The Link: Raphael Saadiq Show Live Stream

So Raphael Saadiq—the man behind behind the beautiful late-sixties-in-the-naughts 2008 album, The Way I See It—is performing his upcoming allegedly late-sixties-in-the-teens album, Stone Rollin', live today at 4 EST. And you can watch it stream here, so do.

For a Saadiq appetizer, you could listen to the single of the upcoming album, which drops on May 11, called "Good Man." Or—and I'd normally put up this one up here—the other single, "Radio." But this song, "Staying in Love," off his last album, has been curling the ends of my lips upward and rocking my head every which way since I first heard it two years ago. And I've been wanting to rep it on here for a bit. So hereyago:



Update: While it doesn't look like you can re-watch the live stream performance, you can check out one of his SXSW shows here at NPR.

(Photo: Tone—there are some other cool ones on that site too.)

The Links: John Legend & The Roots' Performances

John Legend and The Roots are doing their thing publicizing their new album Wake Up!, which dropped a week ago tomorrow. That included streaming a live show at Terminal 5 in NYC over YouTube last Thursday, and having Spike Lee shoot it. It also included going on NPR's "World Cafe" the next day.

And as Legend tells the NPR host, "It's an album that's really made to be played live." The thing is, as he explains, Legend may not be able to tour with The Roots, who have jobs getting down daily on a Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, amidst other gigs. So these were as good an opportunity to hear the tracks live as you can get.

Now, if you're shaking your head and thinking, 'Damn, I missed it,' steady yourself. All the Thursday night videos are available online here, along with some of its own interviews too, and the NPR performance is here.

The sound quality on both (and the video quality on YouTube) are solid — just make sure you use some headphones or some speakers other than those on your computer.

(Photo: Screenshot from the YouTube performance)

The Links: Aloe Blacc

On his upcoming album, Good Things, Aloe Blacc sounds just like his biography: a So-Cal hip-hop era man with some soul sense.

You can check out the work at NPR now — and all week — before it drops on the 28th. (The accompanying article does well enough with the full bio if you want; repeating it ’d just crowd the sound.)

Stones Throw is also doling out a download of “You Make Me Smile,” a track off the album, for free (right-click and then “Save Link As…”).

There seems to be a wide range of musical stylings on the album, but little range of the man’s supremely smooth voice. Check “Hey Brother” in the stream to see how relentlessly he sticks with the mid-range vocals.

(Photo: Stones Throw)