One of the most culturally diverse cities on the planet, Toronto, Canada hosts its 41st Caribana, one of the biggest and baddest Caribbean Festivals in North America.

Three weeks of partying Carnival style draws in a million festival visitors each year and at least a hundred thousand American tourists come to celebrate culture. Along the festival route vendors line up to serve you food as diverse as the people in attendance so if you like food as much as I do, be sure to go with an empty stomach.

Caribana’s night scene is time to really get live because each night provides another party or three to attend. Machal Montana, a soca artist from Trinidad (the Holy Grail of Carnival) will make an appearance along with Kevin Lyttle, Akon, Estelle, Ludacris, and Kardinall Offishall who will all host parties over the duration of the festival to give you a reason to dance until the next days celebration begins.

Toronto’s Caribana is as close as you’ll get to a Trinidad and Tobago Carnival without having to leave North America to do it.

Caribana kicked off Sunday June 15 and ends August 5.

More event information is available here and here.

In the dark recesses of the late 90s and early 2000s, a tremor ran through the music industry as more material made its way to the web. Amidst the uncertainty, people questioned what would happen to the music and if creativity would die along this new avenue.

What could not be foreseen was the way the internet and the digitization of media would open the door to a more democratic way of making and experiencing music. Through its floodgates have come (sometimes questionably) talented stars such as Souljah Boy and venues such as MySpace and iTunes.

Fast-forward to 2008 and the ever-talented, ever-ingenious, self-acclaimed analog girl Erykah Badu, has also appropriated the digital world to her own ends. Looking for a remix to her latest non-album single, “Real Thang,” Badu has launched an internet-based remix contest open to any creative body with beats on the mind.

Proving the fast-pace of the web and the ability of its plethora of users to turn out a quick download, you can find a number of remixes to the track already up on the paean to self-promotion, YouTube. The remixes are diverse with sounds that range from dub with 80s Barrington Levy samples, to spacey electronic tracks to a mellowed out Madlib groove (remixers, breathe — Madlib produced the original track and cannot be a part of the contest). Don’t feel limited to “urban” types of sounds either — creativity is key so if you think you can make “Real Thang” rock, literally, go for it.

Sound good? Then plug in and get it poppin’.

For “Real Thang” vocals, grand- and runner-up prizes and more information on the contest, click here.

Deadline for entry: July 31.

If you’re a big enough fan of Quincy Jones, you’d know that his middle name is ‘Delight’. You’d also know that the maverick is getting ready to celebrate his 75th birthday. But leave it to Uncle Q to celebrate in musical style: supported by the Swiss Army Big Band, over 20 artists will be gathered on stage at the 42nd Montreux Jazz festival, to perform a fitting tribute to the great man himself.

Billed as the highlight of this year’s festival, the tribute concert will feature a variety of artists from the legendary Chaka Khan and Herbie Hancock to relative newcomers James Morrison and Paolo Nutini. The performer’s list reads like a who’s who of musical talent. But this should hardly come as a surprise, considering the expanse of Jones’ influence in the musical realm.

Having co-produced the Festival from 1991 – 1993, Jones oversaw a sizeable portion of its expansion and had a considerable stake in evolving the festival from a purely jazz-centric festival into a world music extravaganza.
All proceeds from ticket sales go to the Quincy Jones Listen Ip foundation

Have you ever made love to a weirdo? Odds are, you probably have but won’t admit it. Well, 2008 is the year to start fessing up because being as out there as possible seems to be everyone’s new goal.

A music group bringing new flavor to hip hop, Hollyweerd, is also raising the question of whether or not you’d make love to a weirdo, and gaining much attention from the online community. Self proclaimed as the New Wave/Rap/Ghetto Tech Music genre, Hollyweerd brings a hip new swag to the south. Dreamer, The Love Crusader, Tuki and Stago Lee came together in mid-November of 2007 and have since worked to produce a fresh sound to Hip Hop with and electronic/alternative vibe.

To experience their flavor for yourself visit Hollyweerd here.

There’s definitely more than Abba in Sweden. But who is hiding behind the enigmatic name of Those Dancing Days? Five young women (two are still in school) from the outskirts of Stockholm who’ve just released their first indie debut album Run Run including hit Hitten.

Their name comes from a tribute to the legendary rock group Led Zeppelin and their song “Dancing Days”. With their refreshing pop, their have won over their home country up to being nominated last year for Best Swedish Act Prize at the MTV Music Awards. Their music made of lively melodies accompanied with sweet guitars and soft voices turns into a perfect summer soundtrack. So let’s dance!

Listen here

After a three-year hybernation period, PPP, formerly known as the Platinum Pied Pipers, is finally back! It is all worth the wait as the new album takes music production to the next level. After a long searching process, the core PPP — consisting of Detroit-bred, now Brooklyn-based duo, Waajeed and Saadiq — found some outstanding musicians to match their talents for this highly-anticipated album.

