As promised in the broadcast, here’s some additional background on the albums I selected for last year, in no particular order:
| Artist | Album | Comments |
| Brittany Davis | Black + Thunder | If she never gets to my town, I’m jumping in the car or on a jet plane. A really special talent. Lyrical poetry. |
| Omar | Brighten The Days | This is some fine music from one of the founders of the Brit neo-soul scene. |
| Adrian Younge | Something About April III | Adrian Younge caught my radar with his symphonic + spaghetti_western “Something About April” release 15 or so years ago. He wends his way through multiple projects and themes, including the Brazilian-leaning “Jazz Is Dead” series. In SAA III, he melds the April and the Portuguese. |
| Don Was & the Pan-Detroit Ensemble | Groove In The Face Of Adversity | They play in my city in Jan ’26; can’t wait to go! I would’ve never expected a big band to do a Cameo track. |
| The War and Treaty | Plus One | “Reminisce” alone can catapult an album. |
| Errol Eats Everything | Errol Eats Everything | What’s in a zany name? I’m glad I jumped in and paid close attention. This is one bright dude. Here’s an example of how hiphop’s spoken approach can add density to a message. |
| Brother Ali | Satisfied Soul | I’m not sure I ever gave BA a Top Ten nod before, but he kept growing on me over the years. |
| Ami Taf Ra | The Prophet & The Madman | Something went wrong: I received some cool promotional material that included incense and a cool bookmark, but no tracks. I kept nagging until the music arrived. The wait was worth it. Think Kamasi Washington expansiveness with North African vocal overtones, or the other way around. Prepare to be hypnotized. |
| Say She She | Cut & Rewind | This is somewhat disco, and/but the messaging is heavier sometimes. |
| Kinetic | Generations | This is a hometown favorite. I’ve tended to keep a slot for Pgh over the years. This is a seriously good album. Hoorah to leader Prof. Joe Sheehan and the rest of the band. |
Man , your show is like water me . My name is Chris Fletcher , i am a dairy farmer in the Fraser Valley B.C. We are a soul music desert . God bless you the musical nourishment !
Poppa, were you trying to make my week? Well, oops, you did. I’m writing you a separate email, so look out for that. Thanks.