░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██████████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░███████████████████████████▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██████████ ███████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░███████░ ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░███████ ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░███████ V E T E R A N S ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██████ ██████████ █████████ ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█████▓ ░░█████████ █████████ █████▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░██████████ █████████ █████▒░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░░█████████ █████████ █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░█████████ ████████ █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░████ U R B A N ░░██████████████████ U N I T E D █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ████ ████ ░░████████████████ █████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░████ ████ ░████████████████ ░█████ █████ █████░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░████ ░████ ████ ░░██████████████ ░█████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░████ ░████ ████ ░░████████████ ░█████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░████▒ ░████ ████ ░████████████ ░█████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░████ ░████ ████ ░░██████████ ░█████ █████ ████░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░████ ░██████████ ░█████████▓ ░███████████ ████░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░█████ ░█████████ ░░████████ ░█████████ ████░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░█████ ░███████ ░░██████ ░███████ ████░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░█████ ░██████ █████░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░███████ ░░████ ███████░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░████████ ░███ ████████░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░█████▓▓██ ░░██ ██▓▓█████░░░░░░ ░░░░░█████▓▓▓██ ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ██▓▓▓█████░░░░░ ░░░█████▓▓▓█▓██ ║ r e l e a s e i n f o ║ ██▓█▓▓▓█████░░░ ░░▓████▓▓███▓██ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ██▓███▓▓█████░░ ░░████▓▓████▓██ ██▓████▓▓████░░ ░█████▓█████▓██ ▌Artist__│ James Gardin ██▓█████▓█████░ ░████▓▓██▒██▓██ ▌Title___│ The Groove Collection ██▓█████▓▓████░ ░████▓███▒██▓██ ▌Label___│ Illect Recordings ██▓██▒███▓████░ ░████▓███▒██▓██ ▌Genre___│ Hip-Hop ██▓██▒███▓████░ ░████▓███▒██▓██ ▌Format__│ Album ██▓██▒███▓████░ ░████▓███▒██▓██ ▌Year____│ 2020 ██▓██▒███▓████░ ░░████▓█████▓██ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╝ ██▓█████▓████░░ ░░████▓█████▓██ ▌Time____│ 42:26 ██▓█████▓████░░ ░░░████▓████▓██ ▌Size____│ 94.36 MB ██▓████▓████░░░ ░░░░███▓▓███▓██ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╝ ██▓███▓▓███░░░░ ░░░░░███▓▓▓█▓██ ▌Source__│ Web Store ██▓█▓▓▓███░░░░░ ░░░░░░████▓▓▓██ ▌Bitrate_│ VBR kbps ██▓▓▓████░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░███▓▓▓██ ▌Freq____│ 44.1 kHz ██▓▓▓████░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░████████ ▌Encoder_│ Lame 3.100 ████████░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░██████ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀╝ ██████░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░███ ███░░░░░░░░░ ░░░ ░░ ╔═══════════════╗ ░░ ║ T R A C K S ║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ╚═══════════════╝▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ░░ ░░ 01. Damage (Prod. Terem) 2:30 ░░ 02. Black Boy Blush (Prod. Ess Be) 3:45 ░░ 03. Iconic (Prod. Terem) 3:52 ░░ 04. Focus (Prod. Ess Be) 3:52 ░░ 05. Soul Rich (Prod. Toshiki Hayashi) 3:07 ░░ 06. Promise Land (Prod. Terem) 3:48 ░░ 07. Limits (Prod. Terem) 2:54 ░░ 08. Right Now (Prod. Terem) 3:14 ░░ 09. Groove (Prod. Terem) 3:29 ░░ 10. GO! (Prod. Terem) 2:56 ░░ 11. Work For It (Feat. Sareem Poems, Sivion & Sojourn) (Prod. 2:29 ░░ Tee-Wyla) ░░ 12. Home (Prod. Newselph) 2:48 ░░ 13. Momma's Stove (Prod. Ess Be) 3:42 ░░ ░░ ░░ ░░ ╔═══════════════╗ ░░ ║ N O T E S ║░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░ ╚═══════════════╝▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ░░ ░░ Over the past couple of years, James Gardin has become one of my favorite ░░ artists. ░░ ░░ There are several factors that play into this. ░░ ░░ His flow is smooth and effortless; sonically Gardin has a classic sound ░░ that catches me as a listener; he is humble and willing to connect with ░░ people, showcasing a character that is easy to support. I consider myself ░░ lucky to have had the opportunity to interview Gardin in the past, read ░░ here, but IÆve never done a review of his music. ░░ ░░ I guess it is about time to change that. ░░ ░░ Gardin recently released a collection of songs titled The Groove ░░ Collection. A 13-track gathering of 12 previously dropped songs and one ░░ new track, Damage. It is a perfect sampling to introduce any new listener ░░ to the amazing artistry that Gardin delivers on a consistent basis. ░░ Illect Recordings made the collection available in CD format, which I was ░░ ecstatic about as I am the old guy who still rocks CDs on my commute. ░░ With The Groove Collection, it is easy to say it has barely left my ░░ player since it was received a couple of weeks ago. ░░ ░░ Gardin, and his eclectic musical approach, created a varied experience ░░ that simply doesnÆt get old. It is more than hip hop as the music ░░ connects with the soul, stirring up a mixture of emotions. ░░ ░░ ░░ Highlights include: Iconic, Soul Rich, Promise Land, Groove, MommaÆs ░░ Stove ░░ ░░ ░░ The newest song, Damage, also standouts as the lead track for the album. ░░ Damage is an invitation to hit the dance floor and cast off our stresses. ░░ ░░ With a throwback vibe, the melodic hook simply feels right. GardinÆs ░░ simplistic approach to the verses is more than appropriate as this is not ░░ a track that is seeking technical lyricism. Instead, the production is ░░ meant to make you move. Featuring funky keys, a steady drum pattern, and ░░ a perfectly complimenting electric guitar solo. It is a track that fits ░░ easily in a Æ70s disco while being right at home among 2020Æs chaos. ░░ ░░ While The Groove Collection is one of my favorite releases this year, I ░░ wonÆt say that it is a 10 out of 10. I do not know what went into the ░░ selection process, but I do wish that a few tracks had been able to find ░░ their way onto this collection. This is mostly due to the fact that I ░░ would love to have these tracks in a physical version compared to ░░ digital. ░░ ░░ One of my top singles of the year, Parade, jumps out as a song that would ░░ have easily fit the overall feel of the project. Another track I would ░░ have loved to see included would be the worship driven Lovely. Two ░░ additional singles from 2020 that I think would have been great additions ░░ would be Diamond in the Rough and Ijuststartedlovingme. Again, this is a ░░ bit of selfishness on my part. ░░ ░░ Regardless of my personal opinion, The Groove Collection is a solid ░░ offering from start to finish. ░░ ░░█ ░░███ ░█ ░░░░██ █▓█ ████░ ░░░░░██ y o o v e e y o o █████ █████ ░░░░░░██ g o t t h e ▒████░ ██▒▒██ ░░░░░░░█ ░ ██▓██ ▓█▒██ ░░░░░░░█ ███ ███ ███ ███ ███ ████ ▒▓███ ▒███ ░░░░░░░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ █░█ █░█ ░███████ ████░ ░███ ░░░░░░░█ ░███░███░█ █░███░███ █████████▒ █████ ██ ░░░░░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░░░█ ██████████████ █████ █ ░░░░░░██ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ██████████████████ ████▓ ░░░░░██ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ████████████████████▒ ░░░░██ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ▓██████▒▒▒▒███████░ ░░░██ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ▓█████▒███████████ ░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ █████▒▒░████████ ░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░█ ██▓██▒██▓███▒ ░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░█ █░█ ░░░█ ██████████ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ░░░█ ░█ ░█ █░███░█ ░███ ▒███████ /─────────────────────────\ ░░░██ ███ ░| learned from vets |░ ░░░░██ ████ ░| and they |░ ░░░░░██ █████ ░| ain't pet doctors |░ ░░░░░░███ ████▒ \─────────────────────────/ ░░░░░░░▓▓█████████████▒ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ https://illect.bandcamp.com/album/the-groove-collection