ROBERT GLASPER RELEASES BLACK RADIO III SUPREME EDITION
Today, multi-Grammy and Emmy-winning artist and producer Robert Glasper releases Black Radio III Supreme Edition, a deluxe version of the third installment of his acclaimed Black Radio series, out now on Loma Vista Recordings / Concord. Glasper adds nine additional new tracks to his critically-lauded 2022 album including single “Therapy pt.2 Ft Mac Miller” and its new accompanying visualizer, as well as songs featuring an array of R&B’s finest from PJ Morton to Estelle, Luke James, Bilal, BJ The Chicago Kid, India.Arie, Alex Isley, and Emily King. Ten years ago, Robert Glasper made history with Black Radio, blending jazz, rap, hip-hop and R&B and charting in all four genres and today reaches even further into his musical canon.
Speaking on the Black Radio series and the album’s deluxe treatment, Glasper says:
“Thank you Black Radio family for a phenomenal year celebrating Black Radio III and the historic milestones of Black Radio over the last decade. Black Radio was always intended as an ongoing project, evolving over time, perhaps never complete but anchored in its creative commitment to celebrating black music. As a next chapter and a show of gratitude, I’m closing out the year with even more new music. The supreme edition of Black Radio III brings more new songs that have deeply personal meaning to me and are too special to not share with the world.”
The continuing Black Radio series has become Glasper’s legacy, upholding a place at the center of a culture-shifting community: from long-time sonic brothers yasiin bey and Bilal, to legends including Ledisi, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu. Black Radio III, which features the uplifting “Black Superhero” featuring Killer Mike, BJ The Chicago Kid, and Big K.R.I.T., and a range of artists from Jennifer Hudson to Q-Tip to Yebba, has earned him high praise this year from Variety, OkayPlayer, UPROXX, where the record has landed on “Best of 2022 So Far” lists. The release was launched with a special MLK Day performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (where Glasper returned last week to sit in with The Roots), featuring Rhapsody, DJ Jazzy Jeff, BJ The Chicago Kid and Amir Sulaiman. An interview and Emmy-nominated performance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah followed, as well Glasper’s official partnership with Record Store Day and FAMS, the coalition of Black-owned independent US record stores, as an ambassador for A Day of Action.
This month, dubbed Robtober, marks the return of Robert Glasper’s legendary Blue Note residency at the iconic New York City jazz club featuring yasiin bey, Lalah Hathaway, Terrace Martin, Alex Isley and more surprise guests. Wednesday night, in between stints at both weekends of Austin City Limits Music Festival, Glasper staged a Robtober live stream performance with Alex Isley from the Blue Note via Twitch to celebrate the release of Black Radio III Supreme Edition. Tune in throughout the month of October, as Glasper will be offering fans behind-the-scenes access during his residency via a new series of Green Room live streams on Twitch. Follow Rob’s Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/
In its first week, the 4th annual Robtober drew crowds that included Miguel, Terrace Martin, comedian Jeff Ross, and more, kicking off what is just the beginning of the month-long super event. The residency includes tributes to Herbie Hancock and the late Meghan Stabile, a celebrated jazz promoter and friend of Glasper, in addition to nights with Lalah Hathaway and a special Halloween set with Thundercat. In previous years, Glasper’s residency was amplified with guest performances from the likes of Stevie Wonder, J Dilla, Jill Scott, Questlove, Common, Q-Tip, Anderson Paak, Kamasi Washington, H.E.R., Chris Rock, and more. This summer, Glasper programmed the inaugural Blue Note Jazz Festival in Napa Valley—an offshoot of his annual residency—with headliners including Black Star, Snoop Dogg, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Maxwell, Black Star, Dinner Party, Madlib, Corinne Bailey Rae and special guest host Dave Chappelle. The festival was glowingly covered in a VIBE cover story: “years of musical history and our ancestors’ wildest dreams rolled into one.”
As a producer, Robert Glasper has contributed to landmark records throughout his storied career, like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and Flying Lotus’s Flamagra, and continues to be an enduring influence within the legendary Blue Note Records. The Houston native’s earlier projects, the Grammy Award-winning Black Radio (2011), Black Radio 2 (2013), and ArtScience (2016) topped Billboard’s Jazz Album Charts, while recent records like Grammy-nominated Fuck Yo Feelings (2019), with features ranging from YBN Cordae to Herbie Hancock, and Black Radio III featuring Grammy-winning single “Better Than I Imagined” contribute to Glasper’s staggering honorary success. With long-time collaborator, co-producer, and creative partner Terrace Martin, he formed another dream team supergroup, Dinner Party (2020) featuring Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder. The record was nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album at this year’s 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Robert Glasper’s accolades are a testament to his career which spans over two decades and several genres. He boasts 4 Grammys, an Emmy, a Peabody, and made history with Black Radio (2012), the first album to debut in the top 10 of 4 different genre charts simultaneously: Hip Hop, R&B, Urban Contemporary, Jazz and Contemporary Jazz—his follow-up Black Radio 2. Next month, Glasper will take the stage at Sony Hall with yasiin bey and Bilal before celebrating his groundbreaking album’s 10th anniversary at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on November 13—special guests yasiin bey, Lalah Hathaway, Bilal, and Meshell Ndegeocello will perform alongside a 32-piece orchestra led by Derrick Hodge. In addition to his musical releases, Glasper has composed scores for films and series like Peabody-winning Mr. SOUL! (2018), 2020’s The Photograph starring Issa Rae, Emmy-nominated documentary The Apollo, HBO’s 2022 series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty and Peacock’s Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air.