Phonte‘s “Ball And Chain” from his 2011 solo debut Charity Starts At Home is completely repackaged for a slowed-down remix from Sheldon Williams for the upcoming release of +FE Music: The Reworks. The track strips the original Swiff D production down to the vocal, maintaining the tempo and building something more of a bump and grind era “please baby please” r&b slow jam around it. The track sounds less inspired by the original producer’s approach and more by the lyrical lamentations of FE frontman Phonte Coleman, as he searches for ways to explain a soured relationship. While the track stands somewhere between Speakerboxxx/The Love Below and New Edition‘s Heartbreak, the gorgeous piano work and panning synths are unmistakably FE standard musicianship. A great homage to an awesome decade or two of music that does not get enough credit, the “Ball And Chain” remix is a refreshing take on the original.

The post Phonte – “Ball & Chain” (Sheldon Williams Remix) appeared first on Okayplayer.

Zo!, Eric Roberson, Darien Brockington, and Phonte–each an individual force to be reckoned with- -combine with Tall Black Guy on the remix to form a souled-out Voltron charged to protect the hearts of all the lovers in the house.  Picking up where Eric Roberson and Phonte left off with 2011′s “Picture Perfect” (produced by Aaron Hardin and Slimkat78), these guys are just in time for Valentine’s Day.  ”This Could Be The Night” showcases the best and brightest of FE’s list of frequent collaborators.  With Zo! at the helm, this track is a rework of the uptempo original from his 2010 album, Sunstorm.

From the original tag team of Phonte and Nicolay, Foreign Exchange has expanded to a time-honored collective of heavy hitters who cross pollinate each other’s projects to disgustingly awesome results.  There are certain combinations you just know will be good without having to ask.  Like peanut butter and chocolate.  Milk and cookies.  Zo! and Tiggalo.  Nicolay and Phonte.  Little Brother and Darien Brockington.  Eric Roberson and pretty much anybody.  Though nobody’s keeping score, this could be the night Foreign Exchange finally proves once and for all that great music will remain the cream that rises to the top – with or without the support of major radio.  Zo! is a beast and it’s time more people talked about it (!) This track is the second of two leaks from the remix project +FE Music: The Reworks scheduled to drop on February 26th.  That will be followed by ManMade, the next full-length project from Zo! slated to drop this spring.  Until then, go crank this track and love up on someone special.

spotted at BLS

The post Zo! x Tall Black Guy – “This Could Be The Night” Remix appeared first on Okayplayer.

On February 26th, our peoples, The Foreign Exchange, will be coming through with a new(ish) LP, The Reworks. The two disc album will feature “Selections from The Foreign Exchange’s +FE Music catalog as remixed by Nicolay, Zo!, 4hero, The Randy Watson Experience (?uestlove & James Poyser), Focus…, Tall Black Guy, Pirahnahead, and more.” The album will also include three new studio tracks, today we get the release of one of said tracks. Phonte and Nicolay go for more of a dance vibe with the album’s opening trakc, “So What If It Is.” All instruments by Nicolay, Vocals by Phonte, with additional background vocals from Carlitta Durand and Damaris Fletcher. Get the full tracklisting after the jump, and look for FE’s long awaited fourth LP, Love In Flying Colors, later this year.

Disc 01:

01. The Foreign Exchange- So What If It Is
02. The Foreign Exchange- The Last Fall (Focus… +FE Experience Remix)
03. Zo! feat. Phonte- Flight of the Blackbyrd (4hero Remix)
04. The Foreign Exchange- Fight For Love (Nicky Mendes and Brasil ’66 Remix)
05. Deborah Bond- Say It (Nicolay Remix)
06. The Foreign Exchange feat. Paris & Amber Strother of KING- All The Kisses (Ahmed Sirour Remix)
07. The Foreign Exchange feat. YahZarah- If She Breaks Your Heart (The Randy Watson Experience Remix)
08. The Foreign Exchange feat. Darien Brockington & Median- Maybe She’ll Dream of Me (Pure P’s Sky Hygh Remix)
09. The Foreign Exchange feat. YahZarah- If This Is Love (Nicky Buckingham’s Fleetwood Remix)
10. Vikter Duplaix- Electric Love (Nicolay Remix)
11. Zo! feat. Chantae Cann- All Is Well With Love (Pirahnahead Remix)

Disc 02:

01. Phonte feat. Focus… & Sy Smith- Love Songs
02. The Foreign Exchange feat. Darien Brockington- All or Nothing/Coming Home To You (Pure P’s Midsommarkransen Night’s Dream Remix)
03. RJD2 feat. Kenna- Games You Can Win (Nicolay Remix)
04. Phonte feat. Carlitta Durand- Gonna Be A Beautiful Night (Zo’s Legendary Story of a Star Remix)
05. Jeanne Jolly- Sweet Love (Nicolay Remix)
06. The Foreign Exchange- Don’t Let It Be So
07. Zo! feat. Eric Roberson, Darien Brockington & Phonte- This Could Be The Night (Tall Black Guy Remix)
08. Sy Smith- The Art Of You (Nicolay Remix)
09. Phonte- Ball and Chain (Sheldon Williams Remix)
10. The Hot At Nights- ACSlater (Nicolay Remix)

The post The Foreign Exchange “So What If It Is” appeared first on Okayplayer.

