The album cover for the Pointer Sisters self-titled album j showing the sisters seated a table posed for a portrait in their Sunday best dressed and hats.

Beige label on a vinyl record with the Blue Thumb fingerprint logo in the top left and the artist and album info in black text.

The Pointer Sisters - The Pointer Sisters (Blue Thumb, 1973)

A slept-on record if there ever was one, not enough people talk about how hard this one hits. This album proves there is no genre Anita, Ruth, June, Bonnie and the band couldn’t crush with ease.

#nowplaying
#vinylsky
#jazzsky
#randbsky

Define your musical tastes by 8 artists:
1. Janelle Monáe
2. Amaarae
3. Kehlani
4. Ravyn Lenae
5. Cruel Santino
6. BOJ
7. Odunsi the Engine
8. Dave

#MusicSky #QueerMusicSky #BlackMusicSky #GhanaianMusic #AfroSky #AfrobeatsSky #AfropopSky #AltéSky ##UKHipHop #UKMusicSky #RandBSky

#OTD #TDIH #December25, 2006 #DOTD: #RIP #JamesBrown. #GodfatherOfSoul #RAndB #RhythmAndBlues #Soul #Funk #Music #AmericanMusic #GreatSingers #GreatPerformers #FunkSky #RAndBSky #MusicSky
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AWE...

Record cover for "Curtis / Live!" by Curtis Mayfield, in shrink wrap with various hype stickers. Features a photo of Curtis playing live in a yellow shirt with a guitar.

Yellow label on a vinyl record showing the red, blue, and orange Curtom Records logo at the top with their tag line “We’re a Winner,” and the album and song info below in black letters.

Curtis Mayfield - Curtis / Live! (Curtom 1971 / 2023 reissue)

A live album so intimate and visceral I can almost smell the liquor and wooden tables at the Bitter End. Hard to think of a live R&B record that tops it, though Donny's at the same club comes close.

#nowplaying
#randbsky
#vinylcommunity

Record cover for Losers Weepers by Etta James, featuring a sepia tone close-up photo of Etta’s face singing with her eyes closed.

Blue label on a vinyl record, with the red, white, and blue Cadet Records logo at the top and the album and artist info in the middle in black letters.

Etta James: Losers Weepers (Cadet 1970)

Few artists poured their heart and soul into a song like Etta James. Her 70s albums don’t get the acclaim of her great 60s work like “At Last,” but this is an Etta who has been through some stuff and she WILL make you feel it.

#nowplaying
#soulsky
#randbsky

On “should’ve called right back,” Sagun duets with The Hics and puts some mellow in melancholy. #music #musicsky #randbsky
youtu.be/P106lbuQEVc?...

Cover of the “Never My Love: The Anthology” CD boxset, featuring a black and white photo of Donny wearing a hat, turtle neck sweater, and peacoat or trench coat.

Face of a compact disc designed to look like a 7” single with yellow label and ATCO pinwheel logo on the left.

Donny Hathaway: Live at the Bitter End 1971, previously unreleased performances (Rhino, 2013)

I can never get enough Donny. Especially this disc from the “Anthology” CD boxset, with unreleased cuts from the set featured on Side A of his legendary “Live” album.

#nowplaying
#randbsky
#soulsky

Album cover of “Innervisions” by Stevie Wonder featuring an abstract illustration by Efram Wolff in brown, gray, orange, and beige.

Yellow and brown label on a vinyl record with the Tamla logo at the top and the album info in the bottom half in black typeface against a yellow background.

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions (Tamla 1973).

Been too long since I spun this classic, which is my personal favorite Stevie album. Simply perfect from start to finish, every track, every texture, every transition. Not a moment wasted.

#nowplaying
#vinylcommunity
#randbsky
#vinylsky

Cover of CD of "Curtis" by Curtis Mayfield, featuring a photo of Curtis sitting on the ground in a yellow outfit, shot from below.

Face of a gold compact disc with the mobile fidelity name and logo on the left and the album info on the right, all in gold letters against a black background.

Curtis Mayfield: Curtis (Curtom 1970 / 2010 MoFi) #CDFriday

While the world looks worse and worse everyday, I can at least turn to one of my very favorite albums for some solace (and a fantastic sounding Mobile Fidelity CD). As Curtis says, “if there’s a hell below…”

#nowplaying
#funksky
#randbsky

Record cover for "Melody of Life", featuring a photo of the artist from the shoulders up with "Gwen McCrae" in bubble letters at the top.

Yellow and white label on a vinyl record, with the Cat Records label on the left against a yellow background, and the album info on the right against a white background.

Gwen McCrae: Melody of Life (Cat 1979 / 2025 SoulDisco reissue)

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this SUPER LIMITED pressing from Germany from my friend Nadine, who just released her first reissue on her SoulDisco label. And WOW this one is an instant classic! 🔥🔥🔥

#nowplaying
#randbsky
#vinyl

Album cover - on the left, an oval black and white photo of a Black man (Smith) sitting at a kit of Whitehall drums. He's wearing a light-colored double-breasted suit with a white shirt and darker tie. On the right is a similar oval with the artist and title. surrounding these cartouches are stripes of white, purple, green and pink, gathered like show curtains, I guess?

#jazzsky #loungesky #RAndBSky #vinyl You want more? Tony Smith and the Aristocrats, Live at Fred Allegretti's 4 Horsemen Lounge, Sanns, undated but I'd guess 1968-70. More jazz this time, but still an R&B-style lounge act for drinkers with a few pop and rock numbers tossed in.

Good morning! 🌞

Today, I'm celebrating the illustrious Ms. #PatriceRushen. She is my all-time favorite artist, musician, producer, composer, and educator. 🤌🏾
This is Patrice Rushen's world and I'm grateful to be living in it! 💐 🎹

#jazzsky
#randbsky
#SoundzOfBlackness

youtu.be/4i3tuwhn20M?...

