Jamil Rashad calls Boulevards - the moniker he performs under - a cosmic soul artist. But from where I sit, his latest release is still digging up a hip-shaking mother lode of old school funk.

Carolina Funk: Barn Burner of Tobacco Road, his fifth studio album, is a worthy follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2022 long player, and finds the North Carolina native still wandering in the platform-shoe footsteps of giants like George Clinton and Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner. 

If the groove fits, keep wearing it. 

This is physical music that dares you to listen and not move. But, it also continues Rashad’s introspection with deep-in-the-mix lyrics exploring both love and recovery. (2022’s Electric Cowboy: Born in the Carolina Mud, was his fourth studio album, but the first he made sober.)