1. Mr. Right 
2. Walk Out That Door 
3. Gonna Tell Me Baby 
4. (Did it) Break Your Heart 
5. Angels On High 
6. Chasing The Sun 
7. Missing The Good And The Bad 
8. Sweet Spot 
9. Brown Sugar 
10. This Is Not A Love Song 
11. Anti Love Song
12. Outskirts Of Memphis 

Bass – Dave Smith 
Drums – Steve Potts 
Guitar – Donna Grantis
Guitar, Engineer – Brooke Blackburn
Keyboards – Rick Steff
Organ [B3] – Lance Anderson
Vocals [Background] – Amyee Bragg, Shannon Maracle, Stan Crouse, Troy Adams, Vickie Atkins
Vocals - Shakura S'aida

Born in Brooklyn, raised in Switzerland, resident of Toronto, and recording in Memphis, singer Shakura S'Aida turns in her second solo album, Brown Sugar, for the German Ruf Records label. On her first CD, UMI's Blueprint, she sang blues cover songs from the 1940s and ‘50s, but here she and her guitarist, Donna Grantis, have penned nine of the 11 songs themselves. They have done so in some familiar blues styles, starting with the opening trio of 12-bar blues tunes, "Mr. Right," "Walk Out That Door," and "Gonna Tell My Baby," then going on to less hardcore variations such as the blues-rock found on "(Did It)" Break Your Heart" and the bluesy piano ballad "Angel on High." "Missing the Good and the Bad" starts like a jump blues number before switching gears -- and tempi -- halfway through to take on the cadence of Muddy Waters' "I'm a Man." Throughout, Grantis plays stinging lead guitar in support of S'Aida, who sings powerfully. The vocalist is also a musical theater performer whose stage efforts include a one-woman show devoted to Nina Simone, and she sings in a similarly edgy contralto. She can be said to be a blues singer in the sense that someone like Simone is, too, which is to say that she is more sophisticated, and less sweaty, than most singers in the style. For her, the blues is a performance, not a lifestyle, and on this album she is playing the part of a blues mama, not being one. That allows her to have some fun with the form, however, as she does notably on the closing track, "Outskirts of Memphis," which finds her tramping around the city's tourist spots in search of a ne'er-do-well companion who owes her money. ---William Ruhlmann, AllMusic Review

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 1. No More Trouble Out of Me - 3:29
 2. He Doesn't Care (About My Broken Heart) - 5:35
 3. One Monkey Don't Stop The Show - 3:32
 4. Getting Along Alright - 5:07
 5. Stop It Baby - 3:43
 6. Rain Down Rain - 5:08
 7. Las Vegas Blues - 5:45
 8. Me and My Chauffeur Blues - 4:10
 9. Big City Lights (Have U Seen My Baby) - 3:28
10. I'm Living With The Blues - 2:52
11. Gotta Live - 5:00

Bass – Howard Ayee
Drums – Michelle Josef
Harmonica – David Rotundo (tracks: 7)
Keyboards, Piano, Organ – Dennis Keldie
Lead Vocals – Shakura S'Aida
Saxophone – Simon Wallis
Twelve-String Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica – Harrison Kennedy (tracks: 9 [harmonica], 10)
Vocals [Background] – Jackie Richardson, Shannon Maracle

Shakuras debut solo album signals a new beginning with some old music. She did songs that she felt gave her something to sing about. Songs that were once sung by Big Maybelle, Memphis Minnie, Big Mama Thornton and other phenomenal women of the time become Shakuras personal anthems. Recording with the best of Toronto talent gave Shakuras blues a new canvas to paint on. ---Editorial Reviews, amazon.com

Blues singer Shakura S'Aida (pronounced "Shack-oora Sigh-ee-da") was born in Brooklyn and raised in Switzerland before settling in Toronto. She first began singing professionally with a Toronto band called Mystique, after which she worked with the world music band Kaleefah. Simultaneously, she pursued a legitimate stage career, appearing in Canadian productions of such shows as Ain't Misbehavin', and acted on television and in films. As a singer, she provided backup vocals for Patti LaBelle, performed in a Ray Charles tribute band, and appeared on albums by Bill King and Saturday Nite Fish Fry. Her own debut solo album, Blueprint, released by UMI on February 19, 2008, was a collection of blues songs of the 1940s and ‘50s. Two years later, the German label Ruf Records released her second album, Brown Sugar, which consisted largely of her own original compositions, co-written with her guitarist, Donna Grantis. ---William Ruhlmann, allmusic.com

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Disc One - Time to Rock my Soul...:

1. (Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The) Queen Of Rock N Soul [3:43]
2. Time [4:10]
3. Bing Me Back [3:23]
4. Your Love Always Got Me By [4:13]
5. My Dreamerman [3:40]
6. Between Us [4:45]
7. Devil Only Knows My First Name [4:36]
8. Don't Tell Mama Where Her Children Hide [3:49]

Disc Two - Time... for the blues...:

1. Ya Ya [4:04]
2. Geechee Woman [4:37]
3. Bad Girl [2:59]
4. Tell Me Baby [4:01]
5. That Ain't Right [5:44]
6. Tell Me More, More And Then Some(Billie Holiday) [2:56]
7. Blues Dancing [5:44]
8. Halfway Blues [5:30]

Line-up / Musicians:

Shakura S’Aida – Vocals
Donna Grantis – Guitar
Lance Anderson – B3 and piano
Brooke Blackburn – Guitar
Roger Williams – Bass
Tony Rabalao – Drums, tamborine, cowbell
Connor Gains – Slide guitar, lap steel guitar
Shamakah Ali – Drums, tamborine, washboard
Joaquin Nunez Hidalgo – Percussion
Noelle Najmaah – Spoken word
Alex McMaster – Cello
Harrison Kennedy – Harmonica
Ian Martin – Double bass
Colleen Allen – Baritone sax
Rebecca Hennessy – Trumpet
Alison Young – Tenor sax
Cory Blackburn – Brushes

Shakura S’Aida was born in Brooklyn, raised in Switzerland, and now lives in Toronto. Time is the Electro-Fi debut of this highly talented Singer/Songwriter. Pronounce her name “Shack-oora Sigh-ee-da”. It means “Thank God”.

As a solo artist, Shakura’s career has spanned genres and countries and taken her to some of the most noted stages in the blues and jazz worlds. She’s performed at the New York’s Apollo Theatre, has been featured with Jimmy Smith, has sung backup behind Patti Labelle and is equally at home singing material with a Ray Charles tribute band, or presenting a one-woman show of the music of Nina Simone. Shakura S’Aida is also the 2011 Maple Blues Female Vocalist of the Year & 2011 Indie Blues Artist of the Year. This special 2-disc set showcases two sides of Shakura S’Aida – Disc 1 “Time To Rock My Soul” and Disc 2 “Time For The Blues” and features special guests Harrison Kennedy and Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne.

Shakura S’Aida is proud to sing the Blues, proud to Rock out, proud to acknowledge the past and be part of the future, proud to make music that touches her soul – and which she hopes will touch yours. --- shakurasaida.com

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