Hezekiah is ill- literally.  The multi-talented emcee/ producer/ musician with a sound deeply steeped in Philly’s soulful underground hip hop scene is feeling pretty under the weather when he answers the phone on the evening of our interview, and I begin to worry that this may not be a very fruitful exchange.  My doubts are put to rest, though; as soon as we begin discussing the topic of music, he audibly perks up and exudes an excitement and passion for doing what he loves that should already be evident to anyone who has heard the man’s music.

Midway through 1993, between the releases of Daily Operation and Hard to Earn, Guru delivered the first Jazzmatazz album. Backed by the suits at Chrysalis Records and the seemingly immobile power of the Gang Starr brand, Jazzmatazz’s fusion of hip-hop and jazz planted Guru alongside intensely organic grooves, warm melodies and established the Boston-born, New York-based rapper as a musical curator as well as an MC.

Rare is it when an artist, especially in the overly macho realm of Hip Hop music, can convey a variety of emotions and ideas that don’t border on the line of becoming mawkish. This elusive accomplishment was flawlessly demonstrated by Mr. J Medeiros (member of the Hip Hop group The Procussions) on his stellar solo debut Of God and Girls. With a high level of compassion and an alarmingly intense focus, Mr. J expanded the limits of what the often maligned genre can achieve by sheer willpower alone.

It’s been almost two weeks since Panacea‘s sophomore set, The Scenic Route, was released. Producer Kyle Murdock just found out the first week sales were higher than that of their 2006 Rawkus/Glow In The Dark debut, Ink Is My Drink. But there is little time to celebrate.

Subsequent to 9/11 nothing really made sense. Two of my friends were dead. I had a bullshit job and I couldn’t pay rent. My quest for personal meaning shrunk in the shadows of a broken skyline. On September 18, 2001 “Labor Days” dropped. I stopped by Other Music on East 4th Street, copped it, popped it in and began walking, with discman in hand, the entire 92 blocks to my uptown spot. I was completely captivated, somehow less confused and ultimately comforted that this dude with the wacky vocabulary and tracheotomy voice could make the apocalypse sound so romantic. He made romance sound robotic.

If you have the privilege of seeing Ledisi live, or live from your laptop via YouTube, a few things are obvious: confident stage presence, amazing pipes, great audience participation. What you don’t get at first glance is the ‘little soul sister that could’ has some serious hustle in her. Besides creating and running her own label, LeSun Records, Ledisi keeps herself busy with a constant touring schedule and the occasional show-stopping TV performance. She said it herself, “Never do anything exactly like the cover.” Seeing Ledisi pay tribute to Ella Fitzgerald on PBS’ Great Performances earlier in 2007 with “Blues in the Night” showed why Ledisi is often called on for her renditions of the classics and yet could never survive in a cover band. She attributes doing things ‘her own kinda way’ to her popularity, a common generalization, yet a telling indictment of why no band or label can truly hold her.