shafiq husayn: the loop
Francisco Espregueira
Shafiq Husayn sonic identity has consisted on importing sounds and genres into his pothole of creative madness, always rooting back to the hip hop beats‐and‐rhymes basis. The Loop is the new LP by this LA-based polymath - an epic project which saw its inception in 2012 through a series of studio sessions at Shafiq’s home, including collaborations with the likes of Thundercat, Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, Bilal and Anderson Paak. Deeply rooted in ideas of song, story, history, guidance and spirituality, the golden tones of The Loop were then created.
After more than five years on the making, the album grooves through progressions in jazz, hip hop, soul and funk. Inflections of Sly Stone, Pharaoh Sanders and Earth Wind And Fire mixed with Marley Marl and Dilla-esqe drums. Released last friday, The Loop is truly something to behold, being one of the defining projects of 2019. The record, curated by Eglo Records, is accompanied by a series of paintings by acclaimed Japanese visual artist Tokio Aoyama, who worked closely with Shafiq to create a painting for each song on the record. The vinyl edition is running out, as expected. There were only 200 copies.
Note: Shafiq Husayn has brought together an impressive array of LA's musical royalty, enlisting the likes of Thundercat, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Kamasi Washington, Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave, Eric Rico, Coultrain, Computer Jay, Jimetta Rose, Om'Mas Keith, Kelsey Gonzalez, I-Ced and more to provide the backbone to his recording sessions. Drawing in features from an international cast of performers and artists like Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, Hiatus Kaiyote, Fatima and Karen Be amongst others.
The talent on this record is almost unbelievable.