Just months after releasing his debut album on Daptone Records, London-via-D.C. soul singer-songwriter Jalen Ngonda is back with a brand new single, the bittersweet, Motown-inspired “Illusions.” A talented purveyor of time-warp soul a la Leon Bridges, Ngonda’s distinctive voice is his most valuable asset, a nimble falsetto that evokes explosive joy and eats high notes for breakfast. On “Illusions,” however, …
Daptone Records Drops a Heady Reggae Collab Between Sugar Minott and Victor Axelrod
For lovers of reggae music, Sugar Minott was a veritable force of nature. When he died at age 54 in 2010, he left behind an impressive body of work. While still in his teens in the late ‘60s, Minott cofounded the African Brothers, a band savvy at blending R&B and soul with a strong Rastafari vibe. In the subsequent decades …