Sonic Cycle

SONIC CYCLE EP. 124 : This week's Cycle is a fully physical media episode! Playing some of my favourite vinyls and CDs from a wide range of genres, plus chatting a little about the Calgary Music Collectors Show coming up on Sunday, April 26th.

Playlist:

• The Modern Jazz Quartet, Laurindo Almeida - Silver
• Jacob Wutzke - Qwaltz
• The Kasambwe Brothers - Getu (Gertrude)
• Jahari Massamba Unit - Hommage À La Vielle Garde (Pour Lafarge Et Rinaldi)
• NxWorries, Anderson .Paak, Knxwledge, featuring Rae Khalil - OutTheWay
• Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist - Heat Check
• Danger Mouse, Black Thought - Violas and Lupitas
• Badge Époque Ensemble - Bowls
• Thundercat - Innerstellar Love
• Sargeant X Comrade - Incredible Science
• Lupe Fiasco - ON FAUX NEM
• Spillage Village, Ari Lennox, JID, featuring Chance the Rapper & Masego - Judas
• J Dilla - Believe In God
• Common - Love is...

SONIC CYCLE EP. 123 : On this week's Cycle, we start the show by listening to a track from each of the Best Rap Album JUNO nominees! Tune in to hear a bit of what the JUNO committee consider the best of Canadian hip hop, plus a whole bunch of newer hip hop releases and a little reminiscing about the Mixtape Era. I close out the show by talking about a couple events coming up in town, one much sooner than later; That Party Last Night Vol. 9 tonight (March 27th) at The Palomino, and CUFF (Calgary Underground Film Festival) coming up on April 16th-27th.

Playlist:

• bLAck pARty - Favorite Song
• Renee Rosnes - Amor Até O Fim
• SadBoi - Slide
• NorthSideBenji - Misery Loves Company
• ARDN - SPARE
• TOBi - Life Is A Jungle
• Connor Price - About Time
• Francis Arevalo, Kimmortal - Gardens
• Mac Miller - Carpe Diem
• Yonny - Everywhere, But Always
• Samara Cyn - over influence
• Flatbush Zombies, featuring Erick the Architect - Friday
• Kofi Stone - What's The Plan?
• E L U C I D, Sebb Bash, featuring Shabaka Hutchings - Equiano
• Capital STEEZ - Chicago
• Terrace Martin - Afternoons in Shibuya

SONIC CYCLE EP. 122 : Standard Cycle this week! Tune in to hear some amazing new singles by Canadian and international hip hop stars!

Playlist:

• Bas - Light Of My Soul
• Teri Parker's Free Spirits - Calypso #3
• Easthood - 007
• A$AP Rocky , featuring Doechii - ROBBERY
• Nahlé, DMC 47 - No Choice
• Wale - Where To Start
• K, Le Maestro, Planet Giza - MADE 'EM SAY
• Haviah Mighty, featuring Lex Leosis, pHoenix Pagliacci, Keysha Freshh - Double The Fun (SRTY Remix)
• JIREH - BOOMERANG
• ARDN - High Demand
• Bijaan, Junia-T - FASHURE
• REASON, Eric Bellinger, featuring Isaiah Jaay - Doin Too Much
• Sheldon Sabastian, juellce - OUTCOME
• femdot., Gold Haze - Wide Lens
• Saba, No ID - Paygrade Demo

SONIC CYCLE EP. 121 : A standard Cycle this week, kicking things off with some hip hop then moving through some R&B, Soul, Funk from incredible 2026 - and a couple 2025 -releases!

Playlist:

• .idk. - FLAKKA
• Nancy Walker - Edges Rounded
• Witch Prophet - Thoughts Are Magic
• DJ Harrison , featuring Yaya Bey - Stay Ready
• Leon Thomas - 5MoreMinutes
• Pale Jay, featuring Conway the Machine - Shameful Game, Pt. 2
• Owelu Dreamhouse - Oluwasam
• Antibalas - Solace
• Dominique Fils-Aimé - Echappée Belle
• Moonchild, featuring Elena Pinderhughes - Sweet Spot
• Brittney Carter - doit4less
• VNDRE - Mine
• Siooh, featuring Kelly Moonstone - peace?
• Jordan Ward - CHAMPION SOUND
• Fly Anakin - Forever Dream

SONIC CYCLE EP. 120 : This week's Cycle features a bunch of newer releases as we get back to the regularly scheduled program after a foray into Black History last month.

