 1998 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Live Video of the Day: "Feeling Good" (Lauryn Hill)

Last night, the legendary Ms. Lauryn Hill made a rare appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to perform her riveting cover of "Feeling Good," which is lifted from Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone compilation album that is a companion piece to the Netflix documentary What Happened, Miss Simone.

Ms. Hill produced and contributed six songs to the compilation including "Ne Me Quitte Pas," "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair," "Wild Is the Wind," "African Mailman" "Feeling Good," and "I've Got Life," an interpolation of Simone's "Ain't Got No, I Got Life."

With that said, watch her riveting performance of "Feeling Good" from The Tonight Show below and Enjoy!

Song of the Day: "Lost Ones" (Lauryn Hill)

"Lost Ones" - Lauryn Hill

• Writer: Lauryn Hill 
• Producer: Lauryn Hill, Che' Guevara and Vada Nobles
• Record Label: Ruffhouse, Columbia Records
• Featured on 1998 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Cut: "Nothing Even Matters" (Lauryn Hill ft. D'Angelo)

Yesterday I was revisiting Ms. Hill's groundbreaking solo debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and while she hasn't released much new music since, when your debut solo effort is as brilliant as The Miseducation, you really don't have to in my book.

While I have posted this cut from Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo before, it is one of those timeless collaborations and in my opinion is one of the top duets, only possibly behind Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn's rendition of "If This World Were Mine."

Although a large portion of the album's love songs would turn out to be bitter from Hill's previous relationship, "Nothing Even Matters," a duet performed by Hill and D'Angelo, showcased a brighter, more intimate perspective on the subject.

The song was inspired by Hill's relationship with Rohan Marley. Speaking about "Nothing Even Matters"' lyrics, Hill remarked "I wanted to make a love song, á la Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, and give people a humanistic approach to love again without all the physicality and overt sexuality."

With that said, take a listen to this cut "Nothing Even Matters" below and Enjoy!

Podcast: "I Got Enemies" (The BackBeat)

In this week’s episode of The BackBeat, Marcus and Kyera talk about 2 Chainz being sued for $5 million dollars, Jill Scott retracting her support for Bill Cosby, Shia LeBeouf plagiarizing Rap Crew ANOMOLIES, Ariana Grande’s donut moment, Kendick Lamar challenging Fox News, Tyga’s rumored transgender mistress, Kylie Jenner’s record career, Miguel shading Frank Ocean, and the Amy Winehouse documentary AMY.

We also highlight new music from Lauryn Hill, Vince Staples, Meek Mill, and Jill Scott. In our Blast From the Past segment, we honor Diddy’s Bad Boy the Saga Continues, give a shout out to Angel Haze, and reminisce about the demise of 3LW. And make sure you stay tuned to the end of the episode to hear our favorite songs of the moment.

Song of the Day: "Lose Myself" (Marsha Ambrosius)

"Lose Myself" - Marsha Ambrosius

• Writer: Lauryn Hill
• Producer: Canei Finch
• Record Label: J Records
• Featured on 2011's Late Nights & Early Mornings

New Joint: "I've Got Life" (Lauryn Hill)

Earlier today, Lauryn Hill's riff on the Nina Simone classic "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" hit the net in the form of "I've Got Life."

Featured on the forthcoming compilation album Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill's "I've Got Life" features some very politically charged lyrics further proving that her pen game has always been strong and never gone away. With increase performances and public appearances, it seems as though Ms. Hill is back on her own terms and I can't wait to hear what that brings us.

With that said, take a listen to the full version of "I've Got Life" below and Enjoy!

Amazing Cover: "Feeling Good" (Lauryn Hill)

Earlier today, Lauryn Hill's sublime cover of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" hit the net ahead of RCA's forthcoming July 1oth tribute album to Ms. Simone entitled Nina Revisited: A Tribute To Nina Simone, which is being released in conjunction with the forthcoming documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? via Netflix on June 26.

The album includes six contributions from Ms. Hill, including her riveting cover of "Feeling Good" and also features contributions from the likes of Mary J. Blige, Common, Usher, Gregory Porter, Jazmine Sullivan, Lalah Hathaway, and Lisa Simone (Nina Simone’s daughter).

With that said, take a listen below to Lauryn's enthralling rendition of "Feeling Good" and peep the official tracklisting for  Nina Revisited: A Tribute to Nina Simone as well!

Live Clip: "Ex-Factor" (Lauryn Hill)

Back in 2013, Ms. Lauryn Hill returned to the stage atNew York City's Bowery Ballroom ringing it in as her first post-prison show and during the first concert during her Homecoming Concert Series tour, Ms. Hill of course performed some of her classic hits from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

With that said, watch Lauryn's phenomenal reggae inspired rendition of her classic 1998 hit single "Ex Factor below and Enjoy!

Cut: "Close To You" (Ron Isley ft. Lauryn Hill)

While Ron Isley was recording his solo album Mr. I, it appears that he and Lauryn Hill rerecorded the Burt Bacharach classic "Close To You," that Isley actually originally recorded for his covers album with Bacharach entitled Here I Am.

Though the song was never officially released, luckily for fans of Hill and Isley the duet surfaced on the net last year for our listening pleasure. With that said, take a listen to their sublime duet cut below and Enjoy!

Amazing Cover: "Something" (Lauryn Hill)

In honor of the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ U.S. debut performance, Lauryn Hill  took to CBS's Late Show with David Letterman this past February to pay tribute to the Fab Four with a sublime performance and cover of the groups Abbey Road classic "Something."

While Ms. Hill has winding down her tour, hopefully 2015 proves to be the year for the long awaited followup to Lauryn Hill's 1998 classic album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Either way it turns up, it's great to see the eight-time Grammy winner, back out there performing.

With that said, watch Lauryn Hill's performance of "Something" below as we celebrate The Beatles and their incredible legacy in music.

Live Audio: "Mr. Intentional" (Lauryn Hill)

Saw Ms. Hill last night here in New York City and I got my entire life. With that said, I wanted to revisit one of the songs she performed last night.


Lauryn Hill's 2002 MTV Unplugged special offered a sublime and raw live set  from Hill in the form of MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Recorded in 2001, Hill's Unplugged set gave fan a glimpse into the artist and woman behind the music with new material primarily performed by just Hill and her acoustic guitar.

 "Mr. Intentional" was one of the numerous standout joints Hill sang that night and you can take a listen to her phenomenal live performance below.

Song of the Day: "Lost Ones" (Lauryn Hill)

"Lost Ones" - Lauryn Hill

• Writer: Lauryn Hill 
• Producer: Lauryn Hill, Che' Guevara and Vada Nobles
• Record Label: Ruffhouse, Columbia Records
• Featured on 1998 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Live Audio: "Mr. Intentional" (Lauryn Hill)

Lauryn Hill's 2002 MTV Unplugged special offered a sublime and raw live set  from Hill in the form of MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Recorded in 2001, Hill's Unplugged set gave fan a glimpse into the artist and woman behind the music with new material primarily performed by just Hill and her acoustic guitar.

With that said, "Mr. Intentional" was one of the numerous standout joints Hill sang that night and you can take a listen to her phenomenal live performance below.