Shafiq Husayn – The Loop 2LP Nature Sounds

Shafiq Husayn is a talented musician, producer, songwriter, and recording artist who has worked with some of the top artists in R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and beyond. Perhaps best known as one third of innovative Los Angeles musical collective Sa Ra Creative Partners, Husayn has produced for the likes of Erykah Badu, Andre 3000, John Legend, Kanye West, Jurassic 5, Bilal, and many more. Shafiq’s musical roots date back to when he attended parties thrown by the Zulu Nation and Uncle Jamm’s Army, carrying crates for pioneering DJ Afrika Islam and DJing with Crenshaw High School classmates Bobcat and Battlecat. By the early 90s he was working under the alias SLJ, producing tracks for hip-hop luminaries like Ice T, Lord Finesse, and King Tee. In recent years, Shafiq has helped launch the careers of some of the most influential new artists to emerge from L.A., serving as a mentor to Anderson.Paak and working with Ty Dolla $ign before his rise to fame. His solo debut ‘Shafiq en A-Free-Ka’ drew widespread critical acclaim, and he earned a Grammy for his work on Robert Glasper’s breakthrough album ‘Black Radio’. Now, Shafiq Husayn is back with ‘The Loop’, the long-awaited follow-up to ‘Shafiq en A-Free-Ka’. The eclectic album features an all-star cast of Shafiq’s most prominent collaborators, including contributions from Erykah Badu, Anderson.Paak, Hiatus Kaiyote, Robert Glasper, Thundercat, Bilal, Flying Lotus, Jimetta Rose, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Coultrain, and more. Blending lush live instrumentation with futuristic synths and otherworldly vocals, ‘The Loop’ is a genre-defying opus incorporating spaced-out funk, raw neo-soul, free jazz, hip-hop beats, and electronic elements. “Welcome to Love’s Infinite Power = The Loop,” says Shafiq. “It’s the anniversary album to ‘En A-Free-Ka’, and the continuance of an infinite cycle of music that I hope will live on in the hearts and minds of all long after I’m gone.”