Combining the blues power of Muddy Waters with the sludgy riff-rock of Black Sabbath, the Juggs, fronted by vocalist/guitarist Kareem Bunton, would have done quite well for themselves in the late 1960s. But they’ll fare just fine in 2010; despite their influences, the Brooklyn trio sounds modern enough to run with a forward-looking group like, say, TV on the Radio, the band propelled by Bunton’s younger brother, drummer Jaleel Bunton.

Pick up the Juggs’ African Queen here.

Wisely, the veteran drummer and Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen has chosen not to burn out or fade away. Instead, he’s kept his nose to the grindstone, working with everyone from Jimmy Cliff to Blur’s Damon Albarn since parting ways with Fela Kuti around 1980. Inspiration Information 4, out now on Strut Records, pairs Allen with yet another new partner, the eccentric vocalist and saxophonist Jimi Tenor.

Opening with the Prince-meets-Fela number “Against the Wall,” Inspiration unites Afrobeat with oddball soul—a winning, if unexpected combination. On the dub-leaning “Selfish Gene,” a vehicle for Tenor’s pained vocals and Allen’s surefooted percussion, the saxophonist declares himself the “king of the losers,” and wonders why a lover would expect him to change. “Cella’s Walk” features strong flute and koto work from Tenor, and resembles Mulatu Astatke’s mysterious Ethio-jazz.

Pick it up here.

Read more about Tony Allen in Wax Poetics Issue 39, the Africa Issue!

Leave it to Ma Dukes, the mother of J Dilla, to sum up the sentiment of something so large it seemed incondensable: “Music is universal. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, it doesn’t matter where you’re from. But it exudes a love that we can all understand.” These words, spoken kindly, gently, and in terrific Ma Dukes style to a sold out crowd in Los Angeles last February, best describe Timeless.

Conceived by the production company Mochilla’s double force of photographer/director (and Wax Poetics alumnus) B+ and partner Eric Coleman, the Timeless concert series paid tribute to three figures who have all contributed to hip-hop in unique and resonating ways. A trio of concerts held in February and March 2009 saw the music of Ethiopia’s Mulatu Astatke, Brazil’s Arthur Verocai, and Dilla performed by full orchestras. Presumably due to the project’s sheer size, these events were all one-offs, but Mochilla had the foresight to document the electricity of these performances on three DVDs, comprising the Timeless box set.

“The goal was to expose L.A., and then the world, to music that hadn’t been heard live properly before,” explains B+. “Also, we wanted to expand the dialogue around the historical function of hip-hop. Mulatu and Verocai have had a huge influence on the hip-hop we love and we have never had the chance to celebrate that. And Dilla—well, to have his music expressed in this way to us was a super no-brainer. The emotional power of his music liberated through an orchestra is stunning.”

The Suite for Ma Dukes concert was the second in the Timeless series, with the outpouring of collective love so overwhelming it quantifiably spills onto film. Shot in black and white, the DVD captures the spirit of that night, and features Bilal, Dwele, Talib Kweli, and Dilla’s brother, Illa J, all accompanied by a sixty-piece orchestra performing Dilla’s joints as reimagined by multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. The event also included interpretations of the Detroit producer’s beats into chamber music, which first appeared with the release of Atwood-Ferguson and Carlos Nino’s strings, brass, and reeds version of “Nag Champa.” “At the time, we weren’t thinking anything consciously other than celebrating Dilla in whatever way was most sincere to us,” Atwood-Ferguson explains of the concept’s impetus.

Almost everyday in January and February 2009, Atwood-Ferguson worked long hours to write some nineteen arrangements in addition to the five he already had (four of which can be found on the Suite for Ma Dukes EP) in preparation for the concert. Then he assembled the Suite For Ma Dukes Orchestra by approaching friends in his circle of accomplished musicians, some of whom had never heard of Dilla before. The close connection they built with the producer’s music, however, can be felt through the orchestra’s almost collective wide-mouthed smile. “An expansive feeling imbued with openness and grace was felt,” Atwood-Ferguson reflects. “The experience of Dilla transcended music and touched our lives as human beings living together at this time.” Plus, you will never see a sixty-piece orchestra jam out the way the Suite For Ma Dukes Orchestra does on “Untitled/Fantastic,” or the Dwele-fronted and previously unrehearsed (but incredibly on-point) “Angel.”

Atwood-Ferguson believes that the genius behind Dilla’s work is the sheer joy that saturates every level of his music. The heartfelt nature of his beats allowed them to transition almost seamlessly into what seems like a format far-removed from hip-hop. Another element that translates no matter what form Dilla’s music takes is the essence and soul of their maker. “People really responded to the spiritual nature of the music,” Atwood-Ferguson reflects. “It really touched a lot of people in a special way. We all have been the participants in this Dilla endeavor.” B+ echoes similar thoughts on Suite for Ma Dukes. “Many tears were shed on that one. Hardcore people who hadn’t cried in a long time cried on that one.” And, just as Ma Dukes perfectly summed up the experience once before, she did it again: “It’s outstanding, it’s incredible, and it’s love.”

Timeless is out now.

Read about Mulatu Astatke in Issue 14 of Wax Poetics.

Read about Arthur Verocai in Issue 36 of Wax Poetics.

Read about J Dilla in Issue 17 of Wax Poetics (if you can find it!).

Strictly for the poppies, this second installment of Cuban funk courtesy of Waxing Deep is a pretty thorough roundup of the best that the island had to offer in the ’70s. It’s got the heavy conga workouts (Grupo Monumental’s “Tremendo Tremendo”), the more sophisticated styles for your mature audience (Juan Pablo Torres’s “Y Aperecio el Trombon”), as well as some straight-up harder hitting funk (Los Llamas’ “Siboney”). This comp is pretty sassy and offers a particularly revealing look at what communism should have sounded like. Check out volume one as well.

This compilation comes direct from Benin, Africa, the original home of Vodun, known to the western world as Voodoo. No surprises there, as this album will straight-up possess your body. These far-out and funky Afro rhythms are not for the faint of heart.