Just got word that Foreign Exchange, comprised of Phonte Coleman of Little Brother and Dutch producer Nicolay are coming up with a follow-up to their Grammy nominated “Leave It All Behind”. “Authenticity” promises to be expand on the soulful sounds that got them nominated for their last album.

Lead single “Maybe She’ll Dream Of Me” is a playful, synth-driven hip-hop groove featuring a rapped verse from Phonte that evokes the band’s “Connected” era, while the epic opener “The Last Fall” finds Phonte singing some of his most cynical lyrics to date (“Love is at worst an excuse/at best it’s a truce…”) over a frenzied Nicolay production jammed with layers of strings, guitars, and dense choral harmonies.

Head over to the Foreign Exchange website to view the track listing and for other news about this upcoming release, here.

I cannot wait for this to drop.

[ Links: Foreign Exchange Authenticity ]

First up is “SunStorm” from the Detroit born, Washington DC based producer/multiple instrumentalist that’s fresh off of producing a killer track from Little Brother’s last album “Two Step Blues featuring Darien Brockington” and “Zo and Tigallo Love the 80′s” (if you find this, buy it on the spot) as well as work on Foreign Exchange’s Grammy-nominated “Leave It All Behind”. The dude has been busy.

Indie soul siren and American Idol vocalist Sy Smith serves up a slice of 70′s soul on the breezy “Greatest Weapon Of All Time,” and Lady Alma, a Philly veteran and stalwart of the UK house scene, takes it to the dance floor on the frenetic “Free Your Mind.” The album’s lead single, “This Could Be The Night,” features Darien Brockington, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Eric Roberson, and Rapper Big Pooh of Little Brother over a thumping two-step groove specifically intended for the ‘steppers’ of Zo’s native Detroit. Another highlight is the Phonte-assisted “Flight Of The Blackbyrd,” Zo’s heartfelt homage to the 70′s jazz/funk fusion of The Mizell Bros. and George Duke.

Grown up music and definitely worthy a listen or three.

And the second recommendation comes from Slum Village “Villa Manifesto“, originally a trio of Detroit based MC’s and producer J Dilla which has evolved in many forms, taken on members, lost members due to deaths (R.I.P. J Dilla and Baatin) but kept going on strong. Featuring tracks produced by Khrysis and the late J Dilla and featuring the late Baatin, this will invariably be our last look at Slum Village as a whole.

Slum Village’s 6th studio album serves as both a reunion and a memorial album. “I wanted to pull the whole squad together,” explains T3. “The reason why we call it Villa Manifesto is that it was a statement we want to give our people because we had been away for so long. What we’re doing, what’s going on, how we’re feeling and where we’re at today.”

Proceeds from album sales will benefit the late J Dilla’s Mother (Ma’ Dukes) and help support Baatin’s family.

If you have more music recommendations, send them along.

UPDATE: T3 of Slum Village has confirmed that this is indeed the last Slum Village CD that will come out. Buy it via iTunes or Amazon or your local music store.

[ Links: Zo! Sunstorm, Slum Village Villa Manifesto ]

Final Product // ATTIGO TT from Scott Hobbs on Vimeo.

Scott Hobbs Innovative Product Design produced ATTIGO TT touchscreen turntable system brings to the table one of the most useful, intuitive and coolest uses of a touchscreen ever:

The ATTIGO TT is a Touch-screen interface designed for DJing with mp3 tracks. The TT allows DJs to see, hear and touch music in a completely new dimension with a visualization of the music traveling vertically upwards.

The waveform of the music can be manipulated similar to a vinyl record on a turntable, with the abilty to “scratch” and along with all the other functions to control the music, this is the most simple and exciting way to mix mp3 songs.

Not sure how I missed these – the videos are from two years ago – but yes… DO WANT. No word on pricing or availability yet.

[ Links: Scott Hobbs, ATTIGO TT ]

Hiphop isn’t dead. Hell, it’s not even on life support. Hiphop hasn’t even really stubbed its toe. However hiphop has gotten very boring… but Southern California’s team of two brothers, Like and Mibbs with longtime friend BeYoung rounding out the trio that makes Pac Div… hiphop just might have gotten more interesting.

Sounding like a mix of some of your old school favorites, Pac Div mixes in lyrics and a cadence that’s not only easy to listen to, but doesn’t sound like a whole lot of mumbling about bling, women and escapades in cars that are rented or stolen. In fact, listening to Pac Div takes me back to when I first heard Tribe Called Quest (NYC), The Roots (Philadelphia), Binary Star (Michigan), or more recently Little Brother (North Carolina) and H.I.S.D. (Houston).

Simply put, you like actual hiphop, you’re going to love these dudes and you can’t go wrong with a free download either – Pac Div “Church League Champions” – and their Universal Motown Records debut album “Grown Kid Syndrome” comes out later this year.

Hiphop ain’t dead at all y’all…

“From the slums of Shaolin, Wu-Tang Clan strikes again: The RZA, the GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Ghost Face Killer and the Method Man…”

A part of me has always imagined what if RZA had the ability to pull in a good band, funk or otherwise, and back up the original Wu-Tang “Enter the 36 Chambers” that debut in 1992. Since the Roots were not available, seems like El Michels Affair stepped up to the plate…

And knocked it the hell out of the park with “Enter the 37th Chamber“. After hearing snippets of El Michels Affair and Raekwon’s Shaolin Series Volume 1, “Sounding Out the City” was an instant purchase for me. “Enter the 37th Chamber” is part funk, part hip-hop… all good.

“C.R.E.A.M.” is definitely the stand out track.