July 8th marks the release date of On A Cloud, their first single from their new album Abundance. The title track features new vocalist Karma Stewart, a singer whose powerful vocals recall Aretha Franklin’s soul-shaking force, while the beautifully layered instrumentation blends elements of Led Zeppelin-esque rock tunes, soul and gospel-flavored melodies matching Detroit’s Motown legacy with high energy horns and drums into a sound that is super fresh and is so characteristic of PPP’s pioneering musical experiments. On the flip side is Angel, boasting a similarly big sound inspired by another Detroit roots, Funkadelic. Angel features their brilliant St. Louis-based new vocalist-songwriter-poet Coultrain, who wrote the majority of the songs for the album.

Waajeed means both “finder” and “seeker”, and it was probably not accidental that he was given this name by an elder. As he describes the making of Abundance, “this new album is as much about the process as about the outcome” — as much about the process of seeking to realize this new project as about finding the perfect vehicle for it.

You can catch Waajeed doing a DJ set on Thursday, July 10th at Sutra (16 1st Ave, NY), with old-time friends, T3 of Slum Village and Dwele.

Europeans are ahead of the game, PPP have already begun touring the old continent with the album, but if you’re lucky you can catch them live at their home-base on Saturday, July 12th at Southpaw (125 5th Ave, Brooklyn) as they will provide the highlight of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival at the Official Afterparty, along with DJ House Shoes, Invincible, and DJ Parler. Not to be missed, people!

Make sure to peep the PPP page for the rest of their concert schedule.

When was the last time you witnessed Woody Allen and Public Enemy performing for the same event?! No, no, no this is not a prank or an episode of Flavor of Love…For the past 29 years Montreal has been hosting one of the most prestigious jazz manifestations; an event where up-and-coming talents and established artists give some of their best performances in the heart of the city.

The Montreal Jazz Festival does not only cater to jazz lovers, the array of genres and styles of music (hip-hop, bossa nova, electro-jazz, world-music…) turns the city into an even more colorful and intense cultural mosaic that attracts music lovers from all parts of the world. This year’s edition, dedicated to the memory of Oscar Petterson, had me travel me around the world-literally — in 11 days !

I started my journey, last Thursday, in Bahia with senor Gilberto Gil and his BroadBand, I then attended Reverend Green church service in Memphis on saturday, and eventually spent some time with Me Myself and I on planet rap with De La Soul. On Monday I took a crash-course in social activism with professor Chuck D. Running from venue to the other I couldn’t help but glimpsing at one of the groovy band that would made the crowd get down even in the rain … But wait, I almost forgot my “coup de coeur” Cuban piano virtuoso Roberto Fonseca. Fonseca - who accompanied the legendary Ibrahim Ferrer - and his band mesmerized the audience; I relaxed on Wednesday at McCoy Tyner’s piano recital. Last night, newcomer South African-Israeli Yoav charmed me with accoustic guitar. Unfortunately, as it is often the case with festivals of that caliber, I was not able to stop by Mrs. Franklin’s soulful class, Woody Allen’s jazz lesson; I also missed the double-bill featuring GZA and RZA and The BlindBoys of Alabama, Malian mega-star Salif Keita with Vieux Farka-Toure, or Miss Dee Dee Bridgewater…

Two more days to go and Cassandra Wilson is next!

The 2008 edition is even more special as the city of Montreal has recently undertaken the development of the “Quartier des Spectacles” (Arts District) that should be completed by next year for the Festival 30th anniversary with the opening of the Maison du Festival de Jazz. The festival also offers a variety of activities for children (games, face-painting, music workshops) as well as a guitar salon, a on-site art Gallery and wide range of other excitements!

So folks if you missed this year’s event, start saving up for a trip to the hot’n'humid Montreal summer, you won’t regret it!

More info here!

Stephanie’s got soul. So much soul that it moves through her lyrics, erupts uncontrollably with the unique alto in her voice, and leaves a deep resonance in the minds of listeners. Her soul is fresh and according to her, marks a “reincarnation for the new generation.”

This Bronx-born native makes no mistake when it comes to producing lasting music. With influences from greats such as Betty Wright, Lyn Collins, Margie Joseph, Roberta Flack, Candi Staton and Mavis Staples, it’s only expected that the rasp-jazz songstress bring music back to its feel-good roots.

July 21st marks the expedition back home, with the release of her forthcoming album Tell It Like It Is. When asked about the hiatus between this album and her 2003 self-titled debut, Stephanie McKay responded with a quote from Q-Tip: “Record company people are shady.”

Fortunately, she’s worked through the industry struggles to put forth a solid album. With its distinct title, Tell It Like It Is speaks to the people on their own level. Her latest single “Jackson Avenue” is a hip revival of the classic ‘day on my block’ theme and brings listeners on a journey of what she says focuses “good times, good friends, and Sergio Valente’s.” Stephanie describes this album as “more organic, less electronic” than her debut.

