Idle Warship is a group composed of rapper Talib Kweli and singers Res and Graph Nobel. I’ve been listening to their mixtape
“Party Robot” quite a lot lately, and I have been feeling this song in particular. It’s got a warm R&B vibe, but it feels like it could take off in any direction. In the pocket, but not weighed down by form. A little bit of Minnie Riperton maybe- you don’t hear a lot of R&B this open-ended any more.

And that openness characterizes the whole record. Party Robot is not at all what you’d expect from a rapper’s side project. The whole thing feels like after-hours – the music you make after all the label guys and the customers have gone home, when you can just make music you like without worrying about demographics and playlists and critics.

Hit the link and download the record for free – see if it makes you feel a little more hopeful for the future of urban music. It does for me.