Justin Vernon of it-band Bon Iver jams with The Legendary Roots Crew on the set of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon–and now I wish that that was the night I had cashed in my meager OKP credentials to crash the taping. To me this video is like that dated and unused drink ticket you find in your pocket the morning after a wild night at the club. And I am only a medium-heavy Bon Iver fan. But if this hazy, heartfelt jam–full of space for everybody involved to stretch out both technically and emotionally–doesn’t convert you, you might be past all hope.

Everybody in the worlds of soul and pop music seems to be talking about Brooklyn-based songwriter-turned-artist Stacy Barthe, from 106 & Park to our friends at Soul Culture. But it was the rudeboys of LargeUp who linked this exclusive preview of two new songs from the buzzy new singer. Turns out that besides John Legend & Estelle, Barthe is collaborating closely with Supa Dups, the dancehall producer who has recently gone triple-uranium through his work with Eminem and Bruno Mars. Membership in the reggae brother/sisterhood has it’s privileges. Without any further chattymouth business, stream or download “Find Your Way” below. And when you like what you hear follow the links to grab up “Keep It Like It Is” and as well as John Legend‘s cameo on a remix of the sublime “No Strings Attached.” Boom.

>>>Download “Find Your Way”

>>>Stream/Download “Keep It Like It Is” (via LargeUp)

>>>Stream/Download “No Strings Attached” f/ John Legend (via Large Up)

It’s going down. Tomorrow, Saturday February 11th at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, The Roots will be hosting their annual Grammy-weekend Jam Session. Knowing the vast galaxies of musical starpower which will be assemble in la-la land for the awards, just about anybody and I mean ANYBODY could pop through. This year’s jump-off has an extra special aura of glowing ampedness about it because besides holding court, Questlove is actually presenting at the Grammys this year. So set your DVR to “vinyl-pressing” and if you are in L.A. cop tickets for the Jam Session right here right now (full details after the jump).

Saturday 02/11/2012
Doors: 09:00 PM
Show: 11:00 PM
Prices:
$49.50 – Adv. General Admission / Standing
$55.00 – DOS General Admission / Standing
Ages: 21+

House of Blues Los Angeles
8430 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 848-5100

Purchase tickets at House of Blues or use this link: http://bit.ly/rootsjam8

I’ve seen some out there maneuvers to spit game to a woman at a restaurant, but Brother maître d’ Ali takes things a step further with his new video “Shine On.” The song features Nikki Jean with Jake One supplying the beat and will appear on Ali’s new EP, The Bite Marked Heart. Video directed by Dave Wilson. The FreEP drops Monday the 13th and will feature 7 brand new tracks with production from Jake and Ant (Atmosphere). You can download “Shine On” here.

If you happened to be stuck in traffic in NYC around noon today (or following @okayplayer on twitter), the god of sample-flipping was smiling on you. That’s because our own afro-rocking overlord ?uestlove was invited to hold down Mr. Cee‘s Old School at Noon slot on the infamous radio station Hot97 as part of a series Cee calls “Black Fist Fridays”–and dedicated the entire hour to the productions of J Dilla, who would have celebrated his birthday on Tuesday and lost his struggle with the deadly disease lupus six years ago today. He also spoke to XXL Mag extensively about what made Dilla the greatest rap producer of all time (Questo’s words but, yes, I am printing it as if it were an indisputable fact) from the big picture to the specific moments that made some of our favorite records. Stream or download the mix–which contains all sorts of unreleased goodies teased throughout–below (via Miss Info), peep a choice quote and then read the full interview at XXL.

The day after he recorded “Think Twice,” for Welcome to Detroit, I look at the drum set, and I was like, “Wait, you recorded that on this?” And it was the most dingiest, dirtiest, not even second-hand. [It] looked like the Fat Albert junkyard gang drum set. Screws were missing; some of the heads were broken. Matter of fact, he didn’t even use real drumsticks on “Think Twice.” He used a vibraphone mallet, and he had a broken drumstick that he got some toilet paper from the bathroom, and some rubber bands. I was like, “You would rather go through this MacGuyver shit than buy new drumsticks?” He’s like, “I didn’t know where to get ’em this late at night; I had to make due.” I was like, “Well, why did you hit the drums with the mallet?” He was like, “I didn’t want the dynamic to be too aggressive. I wanted to sound muted, so I decided to play the drums with the soft cotton mallet.” It looked like putting a marshmallow at the end of a toothpick [Laughs]. Next thing I know, I’m now flying to Philadelphia—I think the next week, [to work on] The Roots’ Phrenology record [and] I tracked both “Quills” and “Pussy Galore” the same way. I went and got some orchestra mallets, and then I too started, just ’cause I seen how he got that sound.

On the hip-hop side of things, one of the pleasant surprises for me in 2011 was getting put on to producer/rapper duo Dunc & Toine aka DTMD. Their debut LP, Makin’ Dollas, dropped in late 2011 via Mello Music Group and was well received, but not heard by many. Today we revisit the LP with their latest video “Raw” featuring Godly MC and Kev Brown. Video directed by Roddy Rod. Makin’ Dollas is out now via iTunes.

Remember the epic concert we mentioned, the one happening Monday at Carnegie Hall to benefit Tibet House US and featuring rock legend Lou Reed, not to mention OKP stalwarts Rahzel, James Blake and Das Racist? It is going to be awesome. Better yet OKP is offering you the chance to win 1 pair (2 tickets) to attend this historic meeting of the musical minds. Here is what you must do to enter:

1. Follow @okayplayer  on Twitter.
2. Tweet at us with the name of the artist you’re most excited to see and why. Include the hashtag #okaytibet + this link: http://bit.ly/A2edxH in your tweet.

Example:

I want 2 win 2 tix 2 see ___ (<–insert your fav artist here) at Carnegie Hall on Monday bcuz ____ ! http://bit.ly/A2edxH #okaytibet

We’ll announce the winner via Twitter at the end of the day. Good luck!

High Water Music artist Willie Evans Jr. has no problem expressing his inner geek with his latest video “Nerd English.” Dungeons and Dragons, Crate Diggin (for comic books), X Box playin’ at the “Nerd Trap House,” Willie switches up the linguistics for the latest video off of Introducin‘. If you speak the language fluently, I’d highly suggest more outdoor activities. Video directed by George Deacon and Willie Evans Jr.

Much-loved diva Adele–who has announced she will be performing at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards this Sunday, after being sidelined by throat surgery for the last several months–blessed Anderson Cooper with the first demo of the power in her newly-healed vocal chords. Yup, they work. The goosebump-inducing acapella version of “Rolling in the Deep” was elicited during the taping of an interview Adele gave Cooper for CBS’ 60 Minutes, which will air in its entirety this Sunday, February 12, at 7PM EST–right before the live airing of the Grammys, where she is nominated for 6 awards. There was piano ready in the studio, apparently, but Adele couldn’t play because “her nails were too big” explained Cooper, who also added that he jogs to”Rolling in the Deep” every morning–as opposed to OKP, which rides for Adele every morning and every night too.

spotted at FW

Rhode Island emcee Jon Hope reminds us his new album, Work In Progress, is still coming soon by going in over one of my favorite Preemo beats (AZ‘s “The Come Up”). Check the visuals for “Wishful Thinking.”