Robert Glasper: More than an experiment.

Robert Glasper, your melodies set tones for feelings and evenings. I was lost a couple of months ago looking for something to listen to on a rainy day.

Wrapped up with my loneliness, I scoured the web finding nothing that caught my ear.

But remembering a song I inquired about from a DJ, I found you Robert Glasper. It was a song featuring the always amazing Ledisi. As I stood at an event, the DJ mixed and mixed going through songs I have already heard, some I haven't and none sparked my interest, until I heard it. A bass kick that had the kick of jazz with a hip hop infusion. All of a sudden the voice of the queen ripped through the club.
I hopped from my stool, put down my juice cocktail (pineapple, cranberry and orange juice if you must know) and my curiosity hastened my steps. I asked.

I jotted it down and that was it. I went home after the show, and the song faded from memory. Months later, I looking for music, I needed something refreshing.

One day I was in the lounge of a building where I found my most inspirational moments and I had remembered the song that I wrote down on my iPods notepad.

I quickly searched on YouTube and when I did to my surprise nothing came up. I saw Ledisi's name come up but the DJ said nothing about her being a feature.

After looking again and again, the song finally came up. Robert Glasper feat. Ledisi "I'll be ok". The first couple moments she assured the listeners that the blues would soon turn to sunny days. Her and Robert had me convinced. So me being the self proclaimed music snob that I am, I dug deeper. Had the feel of African rhythms but from the streets of Philadelphia and the voice sounded like it had to be from California...

or New York? I don't know; but the song was inviting, yet aggressive. It was like nothing I've heard before. I found out later that the singer was Mr.

Stokley Williams or you all might know him as the lead singer of singing group MINT CONDITION. Just about everything from the solos of the instruments to the yearning in Stokleys voice; just about everything had me mesmerized; better yet, weak.

Awesome.

*sigh*. As I continued my Rollercoaster ride in and around Glasperville, I got on yet another ride where he, Musiq soulchild, and Chrisette Michelle were the conductors. As I pressed play, that rollercoaster went from the first loop to the moon. Musiq started the song with the words "I think beauty's overrated" leaving a small pause for the listener to wonder why he would say such a thing.

But as the song progressed you can see why he feels that way. Robert Glasper is the architect of amazing.

He seems like he felt a void in the jazz scene and filled it with new colours and tones.

He's now given fans of real music a reason to be fans again.

I find myself not being a sheep (not that I've ever been one before) but this lets me know that if I'm not a sheep I'll be ok.