March was a challenging month for me and my music selections below seemed to flow from that starting point. Maybe I was using music to process things or to escape things. Either way, music heals and this month didn’t disappoint.

Here are my favorite albums from March 2022, featuring Raw Poetic, Elzhi, Koffee + more 🔈

Not sure if this list is for you? My musical tastes vary widely, but you’ll generally always find hip-hop, jazz, funk, or a blend of each in the selections along with the occasional country, rock, and reggae album. I’m always looking for new (and old) music so any recommendations are welcome!

Want more? Check out my other favorite music posts.

Also, you can find a playlist of tracks that I love on my Right About Now playlist. 🎧

Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk

Laminated Skies

I’ve been in an introspective mood the past few weeks and this album is all about that. A single MC with no other vocalists and a single beat maker/musician made a beautiful collection of tracks here. My favorite album of the month.

Laminated Skies is hip-hop plus. Like De La Soul, Raw Poetic has this ability to create a beautiful, dreamy mood with many of these tunes drifting along on a hazy, upbeat vibe. Check out the swinging, infectious Reflected Pearls if you need evidence. A million miles away from much of the genre’s output, this collection is a cerebral form of hip-hop, one that stretches way beyond the stereotype. Indeed, it is entirely at home dovetailing into jazz and funk, which is hardly surprising given Raw Poetic’s recruitment strategy.

https://louderthanwar.com/raw-poetic-laminated-skies-album-review/

Elzhi & Georgia Anne Muldrow

Zhigeist

Another hip-hop album pick this month and this one just as cerebral as the first, but if Laminated Skies is in the clouds this one is on the ground, or even underground. Funky beats, spacey vocals, and intricate rhymes throughout.

Koffee

Gifted

The latest from one of my favorite reggae artists. A perfect Saturday album to play with the fam and just in time for spring.

Melissa Aldana

12 Stars

My favorite jazz album of the month. I’ve been playing this at the start of most days.

Born in Santiago, Chile, and based in Harlem, New York, the saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana presents her first release on the Blue Note label, leading a quintet of bright musicians. The seven originals that comprise 12 Stars were co-written with the Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund.

https://jazztrail.net/blog/melissa-aldana-12-stars-album-review

Destroyer

Labyrinthitus

The soaring indie electronica rock and crazy lyrics of this album seems to fit into my introspective vibes at the moment. This album has really grown on me over the past month.

Honorable mentions ✌️

Phife Dawg’s postumous album Forever is great. Dave East’s HDIGH is really solid. I’m listening to Pinder’s album Everything Cost as well as A. Billi Free + The Lasso’s Holy Body Roll for R&B vibes. I’ve also been diving into classics that I haven’t spent time with like Herbie Hancock’s Madien Voyage and Oliver Nelson’s The Blues and The Abstract.