deep dark melanin (new Georgia Anne Muldrow album)

Georgia Anne Muldrow's new album Olesi: Fragments of an Earth will be released on Tuesday. At 22, Georgia is quite a phenomenon. She not only composed all of Olesi's tracks, but also produced the joint and constructed all of the album's organic, Dilla-esque beats.

The first woman signed to Stones Throw Records, Muldrow brings a limber, commanding voice steeped in '70s soul and jazz to her own brand of hip hop and funk. Her intriguing voice deftly handles her often abstract, jazz-like lyrical lines that sometimes meander along a winding trail, other times stick to a more familiar melodic path. Oh, and she raps. With an assertive flow. Other Music put it this way: "Muldrow's mix of the new soul is an infectious brew of jazz, R&B and, of course, hip-hop . . . [that] sounds like Chaka Khan being produced by the late J-Dilla."

It's worth noting that the jazz influence and phrasing Georgia brings to her work comes naturally. Muldrow's mother sang with Pharoah Sanders and her father invented instruments for Eddie Harris.

Muldrow's Ep Worthnothings received a fair amount of attention when it was released earlier this year. And not just from the underground hip hop community. Back in March, NPR's "Song of the Day" featured "Larva" from Worthnothings. Before her own Ep dropped earlier this year, Muldrow sang on three tracks from the Platinum Pied Pipers' Triple P album and collaborated with Sa Ra. Plus, she has a track on the forthcoming Stones Throw/Adult Swim Chrome Children project.

Hopefully, Georgia will attract even more attention and praise with her new album. Here's a preview, courtesy of Stones Throw:

Melanin -- Olesi: Fragments of an Earth

Requium for Leroy -- " . . . " (2006)

Preorder Olesi: Fragments of an Earth, or pick it up from Underground Hip Hop or your favorite vendor when it drops next week.

Highly recommended.

promo files and images courtesy of Stones Throw

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