Son Little’s new album is, in its purest form, American music. The artist formerly known as Aaron Livingston knows his nation and its sounds well. He was born to a preacher and a teacher in Los Angeles, where he learned how to listen and how to play before moving east to New York and New Jersey. He dropped in and out of schools and scenes in Manhattan then Philadelphia, and there he collaborated with acts like The Roots and RJD2. He first planted his flag as Son Little with last year’s highly praised EP, Things I Forgot, a small collection of big songs that showcased his ability to hop across genres as well as he does state lines.
 
And so it only makes sense that the pastiche and reach of his music is all over the map, literally. And he can hear a map in his music. In it, he can recognize the places he’s lived, traveled, and played to, places explored and discovered. “I hear places in the songs without trying to evoke them while writing. I can trace where a lot of my music came from, as my life and my family touch so many different places. I can hear Lake Charles, Louisiana in my voice, the way I say some of the words; I hear New York in my lyrics. Detroit is a place I haven’t spent a ton of time in, but if I explore the music of Detroit, I can hear myself in there, too.”
 
The songs on Son Little follow suit. They teem with small moments creating a bigger picture, a pointillist art piece made from junkyards and viewed from space. Pulling inspiration from the color wheel diaspora of American music, Son Little draws from a deep well, using different buckets to visit and revisit, finding flourishes to add to the core of his songs. There, at the end of “Doctor’s In,” is a roving banjo; there, at the start of “Go Blue Blood Red,” is a keyboard riff culled from a kid’s Blue Man Group keyboard; there, in “Carbon,” is an electric Howlin’ Wolf stomp and start. For Son Little, studio time is a joy, where every good idea leads to four more.

“Captain” Kirk Douglas is an American guitarist who plays with the hip hop band The Roots.
 
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Introducing hip-hop Neo Soul Dynamic Duo Range da Messenga and Hezekiah. This summer, Range da Messenga teams up with “Philly’s premier underground beat-maker” (URB Magazine) HEZEKIAH for an exclusive 3 track digital-maxi single. Warming the world up for their upcoming EP “Battlecry”. In just two years, self proclaimed Hip Hop Hustla, Range da Messenga has positioned himself, through popular live music venues of Philadelphia, as the next soulful singer & songwriter to watch. From southwest Virginia, this “singer, emcee and dread-locked philosopher” (The Roanoke Times) has been singing, songwriting, arranging, recording, and performing for over half his life, but only since he moved to Philadelphia in 2010 did Range begin to grab the attention of America’s soulful elite. Sharing stages with the likes of Bilal, Raheem DeVaughn, Glenn Lewis, Marsha Ambrosius, Lupe Fiasco, Syleena Johnson, Kindred the Family Soul, The Wailers and many more, Range da Messenga is poised to be the next recognizable voice in the world of Hip Hop Soul. [Neo Soul Cafe]

Making her mark on the Philadelphia jazz scene and beyond, Alita Moses has been critically acclaimed as one of the city’s young artists to watch. Since winning the 2014 Montreux Jazz Vocal Competition in Montreux, Switzerland, she returned there to attend the 1st Montreux Jazz Academy working with greats such as Patti Austin, Sonny Emory, Lee Ritenour and Charles Lloyd. In July, she returned to open for Al Jarreau in the 2015 Montreux Jazz Festival.
 
Her ambitiousness is evident in her work with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Pops Orchestra as well as solo artists and bands such as Larry McKenna, Matt McAndrew, ILL DOOTS, Steve Davis, Joel Frahm and many others. A recent graduate of the University of the Arts, Alita was a recipient of The President’s Award. In 2016 she will tour with a New York-based pianist, Walter Fischbacher, and his quartet throughout Europe. Whether on the stage or in the studio, she brings a natural warmth to each performance and astounds audiences with grace and a musical maturity beyond her years.
 
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Philadelphia’s Johnny Popcorn is a three piece rock band which features vocals from Hezekiah and Jani Coral.
 
Initially, Johnny Popcorn was founded by producer/bassist Tone Whitfield (Me’shell Ndegeocello and Zap Mama) and songwriter/emcee/producer Hezekiah (Rawkus Records) after several late nights working on R&B artist Bilal’s album. Their early works were pet studio projects released causally to music fans at live shows and digital downloads.
 
Hezekiah feeling stagnant in hip hop started to devote more time to Johnny Popcorn. Hezekiah started to recruit musicians to form a touring band which included guitarist Lloyd Alexander. The band solidified when Virginia native Jani Coral added her raspy like vocals to the band.
 
Now with an innovated sound and direction, Johnny Popcorn continues to ignite live shows and record emotional driven songs. Johnny Popcorn has opened for Bilal, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, RJD2, Robert Glasper Experiment, Oddisee, Ladi6, and Kindred & the Family Soul.
 
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The electrifying soulful presence that is Donn T comes from such a rich lineage of musical heritage that makes itself very obvious when listening to her music. Musical ability like hers can’t be taught, brought or sold, it can only come from within fresh with it’s raw hypnotic nature that captures the listeners. The singer, songwriter, producer, musician, label owner and Philadelphia Native has just released her much anticipated album, Flight Of The Donn T, which comes along with a string up upcoming tour dates, festivals and appearances. Two songs from the project, “Waiting” and “Midnight” have appeared in recent films. “Waiting” appears in award winning director Ava Duvernay’s I Will Follow, while “Midnight” appeared in the Lifetime movie This Ring, which featured Jill Scott, Regina Hall and Eve. [Dubard, Parle Mag]
 
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Karl “Dice Raw” Jenkins is a mainstay of the Philadelphia Hip-Hop Scene, and most commonly associated over the years as a principal songwriter/collaborator /producer for The Roots.
 
At the young age of 15, the legendary Roots crew first took Dice Raw under their umbrella, when their production member, Kelo, first discovered him at a local talent show. Little did they know, Dice had already begun his music industry career at age 13, when he worked in California for New Edition offshoot, Bell Biv Devoe. Dice Raw’s debut with the band came on their classic, “The Lesson, Pt. 1”, and soon after, he made a name for himself with cameos on “Episodes” and “Adrenaline”, where his hard-hitting style complemented the heady rhymes of Roots leader, Black Thought. Dice Raw has made several guest appearances on several mixtapes. He made an appearance in fellow band member and beatboxer Scratch’s first solo album, Embodiment of Instrumentation.
 
In 2014, Dice Raw has taken on the cause of Black male incarceration in America with his magnum opus, “Jimmy’s Back” – [iTunes link]. The highly acclaimed concept album inspired by New York Times bestselling book “The New Jim Crow” is a lyrical odyssey through the plight of the prison system, told musically by Dice Raw and a cadre of excellent MC ex-felons. Most recently, the album debuted as the stage play “The Last Jimmy” at Philadelphia’s coveted Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. He also has plans to release a book in the near future, and was an instrumental contributor to The Roots’ 2014 album, “And Then You Shoot Your Cousin”, released in May 2014.
 
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