The Foreign Exchange could be considered a permanent fixture here at SoulBounce. We're not only fans and champions of their music but over the years we've formed a familial bond with the entire crew. Loving them is easy and when anyone from the fam drops a project, we're there to support. So when it was time for his solo debut album, it was pretty much a given that we'd love it. But we didn't know how much we'd love it, and Charity Starts At Home truly defied our expectations. When it came to hip hop in 2011 and who most held our attention here and therefore was a shoe-in for Rapper of the Year honors, it was all about one person: Phonte.

Tay rang in the year doing something that sent tongues wagging when he squashed his beef with former Little Brother member 9th Wonder after four years of not speaking. That reconciliation would lead to both artists working together once again on each other's new projects, which would later be scheduled for release on the same date, and an ensuing concert tour. A fiction writer couldn't come up with a more poetic storyline than their reunion.

Tastemakers may have rediscovered this former leader of backpack-rap heroes Little Brother thanks to his neo-soul project Foreign Exchange and frequent shout-outs from unabashed fan Drake. But Phonte Coleman never stopped making hearty, soulful hip-hop that sticks to your ribs. Rejoining estranged LB producer 9th Wonder, he builds with Big K.R.I.T. and Pharoahe Monch, addressing strained relationships ("Who Loves You More") and sympathizing with unemployed folks ("The Good Fight"). As he puts it on "Everything is Falling Down": "Don't need a new style / Being dope is always in fashion." M.R.

Some more photos of one of the most memorable Authenticity Tour stops, at 2720 Cherokee in St. Louis.

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Zo! & Sy Smith

The Crown Room, 205 NW 4th Portland, OR

Quite possibly one of the best (intimate) live shows to hit New Orleans this season involved a 7-piece soul-funk band, 2 gorgeous vocalists and 1 comedian, er rapper. Enter: The Foreign Exchange.

The show at One-Eyed Jack's last week seemed to be somewhat of an insider's affair, considering there really was no mass advertising for the show, yet every +FE fan in the Greater New Orleans area was certainly in the house. Even loyal Little Brother fans probably had no idea what they were in store for - the other side of MC/singer Phonte's alter-ego on full display as 1/2 of The Foreign Exchange.

After local hero DJ E.F. Cuttin warmed up the floor, the Grammy-nominated outfit, headed up by Dutch musician-producer, Nicolay, and lauded rapper Phonte of North Carolina (and 1/3 of Little Brother with Big Pooh & 9th Wonder), has included a rotating assembly of some of Soul, Funk and Hip Hop's best and brightest from YahZarah and Carlitta Durand to Darien Brockington and Motown's Zo, but this tour brought NoLa debut performances from not only Nicolay, Zo and the band... but the lovely and sensuous songstresses Sy Smith and Jeanne Jolly graced the velvet-curtained stage at one of New Orleans' legendary former brothel burlesque houses - the perfect setting for the sultry set delivered by The Foreign Exchange. In fact, the sexy packed house was demanding more even post-encore.

It's safe to say, the secret is out: The Foreign Exchange won the oh-so-difficult and ever-coveted approval of the New Orleans audience. And we'll be watching for them to come back for more...

Don't believe us? Check out the photos from The Foreign Exchange @ One-Eyed Jack's 11/21/11 x Sierra Hudson here.

Photos of The Foreign Exchange's last show of the year: the Authenticity Tour stop in New Orleans.

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Nicolay with The Hot At Nights

Nicolay teams up with exploratory jazz-trio The Hot At Nights to perform new interpretations and arrangements of his instrumental compositions from "City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya" and more.

Nicolay: synthesizers/keyboards | Chris Boerner: 8-string guitar | Matt Douglas: sax/woodwinds | Nick Baglio: drums

Download the Shibuya Session EP for FREE here.

The Rudyard Kipling, 422 West Oak Street Louisville, KY 40203-3002

Represent Phonte with the official Charity Starts At Home T-Shirt, available now exclusively through +FE Music. "New Tigallo" on the front, "Charity Starts At Home" logo on the back. Men's and women's sizes available. Get yours today!

Click here to visit the +FE Music Store

The CD digipak edition of Median's sophomore album, The Sender, is available now via the +FE Music Store as well as select other stores.

Click here to buy The Sender from the +FE Music Store

Also available at:

Fatbeats
Underground Hip Hop
Access Hip Hop

Check out a few great shots from The Foreign Exchange's sold out Authenticity Tour stop in Houston!

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Some great photos of The Foreign Exchange's debut performance in Austin TX.

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On September 20, 2011 Nicolay and The Hot At Nights recorded their Shibuya Session at Sound Pure Studios in Durham NC. Assistant engineer Greg Abate took some great photos.

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