Today we went bell-to-bell with music the way it was intended to be heard – live on stage, with its loose imperfections and adlibbed beauty. So often, I hear people say they prefer the way music sounds on an album but listen … in 2017, I heard Lauryn Hill perform Everything is Everything around 30 BPM faster than it was meant to be played. It was so dope that we forgave her for being 20 minutes late to the stage. Nothing beats a live performance. Check out the playlist at the bottom of this post; here are a few highlights. SadeI opened up with Sade’s Soldier of Love from her Bring Me Home album, recorded in Ontario, California in 2011. Bring Me Home was Sade’s second live album, after Lovers Live from 2002. Erykah BaduErykah Badu drops a great verse in her live version of On & On, which came from her 1997 live album (which also features that version of Tyrone you forgot about). Lianne La HavasLianne La Havas is a composer and vocalist with a purple connection – a friendship and mentorship with Prince, who once held a concert in La Havas’s London apartment. I played her song Forget, recorded live in Paris, from La Havas’s 2012 debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough. Digital Underground f/ TupacDigital Underground’s ability to apply humour to socially relevant topics was almost unmatched. The group was creative and forward-thinking and served as the stomping ground for one of the most recognized names in music, Tupac Shakur. I played a live version of their track Same Song, which appeared in the 1991 movie Nothing but Trouble. The song is from their 2010 Greenlight EP and features a great live moment when they turned a cold crowd in their favour and boosted the rising stars of their collective (ie: ‘Pac) The Purple Room Curated by @ShantuDiggs Saturdays @ 2 pm MT FM 88.5 (yeg) | @cjsr_fm | CJSR.com (stream) This Week's PlaylistSade
Soldier of Love (Live) Georgia Anne Muldrow Brokenfolks (Instrumental) Lianne La Havas Forget (Live) Erykah Badu On & On (Live) Khruangbin & Toro y Moi First Class (Live from the Filmore Miami) Osibisa Beautiful 7 / Y Sharp (Live) Dwight Trible & The Life Force Trio Otherworldly (Instrumental) Big Daddy Kane Wrath of Kane (Live from The Apollo) Oddisee & Good Company Built by Pictures (Live) Run D.M.C. Sucker MC’s (Live) DJ Harrison Carnival 74 (Instrumental) Digital Underground Same Song (Live) Follow and support @PurpleRoomRadio on Instagram for full playlists and updates on the show. England’s Pip Millett first picked up the guitar at age 14 and has been on an inspired journey ever since. I played Smoking from her 2022 album, When Everything’s Better, I’ll Let You Know, which was a MUCH anticipated release after she put out a string of EPs in the years prior: 2021’s Motion Sick, Lost in June from 2020, and Do Well from 2019. When Everything’s Better is a conceptual ride, with connected recounts of her experiences in the previous years, split up by interludes and exploring all areas of the R&B landscape. Could We Be MoreEarly in the show I played Home by Kokoroko from their 2022 album Could We Be More. The album is an extremely chill and tranquil vibe created by the eight-person collective and led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey who beautifully pierces the band’s calm delivery. Motion SicknessMotion Sickness from Shabazz Palaces’ sophomore studio album Lese Majesty is a sonic gem thanks largely to the producer of the duo, Tendai Maraire. Vocals in the group are provided by Ishmael Butler, formerly known as Butterfly from the Hip-Hop group Digable Planets, who combined extremely conscious lyrics with a heavy dose of jazz drip. Candy ManSpeaking of the Jazz flavour, I played Candy Man by Quincy Jones from the soundtrack to the 1971 film Dollar$. Jones composed the entire score for the film and brought along a few of his friends - Roberta Flack on When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You), and Little Richard on the track Do it - To it, to name a few. Thanks for listening and you will hear me again next week, peace. Purple Room Radio (IG) | PurpleRoomRadio@gmail.com The Purple Room - Playlist for April 27, 2024Kokoroko
Home 9th Wonder TellMeNow!!! Pip Millett Smoking Lyn Collins Put it On The Line The Main Ingredient You Can Call Me Rover Nuyorican Soul Habriendo el Dominante Von Pea & The Other Guys f/ Kooley High Might as Well Shabazz Palaces Motion Sickness Pete Rock Fly Til I Die (Instrumental) Sharpshooters Heavyweight Ballake Sissoko Segal Parisien Peirani Time Burn Ebo Taylor Aboa Kyirbin Quincy Jones Candy Man Yussef Dayes Chasing the Drum Coming off last week’s DJ Jazzy Jeff feature, I’ve got an eclectic mix in The Purple Room this week. Jamila Woods’ Tiny Garden was the affirmation I needed to get the week going, which came from her 2023 album Water Made Us; check out her back catalog, 2019’s Legacy! Legacy! and 2016’s Heavn. Follow PurpleRoomRadio on Instagram for up-to-date announcements and thanks again for visiting The Purple Room! Five RevolutionsFive Revolutions is a foundational group in the Zamrock music movement. The band was discovered playing nightclubs in Zambia around 1970 by promoter Edward Khuzwayo and producer David Nyati. At the time, the band was led by Chris Mbewe who also fronted the band Witch for a while in the 70s and 80s. The band had about a 10-year lifespan – they released four full-length albums and several singles, and at the end of their run they were one of Zambia’s most powerful and influential bands. Check out Poor Man from their 1977 album Ms. Brown, the third full album in the band’s discography. Syl Johnson Syl Johnson’s Different Strokes is an absolute samplers paradise, released in 1968 on the album Dresses Too Short. It’s been sampled by RZA, Kanye, Eric B & Rakim, De La Soul, EPMD, BDP, and even Michael Jackson for his 1995 album HIStory. Public Enemy’s Fight the Power sampled it too but let’s be real, Bomb Squad sampled just about every song in existence on that album. Wade MarcusWade Marcus is the man behind the Motown sound who you rarely hear about. He produced and arranged music for Bobbi Humphrey, Ron Carter, Grant Green, Bo Diddley, Donald Byrd, and Marlena Shaw, to name a few. Listen to Spinning Wheels from his 1971 album A New Era, which was beautifully sampled in the Q-Tip remix of Jungle Brothers’ My Jimmy Weighs a Ton. Dream Warriors Dream Warriors is one of Canada’s recognized pioneers of Hip-Hop – they’re also the first headliners I opened up for back in the day. Their 1991 album, And Now The Legacy Begins, highlights the creativity and abstract production that set them apart from other groups at the time. I closed the doors today with Voyage through the Multiverse – watch for the replay if you missed it, and I’ll see you next week in The Purple Room. Purple Room Radio (IG) | PurpleRoomRadio@gmail.com The Purple Room - Playlist for April 13, 2024Five Revolutions
Poor Man Jamila Woods Tiny Garden Syl Johnson Different Strokes The Impressions Love Love Love Buckshot LeFonque James Brown pt. 1 & 2 Will Sessions & Amp Fiddler f/ Dames Brown Who I Am Wade Marcus Spinning Wheel Madlib Distant Land Nas & Damian Marley Friends Dalton Harris No More Will I Roam Lee Fields & The Expressions Where is the Love Bobby Hutcherson Manzanita Dream Warriors Voyage Through the Multiverse |
The Purple RoomThe Purple Room is an hour of music by Black musicians from across the African diaspora — all genres, all eras — every Saturday at 2pm MT, hosted by Shantu. Archives |