Yesterday Stones Throw Records unveiled the brand new Aloe Blacc video, "You Make Me Smile" - the latest music video from the SoCal neo-soul artist's ever-popular album Good Things. Although the album was originally released back in the Fall of 2010, when the Orange County native celebrated its release with a record release party/in-store performance at Amoeba Hollywood, it continues to sell well due to the popularity of such tracks as "Green Lights,"  "Hey Brother," "Loving You Is Killing Me," his version of the Velvet Underground & Nico's "Femme Fatale," and of course the album's standout soul-stirring track "I Need A Dollar," which many people discovered as the theme music for the HBO television series How To Make It In America. That song, which immediately confirms why Aloe Blacc has been heralded as a modern day Marvin Gaye, sounds like classic '60's/'70's soul but simultaneously acts as the perfect soundtrack to these economically challenging times for many in America.

Super Bowl isn't the only event happening today. On a more bittersweet note around the same time as the Giants/Patriots game over in the UK is a big J Dilla fundraising tribute party - just one of numerous events scheduled this month, on both sides of the Atlantic, that will honor the greatly revered late hip-hop producer and emcee who died six years ago around this time (Feb 10th, 2006) following a battle with lupus. Fittingly money raised at the British Dilla event today, which is titled J Dilla Changed My Life and will be held at Scala in London, will be donated to both Lupus UK and the J Dilla Foundation with all the DJs performing for free to benefit both causes. Also in the house today will be Ma Dukes - the mother of the late great artist born  James Dewitt Yancey and was also known as Jay Dee (not to be confused with an early 90's European house music act of same name). For more exact details on today's London event, that will be hosted by Phat Kat, visit the official Facebook event page.

Other J Dilla tribute events this month include ones in Detroit, LA, Baltimore, San Francisco, and New York where on Feb 19th at the Brooklyn Bowl the sixth annual Donuts Are Forever celebration will start at 8pm and will feature such talents as DJ Neil Armstrong, Prince Paul, and the hip-hop group Tanya Morgan. Of this NYC accidentally annual event Derreck "Dee Phunk" Johnson,  a partner in Rare Form - the event's organizer, said, "We never went into this planning for it to be an annual series. The original Donuts Are Forever in 2007 was a commemoration of the first anniversary of his passing.  But when we witnessed the turnout, we were dumbfounded.  We were fans and we knew there were a ton of other fans out there...but just seeing the physical manifestation of that love blew us away.  And five years later...here we are on number six." Details.

1) Gangrene Vodka and Ayahuasca (Decon)

2) Lushlife Plateau Vision LP (Western Vinyl)

3) Homeboy Sandman Subject Matter (Stones Throw)

4) Eligh & Amp Live Therapy At 3 ( Legendary Music/Live Up/Traffic)

5) Wiley Evolve Or Be Extinct (Big Dada)

For a change from the usual sales-based Amoeba weekly hip-hop chart this week's Hip-Hop Top Five Chart is my own personal favorite brand new and soon to drop hip-hop releases. Topping the chart is the amazing Oh No and The Alchemist group Gangrene's third and latest collaboration Vodka and Ayahuasca on Decon. Also here is the recent Eligh & Amp Live Therapy At 3 ( which gets better and better with repeated listens and the brand new Wiley
album Evolve Or Be Extinct - a double CD on Big Dada which will appeal equally to grime and hip-hop heads. Not out yet but worthy of mention It is the forthcoming Lushlife album Plateau  Vision LP, which will be released in mid April on Western Vinyl, and is sure to propel to mainstream visibility the South Philly producer/emcee/musician who made waves last year with the much buzzed about mixtape No More Golden Days. As with that mixtape, which was an actual cassette tape, this new CD album blends mid 90's underground NY hip-hop flavor with Dilla/Madlib type production values. This is the sort of well produced album that will make you want to also track down the instrumental version. It's pure pleasure to listen to and Lushlife's flow is a treat to listen to. He is also joined by several well chosen guests throughout the 11 track album including Styles P, Canadian rapper Shad, Heems of Das Racist, and ex-Titus Andronicus garage rocker Andrew Cedermark who joins him on the album track "The Romance of the Telescope." My personal favorite tracks are the throwback eigthies/nineties sounding "Anthem" and the opening "Magnolia" which, over a dreamy hypnotic backdrop and a series of well chosen samples, finds Lushlife rapping about such things as graffiti and Coney Island. This is already making its way to becoming one of my year end top albums.

Aloe Blacc - Femme Fatale from BOUL2BEAT on Vimeo.

A friend was kind enough to drop this little birdie in my inbox, a little late, but whateves, I'll take it. Besides, how could I forget? Stones Throw's annual celebration 10-10-10! Happens every year, on the same date. Not exactly rocket science.

Later this afternoon, for ten hours straight ten djs will spin all 45s in the 10-10-10 marathon party. To all you ilovers, your shazam won't work in their arena. Trust me, the collective record collection of the players on this list is massive...Amoeba massive. Come out, let loose, and enjoy some of the grooviest $*it you've never heard.

And those DJs are: Baron Zen, Dâm-Funk, Danny Holloway, J Rocc, Madlib, Mahssa, Mayer Hawthorne, Peanut Butter Wolf, Prince Paul, and Rhettmatic. As Pitchfork put it, if you make it through the entire party without leaving, you're a champ.

4pm-2am
740 S Broadway
Downtown LA, CA 90019