The Sweet Spot Radio Show

We were honored to welcome filmmaker Victorious De Costa into the studio for an extended chat on his heartfelt documentary on one of our overlooked musical geniuses, Weldon Irvine.

Digging For Weldon Irvine explores the enduring legacy of a man deeply vital to the culture of black freedom expression, yet is somehow overlooked within that very lexicon. Learn more about the authorized documentary here and check out the conversation and the music above.

East New York’s own Mr. Reed joins us to discuss his philosophy of soul, music and life and brings along plenty of sounds that illustrate why this hard working musician is a jewel in the crown of new R&B and soul music.

One of the most accomplished and distinctive voices that transcends genre, Dionne Warwick is a true legend.  The Sweet Spot was beyond thrilled to speak to her about her decades of hits, her partnership with Burt Bacharach and Hal David and her new release "I'm Back".  Every bit as warm and lovely as her music, tune in for a warm and wonderful conversation followed by a Dionne Warwick power hour of music! 

January is a perfect time to heat it up in the studio! So we had our fave Brazilian Musical Auntie come by with a dose of modern Brazilian tunes. Jen Nascimento (Tia Jenny) is a percussionist focusing on African and Brazilian drums, and a trained singer as well. For 20 years she has sung and played in jazz, afrobeat, blues, and Latin bands, often reinterpreting the diverse Brazilian classics she grew up hearing at home. Her love of hip-hop had her collecting vinyl in the 90s, and today Tia Jenny ("Aunt Jenny" in Portuguese&Spanish) curates and spins for lovers of world bass and tribal-digital, as well as emerging soul and hip hop. She is music editor of Epitome online journal Epitomexo.com (playlists, reviews)

2019 marks an incredible 50 years of the seminal jazz/funk/r&b band Kool & the Gang and we were beyond thrilled to have Robert “Kool” Bell in the studio to play some of the deeper cuts from the bands vast catalog of hits and b-sides before they hit stages worldwide this year to “Celebrate”. Prince Hakim Bell joined his father in the studio and debuted his new single and proved indeed that talent runs deep in the Bell DNA. This was an incredible two hours of radio where we learned of Mr. Bell’s humanitarian efforts in Africa with sustainable energy, The Kool Kids Foundation which provides musical education opportunities in schools, a new “Just Kool” fragrance to keep you “Fresh” and a “Le Kool” champagne to celebrate half a decade of groundbreaking music. NOT to mention a whole lot of incredible stories to go along with the even more incredible tunes these legends have gifted us. Rumour has it that there is a book and movie in the works and we can’t wait but until then take a listen to the longest running and one of the most groundbreaking R&B bands ever. After 50 years we still can’t get enough of that “Funky Stuff”! This episode is dedicated to the memory of “Lady Kool”, Sakinah Bell.

Special guest DJ Funmi Ononaiye brought friends Frank Lacy, Justin Robinson and Evan Sherman to the show to pay tribute to a great musician and dear friend. The music community suffered a devastating loss with the transition of Roy Hargrove. The relationship Roy had with music was so vibrant and crackled with so much energy and feeling that it is hard to believe he is not with us anymore. Roy did leave us with the great gift of his music, however and we spent the show celebrating his music and his life. Long live Roy Hargrove! "Roy Anthony Hargrove, one of the most respected and loved musicians in the New York City community and the world at large, was a trailblazing multiple Grammy Award winning trumpeter. He was known just as intensely for his brimming fire and fury as he was for his gorgeous, signature balladry. Over and over, his sound attested to and sanctified his deep love for music. His unselfish timbre covered the waterfront of every musical landscape. Owning his music, his sound, Roy inspired generations of musicians. He was a game changer." Quoted from Jazz at Lincoln Center

There’s an old saying that you can tell a man by the company he keeps and if this is indeed true Cassio Ware is a real gem! The House Music legend rolled up in our Brooklyn studios with some of Jersey’s most talented (and nicest!) and we proceeded to have a blast! Cassio laid out a lot of the history of the Jersey House scene and shared new music that the talented Vickie Ryan, Cynthia Tucker and Kyle “The Voice” Abercrombie and DJ Sharif who joined us in the studio, contributed to. What a stellar night from some of Jerseys brightest house music stars!

Fonda Rae’s most iconic record may be “Over Like A Fat Rat” but that is just scratching the surface of this illustrious vocalist’s and multi-instrumentalist’s career. We were thrilled to have her in the studio to discuss her many collaborations (Patrick Adams, Kid Creole to name a few) and got a chance to premiere some fresh new music from new collaborators like DJ Polo. Fonda is an amazing artist with an infectious personality and her business partner brought us some saltfish and ackee so it was a winning night all around for us!

Enjoy this short but action packed piece taken from our first day in Detroit - this was at the Queen of Soul’s memorial at The Charles H Wright museum. Aretha was BELOVED by Detroit and Detroit was beloved by Aretha. The pic you see of the gold coffin was taken at the actual funeral - we didn’t get too much coverage there as we wanted to be respectful and it was quite honestly so overwhelming to see some of the greatest artists and activists of the Civil Rights movement right before our very eyes. Aretha - we love you Queen - RESPECT!

Aretha's talent transcended the written word and defied description. This is part one of a two part series focused mostly on the Atlantic years as there is no way to pack over six decades of music into two hours.  Recorded live in the studio on the night she passed, Aug 16th, 2018.