jrlikestodance
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Soundoffs 64
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Last Active 06-25-19 12:06 am
Joined 06-25-19

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 Lists
12.06.25 My electronic digs of 2025 ♦11.08.25 DJing my first wedding tomorrow ♦
10.15.25 Fall Digs ♦08.24.25 DM Digs ♦
07.04.25 Primus Ranked07.01.25 2025 Digs
06.26.25 Comprehensive Core Rec Log06.22.25 SUMMER JAMS
06.06.25 J.R.'s Guide to Dancing and Beyond ♦05.15.25 J.R.'s Fav Piano House Cuts ♦
05.10.25 It's the MF weekend ♦04.10.25 SPUT BANDCAMP UNITY
02.14.25 Happy Valentine's Day!!!01.31.25 My Recent Digs
01.14.25 On Cinema at the Cinema01.13.25 jrlikestomosh's Top 100 Core Albums
12.26.24 2024 Live Recap ♦12.07.24 J.R.'s Top 2024
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Rec me R&B/Soul/Funk
1Maxwell
Embrya

The Goat
2Various Artists (World)
Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife...

Ryus

Great way to kick off the list! The only Nigerian artist I was familiar with prior was Fela Kuti but I hold his music in high regard. A nice compilation of different styles of afrobeat, soul, and blues music with a fairly long run time. I think the variety here really helps to keep the listening experience fresh and I would say if you love Fela like me, you will find a lot to dig into. Certainly need some more time with the individual tracks but this rips. Wish Ryus was here to see the praise.
3Parliament
Mothership Connection

Rowhaus

Ok now this is some classic funk right here. Any hip hop fan is likely to recognize a lot of the tracks as they have been endlessly sampled over the years. It's actually wild how ahead of its time this record was and you can still feel its influence in many genres. What else can I say man, it's George Clinton one of the baddest to ever do it in any genre. An instant hit for me and probably a future 5 with more spins. 4.7/5
4Fatima
Yellow Memories

cylinder

Cool seeing this came out on Eglo Records, love Alexander Nut's radio shows. Anyway, this album goes into neo-soul territory of the 90s and early 2000s with a more modern production job. Fatima is a great vocalist who's cadence kind of reminds me of Nai Palm from Hiatus Kaiyote. For people looking for R&B from the 2010s but aren't crazy about a lot of the mainstream offerings of the genre, I highly recommend this. Soulful, soothing and wonderful instrumentation. I was surprised seeing comments saying the beats sounded dated because I could not disagree more. Solid 4/5
5Taylor McFerrin
Early Riser

cylinder

Pretty sure I jammed this around release but I forgot about it since. This is some more Neo-soul but leaning a bit more into electronic territory. While I did enjoy the instrumentals found here, many songs seemed a bit unassuming to me. Collab with Nai Palm and Glasper/Martin were some definite highlights however and I think this is worth checking out if you dig 2010s Brainfeeder stuff. 3.5/5
6Betty Davis
They Say I'm Different

10/05 - ArsMoriendi

This was a huge surprise for me! Always had heard the name Betty Davis but never checked her out. The amount of personality oozing from this album is straight palpable as Betty fuckin rocks it. Her cadence, annunciation and and swagger are unmatched by many vocalists in the genre. It also helps that the instrumentation here compliments her very well leaning towards funk rock at points. This is definitely a gem I have been sleeping on and justifies me making this list! Easy 4.5/5
7Ohio Players
Honey

ArsMoriendi

Didn't know these lads did the Hell's Kitchen theme lol. Another great record from Ars! I'd argue this album has some of the hardest 70s funk riffs I have heard thus far, truly insane groove. A lot of hits within the tracklist, but Love Rollercoaster in particular was an absolute banger. You could drop this in the club today and still get an insane reaction. Great stuff. 4.2/5
8Erykah Badu
New Amerykah Pt. One: 4th World War

ArsMoriendi

Was excited to dig into this as most of my Badu experience is mainly singles and features. I ended up having some mixed feelings towards the record. More specifically, I felt like Erykah was the weakest part of her own album! Some of her vocals felt uninteresting and some of the lyrics truly fell flat for me which is a shame because there are tracks from Pt 2 I absolutely love. Maybe I am being too harsh, but I felt the quality of her singing was not up to par with a lot of the great instrumentals found here. Opinion could change with a revisit but for now I'l go 3.2/5
9Luther Vandross
Never Too Much