Playlist:

• Jill Scott, featuring Tierra Whack - Norf Side
• Aretha Tillotson - Jill of All
• Thundercat, featuring Mac Miller - She Knows Too Much
• DijahSB - Cap
• clipping. - Madcap
• Cartel Madras, featuring Backxwash - DEEP IN THE JUNGLE
• billy woods, Kenny Segal - Rapper Weed
• Larry June , Curren$y, The Alchemist - Empty Pages
• Ransom, Boldy James, Nicholas Craven - 16 TITHES
• Roc Marciano - Good For You
• Dnte, Ché Uno - Sastres de Fly$hit
• Buddy, Guapdad 4000 - NUNYA
• Baby Keem - I am not a Lyricist
• Foggieraw, featuring Dave James and Gwen Bunn - Psalm and Islam
• 7xvethegenius, featuring Sol ChYld - Twin

SONIC CYCLE EP. 119 : Black History Month Pt. 4 - MIX IT ALL TOGETHER

On this week's Cycle, I decided to put together a mix of songs that help communicate everything I've been trying to say in the last few weeks. Instead of going deep into resources, I found tracks that showcase a lot of the topics I've been discussing. We've all heard enough of me, let's let Hip hop do the real talking.



Playlist:

• Shad - Slanted
• Bill Henderson, The Oscar Peterson Trio - All Or Nothing At All
• K'NAAN, Mwafrika - The African Way
• Symphonii, Bethel Afework - Lost
• Reflection Eternal - Africa Dream
• Common - I Used to Love H.E.R.
• Ms. Lauryn Hill , featuring Mary J. Blige - I Used to Love Him
• J. Cole - I Love Her Again
• Ab-Soul - Righteous Man
• Kendrick Lamar - HiiiPower
• Public Enemy - Welcome To The Terrordome
• Pharoahe Monch - Welcome To The Terrordome
• Joey Bada$$ - LAND OF THE FREE
• Saba, featuring Krayzie Bone - Come My Way
• Lester Young, Oscar Peterson Trio - There Will Never Be Another You
• Aquakultre, Measha Brueggergosman-Lee - Make That Change

SONIC CYCLE EP. 118 : Black History Month Pt. 3

On this week's Cycle we continue our dive into Black History Month with an exploration of Canadian hip hop. WE discuss a Canadian Hip hop history book called "We Still Here: Hip Hop North of the 49th Parallel", as well as a CBC Docuseries called "Paid In Full: The Battle for Black Music".

Here's a list of events that are going on in town that you can check out before BHM ends:

Feb. 20th - The Grand Screening of Do The Right Thing, a Spike Lee Joint

Feb. 22nd - NMC's Sunday Spins with DJ Gummi

The Grand Screening of 3 Cold Dishes, a Nollywood thriller by director Asurf Oluseyi.

The event features a post-screening Q&A with Oluseyi, a Black-owned vendor market, West African cuisine from local restaurant BUKA, and poetry from aloT of Poetry.



Playlist:

• jev. , featuring Conductor Williams - JAMAICAN CUISINE.
• Oscar Peterson Trio - Night Train
• Rascalz - Quest for a Rhyme
• Saukrates - Can't Touch Us
• Rumble & Strong - What Other DJs Sound Like
• Black Union, featuring Kaleb Simmonds, Maestro, Brail Optiks, P. Noompse - Africville
• Kia Kadiri - Who Are We
• Cadence Weapon, Junia-T - Alpenflage
• Super Duty Tough Work - Grey's Lament (Grandmotherland)
• Sheldon Sabastian - BRIDGES

SONIC CYCLE EP. 117 : Black History Month Pt. 2

On this week's Cycle, we keep our Black History Month exploration going and talk about the history of hip hop and how the genre connects with larger topics that it often addresses head on. Tune in for a blast from the past, mixed with some newer tracks that fit the bill!