DJ Rahdu of Bama Love Soul fame has cut together a brand new mixtape with a theme that is extremely close to the hearts (and chatboards) of okayplayer: Phonte – The Guest Verses. By recognizing this consistently dope MC and compiling his incredible catalog of guest-verse work in one place, Rahdu’s mix provides an invaluable service to the listener with a tape we predict you will bump for years to come, rather than decreasing your hard-drive space just to kill an hour’s time. For all these reasons and more, Okayplayer is proud to cosign & co-premiere Bama Love Soul Presents Phonte – Never At A Loss For Words: The Guest Verses–and let us not the 2 most important words in this title: Part 1. Stream or download below and find the full tracklist after the jump.

Phonte is one of the first highly opinionated emcees to definitively capture the ear of the Hip Hop community and beyond since the days of KRS-One and Chuck D. We fell in love with his humor and wittiness on The Listening, anticipated his colorful social commentary on Gordon Gartrell Radio w/DJ Brainchild and even checked for his critique of the latest films with Movies in a Minute. Yet, the North Carolinian never ceased to deliver punchlines and knockout verses with numerous collaborators over the years while simultaneously establishing himself as a singer as The Foreign Exchange reinvented their sound. Although more entertainment than edutainment, the loquacious emcee has our ears successfully on lock and we hope he’s never at a loss for words.
Disclaimer:This is not a “Phonte’s most fire guest verses mix”, but a mix of DJ Rahdu’s favorite Phonte collaborations. Enjoy!-BLS

>>>Download

01.The Away Team – See U Later feat Phonte
02. DJ K.O. – Ladder of Success feat Phonte, Wordsworth, K Hill, Masta Ace
03. BK One – Here I Am feat Phonte, Brother Ali, The Grouch
04. Zo! – Black Cow feat Phonte
05. Eric Roberson – Been in Love feat Phonte
06. Polyrhythm Addicts – It’s My LIfe feat Phonte
07. DJ Spinna – Dillagence (One 4 Jay) feat Phonte
08. Up Hygh – Keep On feat Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh
09. The Roots – The Day feat Blu, Phonte, Patty Crash
10. Kev Brown – Can’t Stay Away feat Grap Luva, Phonte
11. Stat Quo – Homage to Premier feat Royce Da 5 9, Phonte
12. The Physics – Babble feat Phonte
13. Median – Special feat Phonte, YahZarah, Bahamadia
14. The Brand New Heavies – Sex God (DJ Spinna Remix) feat Phonte
15. Rhymefest – Say Wassup feat Phonte
16. Mars – Autumn Love Song (Fall For You) feat Phonte
17. DJ Spinna – Intergalactic Soul feat Phonte
18. Trackademicks – Fool on the Hill feat Phonte
19. Lil B the Based God – Base For Your Face feat Jean Grae, Phonte
20. Phonte Interlude
21. Evidence – For Whom the Bell Tolls feat Phonte, Blu, Will. I. Am
22. Brother Ali – I’ll Be Around feat Phonte, Stokley Williams
23. Apathy – True Love feat Phonte
24. 88 Keys – Close Call feat Phonte
25. JR & PH7 – GoodBye feat Phonte, Median
26. 9th Wonder – One Night feat Terrace Martin, Phonte
27. Darien Brockington – Wasting Time feat Phonte
28. YahZarah – Real Good feat Phonte
29. Drake – Think Good Thoughts feat Phonte, Elzhi
30. Supastition – Soul Control feat Phonte, Big Pooh
31. Tyler Hipnosis – Gotta Do feat ​Khrysis​,​Phonte​,​Rapsody​,​DJ Gonzo
32. Tor – The Perch feat Flying Lotus, Oddisee, Phonte Coleman
33. U.City – Soul Clap (Nicolay Remix) feat Phonte, Jean Grae
34. Liquid Spirits – If You Don’t Love Me feat Phonte
35. DJ Jazzy Jeff – Whatever U Want
36. Anthony David – 4EverMore feat Algebra, Phonte
37. DJ Mitsu the Beats – Feelin Alright feat Phonte, Big Pooh

The post Mixtape Premiere: Phonte – Never At A Loss For Words: The Guest Verses appeared first on Okayplayer.

