Articles by Ryan B. Patrick

Alsarah & the Nubatones

Manara

PUBLISHED Oct 4, 2016

The concept and question of identity fuels the music of Sudanese singer-songwriter Alsarah. Of Nubian descent, the woman born Sarah Mohamed...

Abakos

New Constellation

PUBLISHED Oct 4, 2016

At a mere three tracks, the New Constellation EP by Montreal producer-performer Pierre Kwenders and vocalist Ngabonziza Kiroko (aka Dear De...

Luke Cage

Season One

PUBLISHED Sep 30, 2016

The transfer of a Marvel comic book character such as Luke Cage onto television screens could have been terrible. Spinning out of the '70s...

An Essential Guide to Lee "Scratch" Perry

PUBLISHED Sep 27, 2016

Genres like trip-hop, dubstep and drum'n'bass can all be traced back to a subgenre of reggae music known as dub. At its most reductive, dub...

Various

Nigeria Soul Fever — Afro Funk, Disco and Boogie: West African Disco Mayhem!

PUBLISHED Sep 16, 2016

This triple-album mines deep cuts from the Nigerian disco-soul era in the 1970s. The American influences are inescapable, as is the passion...

​Usher

Underrated

PUBLISHED Sep 14, 2016

With more than 75 million records sold, it might surprise some to know that R&B star Usher ranks as one of the best-selling music artists e...

Macy Gray

Stripped

PUBLISHED Sep 9, 2016

Macy Gray is in a self-conscious phase of her career. The Grammy-winning artist is recognized, not yet revered; accomplished but not yet an...

Five Noteworthy Facts You May Not Know About Usher

PUBLISHED Aug 25, 2016

As an R&B/pop artist, Usher has had a long career that is both underrated and often overlooked. But he's actually sold more than 75 million...