Femi Andrade may be the Bay Area's best-kept secret. That phrase gets tossed around a lot, but in her case, it's highly applicable. The Afro-Rican soulstress has tempted many local music fans over the years with her dynamic live performances and sultry hooks on other people's songs, but has kept us waiting...and waiting... and waiting for her own solo project, rumored since at least 2004.
The wait is finally over; Femi has finally dropped her debut album Sweet Water Soul, and as the title impl
Leah Tysse
If there's anything the blues genre needs, it's a fresh face. As you may or may not know, the genre has struggled in recent years, and though blues once dominated the Bay Area's nightlife scene, there are few dedicated local venues committed to preserving the root of R&B, jazz, and soul (besides SF's Biscuits and Blues and Hayward's The Bistro). The cancellation of the SF Blues Festival earlier this year might have seemed to sound a death knell for the venerable genre; one of the
Retro Chic: Raphael Saadiq
November 18th will be a homecoming of sorts for Oakland native Raphael Saadiq. Ray Ray, as he is known, is arguably the most prolific and talented male soul/R&B artist around today--equally seasoned at singing, playing several instruments, and producing. Saadiq has come a long way since the late 80s, when Tony Toni Tone defined the "Oaktown sound" along with Hammer, EnVogue, Digital Underground and Too $hort--his 2008 release The Way I See It earned three Gramm
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