German production duo JR & Ph7 dropped their latest LP, The Good Life, yesterday via Soulspazm records. Features on the album include Freeway, Sean Price, Skyzoo, Ras Kass, Saigon, The Kid Daytona, Chuuwee, Roc Marciano, Guilty Simpson, Torae, and more. You can cop the 15-track album via iTunes. But before you do that, check out the full stream via DJ Booth, and grab a free download of the latest single, “Goodbye,” featuring Phonte and Mefdian, below.

>>>Download via bandcamp

The post Audio: J.R. & PH7 “Goodbye” feat. Phonte & Median appeared first on Okayplayer.

Incredible. So many things to love about this Robert Glasper Experiment remix which hit the webs today, I could spend the whole write-up just rhapsodizing about the title. ‘Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Erykah Badu’ is a pretty dope place to start. Then “Afro Blue” is one of those titles where you know the music is going to be phenomenal because it’s not physically possible to MAKE a corny song called “Afro Blue”–like flipping through vinyl stacks and coming across a record with cover art so psychedelic it has to be purchased on the spot (see above). Then, when you’re already primed, half-delirious with that lucked-up feeling…bam. 9th Wonder remix featuring Phonte. After that the only thing I could really add is: New Tigallo, new Tigallo, new tigallo.

BUT, I should also maybe mention that this is only the first of 6 remixes that the Experiment are unleashing on an unsuspecting world, 6 re-imaginings collected together as the Black Radio Recovered Remix EP. Another remix from the likes of ?uestlove, Pete Rock, and Georgia Anne Muldrow (see full tracklist after the jump) will be debut on a different site every day this week, all culminating in the premiere of the opus called “Dillatude #2″ right here on Okayplayer next Monday, October 8th. And now, I think, you have all the inspiration information you need to properly enjoy this music. Stream below:

Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio Recovered (Remix EP) Tracklist

1. Afro Blue ft. Erykah Badu (9th Wonder’s Blue Light Basement Remix feat. Phonte)
2. Black Radio ft. yasiin bey (Pete Rock Remix)
3. The Consequences of Jealousy ft. Meshell Ndegeocello
(Georgia Anne Muldrow’s Sassy Geemix)
4. Twice (?uestlove’s Twice Baked Remix feat. Solange Knowles & The Roots)
5. Letter to Hermione ft. Bilal (Robert Glasper and Jewels Remix feat. Black Milk)
6. Dillalude #2

The post Audio: Robert Glasper x Erykah Badu – “Afro Blue” (9th Wonder Remix f/ Phonte) + Black Radio Remix EP appeared first on Okayplayer.

To be honest, I hope Phonte releases a video for every song off of Charity Starts At Home, the shit is that thorough. But for now, again, New Tigallo, New Tigallo, New Tigallo! For his latest visual, ‘Tay hooks up with Carlitta Durand for this beautiful ballad. Video directed by Kenneth Price. Charity Starts At Home is out now, cop it via Amazon or iTunes.

The post Video: Phonte “Gonna Be A Beautiful Night” feat. Carlitta Durand appeared first on Okayplayer.

Who said n*ggas from the south can’t rap? If you’re of that belief, Mississippi and North Carolina have some bars for you. Frequent Big K.R.I.T. collaborator, Big SANT, rounds up Phonte (yes, he’s rapping), Tito Lopez, and King Mez to rhyme circles around your head with “Rap N*gga.” The track will appear on SANT’s upcoming solo project, MFxOG.

>>>Download

The post Audio: Big SANT “Rap N*gga” feat. Phonte, Tito Lopez & King Mez appeared first on Okayplayer.

New Tigallo, New Tigallo, New Tigallo – I’ll never get tired of saying that. More than just words, Phonte comes through with a brand new video off of Charity Starts At Home, today. Watch ‘Tay and Median push their product door to door in the flyest of fits with their new vid for ”Eternally” (9th Wonder on the beat.. and on the lawn). Video directed by Kenneth Price. If you somehow haven’t already copped, go get Charity Starts At Home via iTunes or Amazon.

The post Video: Phonte “Eternally” feat. Median appeared first on Okayplayer.

Nottz Raw and his V.A. collective, D.M.P. are back at it again with some new new. D.M.P. plan on droppin’ their new mixtape, Live From Early Street, next week. Today, Nottz and his Durte Muzik Prahdukshun crew hit us with “Dead End Street” featuring Phonte.

>>>Download 

The post Audio: Nottz & D.M.P. “Dead End Street” feat. Phonte appeared first on Okayplayer.