B-Side BRIC RADIO

Freelance is a Harlem-based collective and band of independent leaders with an expansive sound and encyclopedic knowledge of musical genres that afford them the ability to cross-pollinate styles and manipulate melody to create an aesthetic signature uniquely their own. The band features an all-star lineup of musicians that regularly accompany Grammy Award winning artists such as Robert Glasper, Solange, Estelle, Esperanza Spalding, Terence Blanchard, Bilal, Terrace Martin, Lalah Hathaway, and more, and is comprised of founding leaders Smithsoneon (vocals) and Ausar the Ambassador (keyboards) along with Craig Hill (saxophone), Yasser Tejeda (guitar) and David “Dj” Ginyard (bass) and Justin Tyson (drums). Freelance’s sound is born from the sonic footprints of Mint Condition, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Radiohead, and Robert Glasper.

Freelance’s name derives from their decision to live and work as a collective of musical entrepreneurs, allowing them to create their own means of generating income and a working model for creative freedom, designed to inspire others to pursue their passions and “Live Freelance.” As ambassadors for freedom in their careers, they are also advocates for equity and activism whose music incites joy as deftly as it addresses the issues of disparity and injustice.

••••
The B-Side Podcast is produced by Charlie Hoxie, Kecia Cole, Ro Johnson and Sachar Mathias; recorded by Onel Mulet and Steve de Seve; and edited by Emily Boghossian and Khyriel Palmer. For more information on B-Side and all BRIC RADIO podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio

With six solo releases in 12 years, Johnson is taking another leap of faith, but this time it’s for no one but herself. Choosing to mine the spirit, energy, and deceptively simpler musicality of songs from the 1970s and ‘80s, the silver and bronze eras of the music she loves most, Johnson only tackles one cover, Teena Marie’s “Déjà vu,” here with the renown Onaje Allan Gumbs on grand piano. Throughout Naturally Me, the supremely talented trio of Lisala Beatty, Tiffany T’zelle Wilson, and Darius Booker vocally support Johnson’s confident foray into classic sounds with a modern, genre-blending approach that is strictly Angela Johnson. With the brightness of Diana Ross, the earthiness of Aretha Franklin, and the jazzy gospel doo wop of Natalie Cole, Johnson intimately sings about: keeping the home fires burning (“I Don’t Mind”), on not giving up on love (“He Saw Love In Me”), cleverly fighting to make ends meet (“I Promise [M.O.N.E.Y.],” featuring an incandescent Raul Midón on vocals and acoustic guitar), the need for a mental oasis from the daily grind (“A Beautiful Place”), and devastatingly about the Trayvon Martin case from a mother’s perspective (“Black Boy Lullaby”). Exploring the timeless sounds of artists like Prince and Steely Dan on “Say Yeah,” Johnson boldly writes about being fed up with America’s political and economic conditions and rallies a rousing call for community mobilization and a return to the earth for the natural foods we as a people once used to keep healthy in body and mind, a particular concern for the community-minded vegan. On the foot-stomping rock, soul and gospel hybrid jamboree, “Music Is My Religion,” Johnson instrumentally shares her expanded consciousness through her first spiritual language, the universal language of music.

••••
The B-Side Podcast is produced by Charlie Hoxie, Kecia Cole, Ro Johnson and Sachar Mathias; recorded by Onel Mulet and Steve de Seve; and edited by Emily Boghossian and Khyriel Palmer. For more information on B-Side and all BRIC RADIO podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio

Binky Griptite is best known for being the guitarist for the legendary Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Having taken a break from music after the passing of Jones, Binky is back with his new band, The Binky Griptite Orchestra.

••••
The B-Side Podcast is produced by Charlie Hoxie, Kecia Cole, Ro Johnson and Sachar Mathias; recorded by Onel Mulet and Steve de Seve; and edited by Emily Boghossian and Khyriel Palmer. For more information on B-Side and all BRIC RADIO podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio

QNA to hip-hop is like Legos to industrial design; the possibilities are endless. QNA’s cerebral lyrics work in tandem with formidable musicianship to create music that's simultaneously explorative and traditional. Its members have been under the mentorship of luminaries such as John Pattitucci, John Abercrombie, and The Last Poets. Building on the precedents set by their mentors, they follow the music across genres and cultures, beginning dialogues with new musicians and audiences alike. For this B-Side, watch them bring the sounds of the Caribbean to the corners of Crown Heights.

••••
The B-Side Podcast is produced by Charlie Hoxie, Kecia Cole, Ro Johnson and Sachar Mathias; recorded by Onel Mulet and Steve de Seve; and edited by Emily Boghossian and Khyriel Palmer. For more information on B-Side and all BRIC RADIO podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio

From Mt. Vernon, NY and currently based in Harlem, JP Reynolds is an incredibly unique hip-hop artist on another level speaking life with music. With a message of Peace and Power, his innovative sound blends jazz, gospel, funk and soul into an eclectic rap gumbo.

After JP started performing with a live band he established The Peace and Power Band with the help of his music director and bassist, Criston Oates. They added Jayare McKenzie on drums, Sidney Antoine on guitar, Duvane "Phats" Whilby on keys, and Mike Rodriguez on guitar - all New York City area musicians.

••••
The B-Side Podcast is produced by Charlie Hoxie, Kecia Cole, Ro Johnson and Sachar Mathias; recorded by Onel Mulet and Steve de Seve; and edited by Emily Boghossian and Khyriel Palmer. For more information on B-Side and all BRIC RADIO podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio

Shelley Nicole—the mainspring behind Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe—is simultaneously a product, a witness and architect of Black-on-Black love, a calling that has informed all of her work as a singer, writer, composer, actor, poet, musician and a healer. It is the tap root of her latest work, I Am American, a collection of songs written by her and produced by award-winning guitarist, composer and producer Vernon Reid of the band Living Colour.

I Am American is a testament to both Shelley’s vision and her band/collective blaKbüshe that she’s presided since 1999. Combined with Vernon Reid’s guidance and her extended family of exceptional creatives who lent their talents and love to the project. I Am American harkens back to the Golden Age of classic albums that embraced collaborative energy from diverse, paramount artists.To that end, I Am American, the third blaKbüshe release, is Shelley’s sonically and topically valiant mission statement of self-empowerment, self-determination, self-love and self-care.

The album is a genre-defying blend of rock, soul, blues, jazz and funk that tells a story of women reclaiming their cultural identity, their psychic refuge and their personal agency. The project is part of the continuum of audacious, self-confident and eclectic Black sisterhood that extends from Rosetta Tharpe to Nina Simone to Betty Davis to Labelle to Joan Armatrading to Meshell Ndegeocello.

••••
The B-Side Podcast is produced by Charlie Hoxie, Kecia Cole, Ro Johnson and Sachar Mathias; recorded by Onel Mulet and Steve de Seve; and edited by Emily Boghossian and Khyriel Palmer. For more information on B-Side and all BRIC RADIO podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio