- Autumn - Robert Glasper, We Are KING - Move Love
As soon as the leaves start falling, I turn to my soul, jazz and r&b albums. There is something about the pace of the rhythms and emotions that perfectly match the need to turn inward. A need that comes along with the transition from summer to fall. Gobert Glasper is one of those musical multi-hyphenates I come back to every year. This song features We Are KING, who I was lucky enough to discover a couple of years ago in Rotterdam.
- Precious memory - Roy Ayers - I Am Your Mind pt. 2
This has been my favourite song of all time for a while. I listened to it repeatedly on my first solo trip to Mirleft, Morocco, in 2017. I remember watching the red-looking sea from a clay house on the equally red beach while this song was playing in the background, feeling a sense of peace and wholesomeness I had never felt before.
- Nostalgic - Bob Marley - Waiting in Vain
My mom used to have a video record tape with two hours of MTV music videos, which she personally selected and recorded when she was a young teen in the 80s herself. We used to watch it all the time when I was a little kid, and this particular song and video got me - then and now - every time.
- Heartbreak - Prince - The Beautiful Ones
If passion and emotion were both captured in a song, this is what it would sound like! I’m a passionate person, and even though I would never admit out loud that I would want someone as badly the way Prince does (hello, pride), this is my go-to song if I want to feel melancholic and dramatic. Heartbroken or not, I highly recommend.
- Lovesong - The Isley Brothers & Mos Def - Beauty In The Dark (Groove With You)
I really love the original soul ballad version of this song (Groove With You pt. 1 & 2 by The Isley Brothers), but I just have a special weakness for Mos Def. In this version, his calm voice alternates with Ron Isley’s smooth singing. It's the best of both worlds. This song is not as much about love as it is about loving, but nevertheless, this tune has all the right elements to set the mood for a romantic night.
- Party - Busy Signal - Text Message
This song has forever changed the way I hear the Apple notification bell, haha! Dancehall is a big part of Guyanese culture, and Busy Signal is definitely one of my favourite multi-talented artists from the area (he also brought out iconic lover's rock tunes). Text Message is a classic one. I don’t even need to reach the drop in this song before I start wining on the dance floor - or at home.
