Articles by Ryan B. Patrick

Frank Ocean

Blonde

PUBLISHED Aug 23, 2016

"Highly anticipated" is an inadequate descriptor for Blonde, an album for which fans waited seemingly interminably.   Tonnes of web pages h...

Michael Kiwanuka on 'Love & Hate,' 'The Get Down' and Being "A Black Man in a White World"

PUBLISHED Aug 19, 2016

Growing up, UK singer-songwriter and guitarist Michael Kiwanuka was a product of his North London environment, soaking in the diverse music...

Partynextdoor

P3

PUBLISHED Aug 19, 2016

The artistic progression of Mississauga, ON's Partynextdoor has been measured. After penning hits for Drake and Rihanna, it's clear that Ja...

The Get Down

Directed by Baz Luhrmann

PUBLISHED Aug 11, 2016

Before Baz Luhrmann's mega-expensive The Get Down immerses us in its HD screen rendition of 1977's South Bronx — mythic but more-or-less fa...

Yoser Rodriguez

Pollen

PUBLISHED Aug 2, 2016

Toronto bassist Yoser Rodriguez mines elements of Latin jazz and salsa by way of his Cuban heritage for this intriguing, mostly Spanish lan...

Hiatus Kaiyote / Tanika Charles

Phoenix Concert Hall, Toronto ON, July 29

PUBLISHED Jul 30, 2016

The overarching mantra for future-soul darlings Hiatus Kaiyote is "multi-dimensional, polyrhythmic gangster shit."   Truth in advertising,...

Michael Kiwanuka

Love & Hate

PUBLISHED Jul 15, 2016

There's a thoughtfulness that permeates Michael Kiwanuka's second album, Love & Hate. Across ten songs, the UK-based singer-songwriter and...

​Laura Mvula

Dream State

PUBLISHED Jul 12, 2016

"I don't want to lie anymore."   For Laura Mvula, pop-soul album The Dreaming Room is both her new 12-track record and current state of min...