Clipse, "Virginia"
As always, the real attraction of the first Clipse record isn't so much their rhymes, which are fine, but that lovely "produced by the Neptunes" label. And, yeah, this is great.
The Mortals, "Everything But Time"
Part of the Estrus stable of garage rock bands, the Mortals put out three records in the early to mid 90s, without making too many waves but certainly landing on my radar. This comes from the first of those records, Ritual Dimension of Sound, and is a reasonable representation of their sound.
Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos, "Working Woman"
Prolific funk/soul singles outfit the Mighty Mocambos, out of Hamburg, Germany, paired up in 2009 with Gizelle Smith for the excellent This Is Gizelle Smith & The Mighty Mocambos. Beyond it's sturdy and startlingly utilitarian title, it's chock full of upbeat numbers like this one. It's a good example showing that the neo-soul revival isn't just out of Brooklyn.
The Pollyseeds, "You and Me"
Multi-instrumentalist Terence Martin, one of the folks in Kendrick Lamar's orbit (including producing some songs for him), is the leader behind this project. In addition to writing it, he plays a bunch of it, along with occasional guests here and there. It's mostly pretty smooth and kind of subtle, but it's certainly pleasant.
Jr. Walker & The All-Stars, "Shotgun"
One of the Motown singles that has appeared in a bunch of movies and television shows, this is a song that many people will know without knowing who played it or even the name of the tune. Great stuff, though.