Video: Aloe Blacc “I Need A Dollar”

“I Need A Dollar” could literally be the theme song of the country right now—a melancholy yet honest story of hard times. Some how, it’s comforting because it’s a reminder that it’s not just you who’s broke. Aloe Blacc is a truly talented artist who’s been paying dues on the indie music scene. Now with this song garnering fame as the theme for HBO’s How To Make It In America we hope that more people will open their eyes to the LA native whose been here all this time.

As for the video, Aloe Blacc has such a vintage style to him and nothing shows hard times better than a walk through the ‘hood in the winter. This song is the perfect hustler’s prayer no matter what it is you’re pushin’. As for Aloe, we’re pretty sure things are looking up for you and its well-deserved. Cheers to making it! Hit the jump to watch the video.
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Suite903 Souvenirs: Four Albums from Winter Music Conference 2010

Now that the 2010 Winter Music Conference all wrapped up, Suite903 has something to show other than a pocket full of stones from Miami beach. If WMC was any indication of where the independent soul scene is heading, look for a lot of cross-breeding between hip-hop, electronica, and R&B music to emerge from artists looking to be in the rotation of every forward-thinking DJ. Read about some of the promising acts that came out of WMC after the jump.
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Suite903’s Winter Music Conference Weekend Guide 2010

If you haven’t had your fill of this season of music festivals yet, WMC should be where you top things off. So what SXSW just ended on Sunday. Another round of back to back concerts, after-parties, and after-hours should do no harm at the Winter Music Conference, right? Prepare yourself for a musical bender down in Miami where the city turns into one giant in-door/out-door rave headlined by house, techno, and hip-hop DJs. Never fear though, your soul is covered with our guide to this weekend’s jumpoffs in the M-I-yayo.
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Video: Hudson Mohawke “Joy Fantastic”

We ate some brownies for lunch and they tasted kinda funny. We shrugged it off since the special ingredient was some sort of gourmet dark chocolate (the bitter kind), but watching this video makes us think maybe there was more to it. Hudson Mohawke cooked up a video that tastes a lot better. That’s a good thing because he checks his inhibitions at the door. Vocally he’s unafraid to let his voice fluctuate, putting him in the corner for the rest of the night to sweat out his trippy delivery.
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Who is Jill Scott? (10 Years Later)

After the Y2K fluke, we shrugged our shoulders (pre-Kanye shrug) at the mysterious tech hoax. There were questions we just didn’t have the answers to, and in music this one also stumped us: “Who Is Jill Scott?” Yeah really, who is that chick that penned Erykah Badu’s vocals on “You Got Me” off the Roots’ Grammy-winning LP? Sorry, that lady in fact was the talented songwriter who vocalized love in the new millennium.
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Video: Get International Soul in Eurovision

For those of who you who have not been keeping up to date with the Eurovision Song Competition (this means non-Europeans stuck on FiOs), the 2010 songs are hitting YouTube, and there are a few you should definitely check out. A Suite903 favorite is Eva Rivas’ submission for Armenia called “Apricot Stone.” Eva’s vocals can compete with any female R&B vocalist in the U.S., once you get past the fruit-bearing title. Not as exciting as the sexually explicit material coming out of the states, but vocally exciting nonetheless. After Armenia, honorable mention goes out to Portugal with a solid performance by Filipa Azevedo on “Ha Dias Assim.” Romania would get a heavy nod too if they didn’t blatantly rip off a Lady Gaga riff (1:06), but it’s still worth checking out for a laugh.–Eric Sandler

Stream: Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings “I Learned The Hard Way”

Certain subjects belong with certain genres of music. Songs about cheating and heartbreak belong in soul because, well that kinda shit stirs a feeling that breaks down your entire mindset. It’s mostly because you are usually forced to step away from the inside of your mind and flip out on someone. Forget all the floor-shaking bass you get in current R&B songs. It’s also perfectly dramatic with the horns that always punctuate at just the right moment like the precious one savored for when Sharon Jones has you cussin’ and throwin’ clothes out the window with the best of them.

Her voice is powerful with just that kind of slight rasp that gives it the edginess needed to be a badass. Best part about listening to Sharon is that she never needs to hoot and holler. She commands the song simply by singing it, a sign of true talent. As for learning the hard way, we can also relate to you, Ms. Jones. The mass umbrella bones on the streets of NYC this morning reminded us that many folks took their water poof companions on a suicide mission this weekend; maybe to protect a fresh hairdo that was also lost in the foray. Come on guys they didn’t deserve that at all. Yet another scenario of heartbreak.–Judnick Mayard

Stream: Sharon Jones “I Learned The Hard Way”

Video: Sabrina Washington, “OMG” (Oh My Gosh)

It’s high time the U.S. start importing girl groups because the ones here are lucky if their careers last longer than their menstrual cycles. Bickering (3LW) and raging hormones (Destiny’s Child), have put some of our favorite female collectives in the can, but in the U.K., the folding of Mis-Teeq’s record label Telstar Records was partly at fault.

Alesha Dixon was the first of Mis-Teeq’s threesome to jump off with a solo career, and some modeling (N.E.R.D’s video for “She Wants To Move”) but Sabrina Washington and her fine self is showing the most promise. She pulls no punches by putting her goods on the glass (peep the first outfit), even if haters want her to send her style back to the GaGa store. Whatever. Go in ma, and stay there longer than Alesha did.

Gordon Voidwell, “Disco Afternoon” MP3

The joke’s on you if you believed there’s nothing but emptiness in the world of Gordon Voidwell. There’s plenty of synths, guitars, and other noisemakers to comb through on the Brooklynite’s new song “Disco Afternoon.” He could fake the funk by simply recycling Bootsy Collins’ catalog, but he’s dedicated to his craft by experimenting with just about every instrument he’s photographed with above. We believe you Gordon, you don’t need more people, or instruments in this case.

Download: Gordon Voidwell, “Disco Afternoon”