I use the book "Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation" by Jeff Chang to look into the roots of hip hop being born by DJs like DJ Kool Herc (the episode features a Internet Archive find of one of his 1981 Live performances), Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. From there, we expand into some more modern examples of hip hop elements that I think have remained constant since the genre's inception.

Next week, we'll be turning the spotlight back towards Canada and exploring some of the history of Black Canadians, in the format of books, films and tv series created through their own lens.



Playlist:

• Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
• Alexis Baró Y La Big Band - Afro Cubanía
• Afrika Bambaataa, The Soulsonic Force - They Made A Mistake
• DJ Kool Herc & The Herculords - T-Connection 1981
• Grandmaster Flash - P.L.U. (Peace, Love and Unity)
• Black Star - Children's Story
• Chance the Rapper, featuring BJ The Chicago Kid - The Negro Problem
• Tea Fannie, Black Pride YYC, catfishthewizard, Nasty G - We Up
• Noname - Blaxploitation
• A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation

SONIC CYCLE EP. 116: Black History Month Pt. 1 - Resources for Learning.

On this week's Cycle, I play some new Hip hop, a little bit of Alt R&B, and discuss some of the books, films, tv shows, events and other resources I'll be exploring and diving into during Black History Month.

The full list of the resources is below, I hope you're able to get your hands, ears and eyes on these to learn alongside me!

BOOKS:

Execution Poems by George Elliott Clarke (2001)

Blues and Bliss by George Elliott Clarke (2008)

Traverse by George Elliott Clarke (2014)

Policing Black Lives by Robyn Maynard (2019)

Soundin' Canaan by Paul db Watkins (2017)

North of the Color Line: Migration and Black Resistance in Canada, 1870-1955 by Sarah-Jane Mathieu (2010)

Black Writers Matter (Edited by Whitney French) (2010)

The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole (2020)

They Said This Would Be Fun by Eternity Martis (2020)

We Still Here: Hip Hop North of the 49th Parallel (Edited by Charity Marsh and Mark V. Campbell) (2020)

FILMS & TV SHOWS (available on CBC Gem):

Hollywood Black

Black Life: Untold Stories

For the Culture with Amanda Parris

Black Table

Summer of Soul

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We Want The Funk!

EVENTS IN CALGARY:

NMC's Free Event on February 7th: 30 Years of Black History Month: Honouring Black Brilliance Across Generations – From Nation Builders to Tomorrow's Visionaries.

Calgary Public Library - Black History Month Events

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

UCalgary's Black History Month Resource Site

Playlist:

• Nas, DJ Premier - Writers
• Harrison - Quiet Miles
• J. Cole - The Fall-Off is Inevitable
• IDK - MiSOGYNISTICAL
• Foggieraw - Boyfriend In Yo Brain (Notice Me)
• Skip Waiters - 1-800-MAN-DOWN
• Harrison - Blueberry
• Sean Leon, God's ALGORITHM - crown
• Kevin Holliday - LOOK!!!!!!!
• Kevin Holliday - WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR?
• Thundercat, featuring Lil Yachty & Flying Lotus - I Did This To Myself
• Jordan Ward - THEMSELVES
• Kai Banks - Don't U Know?
• Malik Elijah - 4TH GRADE
• Kamm Carson - Real Tears

SONIC CYCLE EP. 115 : LIVE SESSION W/ TRIBE ARTIST SOCIETY. Tune into this week's Cycle to hear an extra special Live Session with Tribe Artist Society! 6 MCs in one booth, trading bars over incredible beats, YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE! Tribe Artist Society will be performing at Eau Claire Plaza at 8:40pm on Friday January 30th, as part of Block Heater's Special Presentation during Chinook Blast, it's a free show so go check it out!

Playlist:

• MARCO PLUS - blue eye freestyle
• Anthony D'Alessandro - City Lights
• Snotty Nose Rez Kids, featuring Travis Thompson - MURDER SHE WROTE
• Drezus - Like This
• War Party - Get Live
• The Halluci Nation - The OG
• Big L, featuring Mac Miller & Pale Jay - Forever
• redveil - or so i