Artist Of The Year (Performer): Robert Glasper
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]It was a really big year for the 34 year old pianist from Houston. With “Black Radio” his 5th solo record he truly broke out from being a musician that is known by some heads but not by the masses to one of the most exciting and original names in Jazz. And one that finally got his dues! He truly deserves the nod for artist of the year as he’s been touring non stop and pushing the boundaries of jazz & soul. To top it off, he’s just been nominated for a Grammy![/three_fourth_last]
Artist Of The Year (Producer): Flying Lotus
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]Another very busy year for sir. Steven Allison aka Flying Lotus aka Captain Murphy. He kept true to his 1 record every 2 years formula and keeps raising the bar in a musical landscape filled with up and coming producers and sometimes over-saturated with beat tapes. The man has time to experiment with visuals, produce, tour the world, make cool mix tapes like Lovers Melt, and still run Brainfeeder.[/three_fourth_last]
Comeback Of The Year: Bobby Womack
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]If newcomers on the soulful tip had a good couple of years recently, this year it was about the veterans making great comebacks. D’Angelo, Shuggie Otis, SWV, Cody Chesnutt all brought the soul back but the MIMS voters gave the nod to Bobby Womack who came through with his first record in 12 years. “The Bravest Man In The Universe”, backed by XL Recordings, the same label who released the Gil Scott-Heron record, definitely applied the same type of formula. A really honest and touching record from a living giant of soul music.[/three_fourth_last]
Newcomer Of The Year: Kaytranada
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]We are always proud when homegrown talent starts to break out of Montreal, and with the internet it’s the sort of thing that can happen a lot faster than it used to be possible. Well, in 2012 things happened really fast for Kaytranada (formerly Kaytradamus) member of the amazing music collective called ALAIZ. He released a hand full of remixes, some beat tapes and voilà. Now everyone from Lefto, Lexis, Soulection & Gilles Peterson is pushing his tunes. The young dude can do it all from boom bap, house to trap(ish) stuff. All that and his first “official” record on HW&W isn’t even out yet! 2013 should be a big one too.[/three_fourth_last]
Track Of The Year: Kendrick Lamar “Money Trees”
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]Kendrick Lamar was nominated for 3 categories in this poll and he did really well in all three and for good reason: whether your an old school rap lover or a new cat just starting to listen to good music, no one can deny the talent the dude has. In terms of first records “Good Kid Maad City” is definitely on that (dare I say) Illmatic standard. It just feels he had these songs waiting to be unleashed for a long long time. “Money Trees” is a big big track on a record filled with big tracks.[/three_fourth_last]
Remix Of the Year: Janet Jackson “If” (Kaytranada Remix)
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]In October, Kaytranada for some reason decided to sink his teeth into Janet Jackson’s “If” which came out in 1993. Somewhat of a weird choice when you think about it because it never really was that huge of a track. But once you put it on, it simply cannot be denied. In the past 3 months every DJ and their mama’s been playing this one; and trying to figure out what to play after because it just kills the dancefloor.[/three_fourth_last]
Label Of The Year: Ninja Tune
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]Well this one is a nice surprise, but also much deserved. The MIMS readers chose a label that has been pushing the boundaries of underground and cutting edge music for over 20 years. Wise choice as they had a pretty flawless record of choice releases from The Heavy, Slugabed, Lukid, Amon Tobin, Cinematic Orchestra, Lorn, Jesse Boykins, Kid Koala and Falty DL to name a few! Really inspiring to see the Ninjas still pushing veterans like Cinematic and Kid Koala but still have the ear and flair to release new talents like Lorn, Jesse Boykins and Lukid. Nuff Respect.[/three_fourth_last]
Compilation Of The Year: “Personal Space” (Chocolate Industries)
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]We love rare music as much as the next guy but for us, it’s never been the most important factor. But in this case “Personal Space” is a compilation that is both filled with uber rare tracks, but mostly, absolute heat! Released by Chocolate Industries it features experimental Soul music made in the late 70’s early 80’s. An absolute must in your collection.[/three_fourth_last]
EP Of The Year: Andy Stott “Luxury Problems”
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]Here at MIMS, we love Andy Stott. That’s no secret. But we were pleasantly surprised to see that the readers feel the same way. A truly great EP that has that unique flavor Andy Stott brings to his production. Slow weirdo techno filled with soul but mostly textures upon textures of sound. If you want to do it justice, listen to it on big headphones or a proper system. No laptop speakers for this one![/three_fourth_last]
Album Of The Year: Robert Glasper “Black Radio”
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]And finally, the record of the year goes to… drumroll… (Oh, it’s written right above this line). “Black Radio” was released in February and expectations were high. A few weeks before previews – like the Erykah Badu collaboration – started leaking and heads were really excited. It didn’t disappoint, in fact it remind us that we need way more records like this from contemporary artists. We need more musical talents to pick up an instrument instead of a laptop. This isn’t to say that computer production isn’t worthy of the same praise but we’re just saying we need a bit more musicianship in today’s music.
But we digress, “Black Radio” is an amazing 12 track record that will live on and be a classic for years. In the April, 2012 issue of Down Beat, Glasper stated that “I’ve gotten bored with jazz to the point where I wouldn’t mind something bad happening. Slapping hurts, but at some point it’ll wake you up. I feel like jazz needs a big-ass slap.”[/three_fourth_last]
Respect to Robert Glasper and to everyone who made amazing music in 2012!
… and also, tons of love for all the MIMS readers. We love you.