This week in The Purple Room, I kicked things off with Sleep On Dream On by The Beginning of The End, a deep, dusty groove from the Bahamas. Their 1971 hit Funky Nassau is a classic, and it’s been covered plenty of times, even appearing in the Blues Brothers 2000 movie.

I pulled The Emotions’ I Like It from the crates, the original source for ODB’s Shimmy Shimmy and 3rd Bass’s The Gas Face. Madlib followed, bringing his signature sample-based production in First Class, a track from his Beat Konducta series. Sadly, 2025 saw Madlib lose his legendary record collection in the California wildfires—a huge loss for the music world.

We also dove into some international sounds with Manu Dibango’s Aphrodite Shake and an impressive collaboration between Israel’s Idan Raichel and Mali’s Vieux Farka Touré on Gassi Gabbi.

​I wrapped things up with VV Brown’s deeply personal track Feel So Alive and some smooth cuts from Skyzoo, Blakk Soul, Pete Rock, and Vinia Mojica.

The Beginning of the End
Sleep On Dream On

Terrace Martin
Leave Us Be

Luther Ingram
Pity for the Lonely

The Emotions
I Like It

Thee Sacred Souls
Sorrow for Tomorrow

The Midnight Hour f/ Ladybug Mecca
Mare

Madlib
First Class

Manu Dibango
Aphrodite Shake

The Dionne Farris Charlie Hunter Duo
Walk The Way You Talk

The Toure’Raiche Collective f/ Eyal Sela
Gassi Gabbi

Ohmega Watts
Floor Rock

The Dopplegangaz
The Gods

Charles Bradley
The Telephone Song

Lord Finesse
Enchanted (Instrumental)

VV Brown
Feel So Alive

Skyzoo f/ Blakk Soul
Soft Eyes

Pete Rock f/ Vinia Mojica
Mind Blowin’

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​The Purple Room
Curated by @ShantuDiggs
Saturdays @ 2 pm MT (replays Sundays @ 11 am)
FM 88.5 (yeg) | @cjsr_fm | CJSR.com (stream)

This week, I kicked things off with Sonya Spence, whose song Talk Love blends her Jamaican roots with a smooth, soulful vibe. Remember the song playing during the wedding scene in American Fiction? Yeah, that was her. 

I dropped Labi Siffre’s I Got The, an understated classic that was sampled by Kanye West for I Am A God.

Speaking of samples, Idris Muhammad’s Crab Apple was a standout this week, a funky jazz track with deep roots in the 70s jazz fusion scene. It also has one of my all-time favourite loops by Grand Puba and Mary J Blige for Check it Out in ‘92. 

Rounding out the show, Greg Osby’s Raise, featuring CL Smooth, gave us a sharp, energetic finish with his modern jazz approach.

Until next week!

Sonya Spence
Talk Love

Labi Siffre
I Got The

Bia Kamara Jr. & The Voodoo Sniffers
Can’t Wait Here Too Long

Harlem River Drive
Harlem River Drive (Theme Song)

Leroy Hutson
Lucky Fellow

Idris Muhammad
Crab Apple

Donald Byrd
Love’s So Far Away

Ebo Taylor Jnr. and Wuta Wazuri
Mondo Soul Funky

Jimmy McGriff
The Bird

Makaya McCraven
Butterss’s

Jay Dee
The Clapper (Instrumental)

Greg Osby
Raise

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​The Purple Room
Curated by @ShantuDiggs
Saturdays @ 2 pm MT (replays Sundays @ 11 am)
FM 88.5 (yeg) | @cjsr_fm | CJSR.com (stream)