UPC: 349223012255

Label:BIG CROWN
Format: LP

When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their first record,Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels andhis then-introduced, now-patented cinematic soul sound. Now, four EMAstudio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects laterall whileproducing for some of the biggest names in the industryMichels hastrademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere newand pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not alake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop layingdown a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone:Black Thought of The Roots crew.

Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is calledGlorious Gameand it is aremarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides hisbottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some ofthe more personal and transparent verses we’ve ever heard from him. Michelsand Black Thought have been in each other’s orbit for a while now. The two first met in the 2000s when Thought was first getting familiar with thecontemporary soul scene. “Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Bandwas probably my favorite,” recalling the funk and soul group Michels was afounding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musiciansfrom that collectiveDave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on saxare now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually ledLeon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Phillytogether. “Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio andwould jam with us from time to time,” Michels explains. “Then, fast forward to2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me tosend him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy.”

Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, thebest live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approachto this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, hepulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from hiscollection. “I’m a big fan of soul music,” as if Michels has to remind us. “Andpart of hip-hop’s appeal to me has always been the sample-based production”ForGlorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soulsongs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds andcreate instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a moretraditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other peoples musicbut then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it’s himreinterpreting his own compositions into something new.