Drifter

Another artist I had only known singles from and man I loved this. It's only 7 songs and legit every one slaps. What I really love about this record is that its like a middle ground between disco's aftermath and the later rise of New Jack Swing in the 80s making for a great sound. Luther also is just an amazing vocalist and makes every performance count on this album. I've Been Working in particular has been on repeat for me. I'm going to drop the big 5/5
10Teddy Pendergrass
TP

foxblood

Was really stoked to dig into this one given my love for Love TKO and it did not disappoint. Teddy really has the smoothest voice of all time to the point he'd throw women's only shows. You can clearly see why after jamming this album through. This is peak baby making music and it's hard not to want to express your love for your SO while jamming this. Another heater 4.3/5
11Baby Huey
The Baby Huey Story: The Living Legend

widowslaugh123

I had never heard of Baby Huey before jamming this and wow another gem! There is a great sense of realism to his music and I feel like this definitely inspired Donny Hathaway's The Ghetto a few years later. Baby Huey is another vocalist with massive personality and unmatchable swagger. Its really crazy seeing how ahead of their time a lot of these 70s artists were. Was also cool hearing the sample for Ghostface's Buck 50 on this album in Hard Times. Great album solid 4/5
12Aaliyah
Aaliyah

mouldypigeon

Growing up Aaliyah was one of the biggest stars on the planet before her untimely death. Always knew the hits but never made it to a full album play through. Holy fuck, Timbaland went off in producing this record with a wide array of influences found throughout. Moody and the perfect compliment to Aaliyah's singing. You can definitely tell this was her more "mature" record with how sexual a lot of the tracks are. This album is a perfect example of peak 2000s R&B and if you know me, I'm an absolute sucker for that. Another 4.5/5
13Millie Jackson
Caught Up

mouldypigeon

Much like Betty Davis, Millie Jackson is full of personality and swagger that really cannot be replicated. Where they differ, is Millie Jackson acts as more of story teller whereas Betty is more of a rock star for lack of a better term. I found this album to be pretty ahead of its time as its a concept album about a woman having an affair from both the wife and mistress' perspectives. This makes for a very unique listening experience and Millie's delivery is unmatched as she leaves out no details in her lyrics. Kind of surprised this album isn't more praised as it seems pretty ahead of its time for the 70s. 4.1/5
14Miguel
Wildheart

Futures

Have to say that I was not too crazy about this one! Miguel is a great vocalist don't get me wrong, but I did not really find much that appealed to me while jamming this. I do like the idea of mixing rock with more traditional R&B, but the execution left something to be desired overall. Not a bad record but also not really for me. 2.5/5
15SOHN
Tremors

FowlKrietzsche

This is definitely an outlier on this list as this is closer to a James Blake than some more traditional R&B. There is some really nice production but much like the Miguel record, I'm not sure this is really for me. Singer/songwriter meets electronic stuff is really hit or miss for me and I did not really find much to grab onto while jamming this through. I do appreciate a lot of the production but I did not get much out the vocal parts. I am willing to try another one of his records though to see if I'm bugging. 2.7/5
16Syl Johnson
Is It Because I'm Black

Butkuiss

Back to the 60s with this one and damn this is cool. A nice helping of blues meets soul in a tight package. Syl isn't the flashiest vocalist but he knows how to carry a track and make it his own with a lot of charisma and southern swag. I was pretty surprised how much I dug the "Come Together" cover as its beyond overplayed but his take on it is real nice and he owns that shit. 3.9/5
17Slave
Slave

Butkuiss

Now this is the good shit. Funk band straight up jamming the hell out of their instruments while still incorporating tasteful lyrics and song structure. You can tell the musicians are very tapped in with one another much like the Ohio Players. This is another album where I could see tracks absolutely smashing the dance floor today. Also Screw Your Wig on Tight is hilarious. Fun!!! 4.3/5
18Harlem River Drive
Harlem River Drive

Butkuiss


Much like Slave, Harlem River Drive is another collective of very in tuned funk musicians from Aretha Franklin's band. While I do find the musicians talented, this didn't quite stick with me as Slave did. The album is only 32 minutes and the tracks go by in a breeze. I would say I wish the tracks were more fleshed out but 5 in 32 minutes is pretty beefy Definitely due for a revisit to see how a truly feel but for now 3.5/5
19Demon Fuzz
Afreaka!

Butkuiss

Was unsure how to describe the sound of this record but the term afro rock is actually perfect. You can definitely hear a lot of different styles going on but afrobeat to me takes the front seat. I find that the long songs really benefit this record as its so easy to get lost into their grooves and fully immerse yourself in their jams. Another record that I need to study some more to get the nuances but I really dug this one 4.1/5
20Patrice Rushen
Straight From The Heart

Butkuiss
21Funkadelic
Maggot Brain

Rowhaus
22Jordan Rakei
Origin

Calc
23serpentwithfeet
blisters

Calc
24Various Artists
Eccentric Soul: Twinight​’​s Lunar Rotation

Ryus
25Musiq Soulchild
Aijuswanaseing

Rowhaus
26Stevie Wonder
Songs in the Key of Life

Rowhaus
27Ginuwine
100% Ginuwine

Rowhaus
28Dr. John
In the Right Place

ArsMoriendi
29Darondo
Let My People Go

Butkuiss
30Tower of Power
Urban Renewal

widowslaugh123
31Cymande
Cymande

widowslaugh123
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