With inspiration stemming from family, life and love Stephanie indulges in the art of storytelling, and she’s had the opportunity to work with some of our times most acclaimed storytellers — Mos Def and Talib Kweli. She describes the two as “poets and masters of their craft. Dedicated to the betterment of their community and proud of their culture. These are things I aspire to do as an artist.”

With her ability to grasp an audience with her music, Stephanie has set herself in the right path to achieve this goal, and been marked her as an artist to be reckoned with.

BabyStone – the soulful mash-up of Ms. Novena Carmel and Itai- croon the stage with a gathering of beautiful eccentricity. The sound captures a Jazz, Afro-Funk, Caribbean sensation that caters to cultural enthusiasts. Marcus Brock had the chance to sit down with lead singer, Ms. Novena Carmel. This retro-fitted chanteuse is no stranger to the grittiness of the soul and funk being that her father is Sly, of the revered band Sly and the Family Stone. But, even without the distinction she’s a show stopper! BabyStone’s syncopated rhythms and intuitive - yet fun- lyrical dynamics need be positioned on anyone’s playlist.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, don’t forget to check out the Record Release Show at Temple Bar tonight. For more info, click here

Trace: How did you and Itai start working together?

Novena Carmel: Itai and I started working together a couple of years ago. He had a track he was producing and when I sang for him, we vibed. Eventually, we had enough material for a show. We didn’t even have a band yet, but I was like – let’s book a date! We then got a band together, booked a date, and rehearsed about five times before our first show.

T: Was the use of live musicians in your band on purpose or a routed intention?

NC: The band was on purpose because we like a BIG sound. I like a real sound, there’s a lot of “fake jewelry” out there so to speak, but BabyStone won’t turn your neck green! We are influenced by funk, soul, and Afro-Beat. So, the use of live sounds and music is very important to us. We are now looking to performing an acoustic set as well in future shows and albums. Itai loves Brazilian music and I have family there so we want to incorporate more of those sounds into our music, like in “Can I Be.”

Me, personally, my vocals will always be soulful but I have a yearning to do some wild, electronic beats. Our live album is many live instruments, similar to a live show but I also want to perform to synthetic sounds like keyboards and talk boxes. Just weirdness, not only sincere heart-to-heart beats. Our next recording will probably have those types of sounds, not completely out there, but different.

T: Some artists try and shy away from their parents’ music – does some of that sound/feel resonate in your music? How has that inspired BabyStone?

NC: As an artist I’m inspired by a lot of modern artists and those that have come before me. One of my favorite genres is the funk/soul of the time period when Sly & the Family Stone was writing their biggest hits. The sound is so influential and amazing to me that there’s no way I could shy away from it. It’s funky, it’s in your face and it’s timeless. That’s a lot of what BabyStone is or at least hopes to be.

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Something has the canucks excited. Across the blogosphere they are getting hot and bothered and they want more of this all-natural brew of sundry flavor. That brew is Zaki Ibrahim.

Born in Vancouver to a South African father and a Scottish/English mother, Ibrahim lived alternately in Vancouver and Cape Town before landing in Toronto in 2001. Since then the transnational songstress has developed a sound that melds the bits and pieces that make up her life into the smooth composite for her current EP, Eclectica (Episodes in Purple).

Ibrahim’s vocals can be lush and Sade-esque, light and smooth like Ladysmith Black Mambazo or float over electronic arias like Beth Gibbons. Although she stays far from the internet, Canadian press and bloggers have been showing much love for her music which is steeped just right in eclectic creativity.

Currently promoting the Eclectica EP and preparing for a set of UK tour dates, Ibrahim chat briefly with me about the album, her influences and the frustrations she has with technology.

For more info on Zaki Ibrahim and two free downloads off Eclectica, click here and stay tuned for her full-length album debut later this year.

Trace: You have a wide range of musical styles on Eclectica — what influenced you to go in the directions that you did?
Zaki Ibrahim: There isn’t one specific influence — I definitely just try to keep it open. I don’t like to think too hard about it. I started off thinking how am I going to bring it all together and how to fit one song with the next or the next. Then I just said forget it.

I got a lot of questions like “what is this?” and “where are you going?” It’s just everything though, old soul, R&B, folk and influences like Edith Piaf, Roberta Flack, Fela Kuti…I just went digging.

T: Your music defies labels, how do you feel then about being called a neo-soul star?
ZI: Neo-Soul is a fairly new title, created out of not being able to describe what that music is. My album is somewhere between urban, folk, something eclectic. You could call it whatever if it fits I suppose. If it fits there, it fits there.

T: You’ve lived in Cape Town, Vancouver and Toronto. I read that you consider all of these places home. Could you have made this album anywhere?
ZI: Yes and Yes, except for Cape Town. In Cape Town I am surrounded by family and I am dedicated to them when I am there. Toronto now is the best place though — it is where I’ve been able to do my music. I’m looking to spend more time in New York and on the West Coast [of Canada] and London. I have a lot of old friends, like, from teenagerdom in New York now saying come down, Brooklyn is where it’s at so, who knows?

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