Record cover for “Funky Kingston” with colorful renderings of a photo of Toots & the Maytals against a sky blue background.

Black label on a vinyl record with the colorful Island Records logo at the bottom and the album and artist info in white letters.

Toots & The Maytals: Funky Kingston (Island Records 1975, U.S pressing)

This one has a special place of honor in my small reggae collection. A truly transcendent album that probably also qualifies as one of my favorite R&B records.

#nowplaying
#vinylcommunity
#funksky
#randbsky
#vinylsky

Record cover for Leon Ware’s self-titled album from 1982, featuring a photo of the artist in a black outfit against a gray backdrop with LEON WARE in red capital letters at the top.

Red label on a vinyl record, with the Elektra label at the top in white and the album and artist info in black letters in the middle.

Leon Ware: Leon Ware (Elektra 1982)

Grail achieved, and this thing smokes! YMMV, but for me this captures a high point in R&B, when everyone in the studio was at the absolute top of their game. And any album from Leon’s collab with Marcos Valle is a must-have for me!

#nowplaying
#randbsky

Available Now

#SingingSigma #LoveAndFairytales #KindredTestimonyDeluxe

youtu.be/_6fr4tEQi5E?...

#BlackSky #RandBSky

Album cover for You’ve Got it Bad Girl by Quincy Jones featuring a portrait of Quincy posing with his fists on his hips in a black outfit against a brown background.

Brown label on a vinyl record showing the red white and black A&M Records logo on the left with the album and artist info in black typeface.

Quincy Jones: You’ve Got it Bad Girl (A&M 1973)

My personal favorite Q album, with so many highlights including the often-sampled“Summer in the City” organ riff, the incredible orchestration of “Manteca,” and the Sanford and Son theme. 70s jazz-funk bliss!

#nowplaying
#funksky
#randbsky
#jazzsky

CD cover of “This is Brian Jackson” featuring a closeup photo of Brian Jackson’s face against a black background.

Face of a compact disc with the album title “This is Brian Jackson” in white letters on the left and a closeup photo of Brian Jackson’s face against a black background on the right.

Brian Jackson: This is Brian Jackson (BBE, 2022) #CDFriday

What a fantastic album by the artist best known for being the songwriting and recording partner of the late great Gil Scott-Heron. Honestly one of the best late-career R&B-ish albums I can think of.

#nowplaying
#randbsky
#funksky
#soulsky

Album cover for The Impressions: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story, featuring the group standing against a stone viaduct with Curtis Mayfield and Fred Cash in tan trench coats and Sam Gooden in a short brown coat with a white hat.

Yellow label on a vinyl record showing the red, blue, and orange Curtom Records logo at the top with their tag line “We’re a Winner,” and the album and song info below in black letters.

The Impressions: The Young Mods' Forgotten Story (Curtom, 1969)

Food for the soul. I usually reach for Curtis and the Impressions when the world is looking particularly bleak and I'm in most in need of a strong dose of grace and dignity. Mighty mighty!

#nowplaying
#soulsky
#randbsky

Still on my social media break, but you can still catch these vibes. Testimony Deluxe is still available for your listening pleasure on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, and all streaming platforms.

Run ‘em up, and I’ll see y’all soon. 💙🌼🫶🏾

#BlackSky #RandBSky #KeepStreaming

youtu.be/ydJGv8_LmBo?...

Cover of Cheryl Lynn’s self-titled record from 1978 featuring a close up photo of the artist’s face with a border that makes it look like the photo was torn on all 4 edges, “Cheryl Lynn” written in script in red letters inside a turquoise box on the top right and a purple sticker on the top left with the words “Featuring the Hit Single ‘Got to Be Real” in white letters.

Red record label on a vinyl record showing the Columbia Records name and logo in yellow lettering in a circle around the outer edge.

Cheryl Lynn: Cheryl Lynn (Columbia, 1978).

Cheryl Lynn’s debut album is 🔥🔥🔥🔥! From the undeniable smash hit “Got to Be Real” to the nasty funk pocket laid down by James Gadson on tracks like “All My Lovin,” I imagine this must have DESTROYED dance floors back in the day.

#randbsky
#soulsky

For all of the #randbsky lovers it’s what you were looking for. There’s a nice old school, specifically 90s, vibe that you can groove to. I’ve now seen Lloyd twice live and I had no clue he was that great live.

while we are at it… same song. #randbsky #blackmuskcsky #blackskyover40 #blackskyover50 #whoeverthefuckwannaseethissky

Cover of vinyl reissue of Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights, showing a drawing of a man and dog looking at a river and a “Rhino Reserve” hype sticker in the upper right corner.

Red and white label on a vinyl record showing the Rhino Reserve logo at the top and album info in red letters against a white background at the bottom.

Allen Toussaint: Southern Nights (Reprise, 1975 / 2025 Rhino Reserve reissue).

Brand new reissue just hit my turntable, Allen Toussaint’s incredible tour de force 1975 album. A few tracks in and it sounds incredible, highly recommended!

#nowplaying
#vinylcommunity
#funksky
#randbsky
#musicsky

V underrated #randbsky

Today is Thom Bell’s birthday - what a great composer! Two versions of one of my favorite Stylistics/Thom Bell songs to follow:
1/ the original
#thombell #stylistics #soundofphiladelphia #music #musicsky #soulsky #randbsky

youtu.be/ScnDnByjHTo?...

If you’re looking for a new artist to listen to, search “Kindred Williams” on your favorite music platform. You won’t regret it unless you don’t like R&B with Gospel and Smooth Jazz influences. #BlackSky #RandBSky #BlackGaySky

linktr.ee/JustKindr3d