What else we got in that sack, Santa? How bout some Christian Hip Hop from Illijam & Magoh of the Count It Loss collective? The thought behind "Count It Loss Christmas" is that a fundamentally religious holiday has been hijacked by commercialism and greed and the real meaning of the holiday is lost, leaving some Christians down and defensive. Now, without being cantankerous and going into how the Christians, centuries ago, hijacked the dates and trappings of Pagan Solstice celebrations (do not judge lest ye be judged; do not hijack lest ye be hijacked), Count it loss says their message is to keep the true meaning of Christmas close to your heart and share it with anyone who will listen. And on that, I think we can agree. Dig the beats, yo. Free on Soundcloud.
 Listening to "One Gift", the title track of Noel Gourdin's free Christmas Mixtape from last December, makes me feel regret I wasn't around much last year. 'Cuz I'd have sent your ass straight over to grab it.
Noel Gourdin is a Soul singer from Boston who rose to attention with "The River", a big charting R&B track, in 2008. Noel strives to make music that's "Timeless, Real and Soulful" and, from the little I've heard since stumbling on "One Gift" the other day, he's succeeding mightily. Noel's sound, to me, is old school; while he doesn't ignore the modern day hip-hop sensibilities, he never forgets the soul in Soul music. Not to say something some might think bordering on blasphemy, Noel inspired the same warmth in me as a young Marvin Gaye did, once upon a time. Noel's current album--only his third national release--is "City Heart Southern Soul", released in February. And I'm sure the best is still to come. But "One Gift" isn't a bad place to start. And it's free. Of the 5 tracks on "One Gift", only the title song is overtly a Christmas song, but the other tracks are great listening, too. It's as good a place as any to become acquainted with an artist you're going to want to hear more of. Don't forget to pay the man a visit at his Internet home and say "Hi", sometime. |
The FREE ListHere we hope to direct you to some of the Christmas music on the web that can be yours absolutely free. We will not direct you to mp3 or sharity sites, here, but only to artist sites, label sites, and other authorized and unquestionably legal locations. Archives2010 FREE List Categories
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