G. Love Taps into the Delta Blues on Star-Studded New Album ‘Philadelphia Mississippi’

By Rod Brakes
published

Watch the animated video for the hip hop/blues-melded lead single “Love From Philly” featuring Schoolly D and Chuck Treece.

G. Love AKA Garrett Dutton
G. Love AKA Garrett Dutton (Image credit: Joe Navas)

Grammy-nominated alternative blues/hip-hop artist G. Love has just announced his new album – Philadelphia Mississippi – will be released on June 24 via Philadelphonic Records/Thirty Tigers.

Produced by the North Mississippi All-Stars’ guitarist and frontman Luther Dickinson, G. Love’s latest combines retro elements of hill country and Delta blues with contemporary funk and hip-hop.

Interestingly, Dickinson’s father, Jim, produced G. Love & Special Sauce’s sophomore album, 1995's Coast to Coast Motel (opens in new tab).

A prolific collaborator, ex-Black Crowes guitarist Dickinson has previously donned his producer cap for the likes of Samantha Fish, Otha Turner and the Honey Island Swamp Band.

Ahead of Philadelphia Mississippi’s release, an animated video for the album’s lead single “Love From Philly” premiered today on G. Love & Special Sauce’s YouTube Channel (opens in new tab).

Originally penned for the Love From Philly benefit (opens in new tab), the track features iconic Philadelphian rapper Schoolly D; pro skateboarder and multi-instrumentalist Chuck Treece; and Grammy-nominated blues guitar player Trenton Ayers (opens in new tab).

“[’Love From Philly'] became a live staple,” explains G. Love AKA Garrett Dutton. “Later on, I tapped Chuck Treece and legendary Philadelphia hip-hop artist Schoolly D to contribute verses, turning a live jam into an iconic Philly classic.

“Along with Mississippi son Trenton Ayers’s melt-your-face lead guitar and BGVs from Memphis-based Tikyra Jackson, ‘Love From Philly’ is a hip hop-blues instant hit.”

Comprising 13 tracks and featuring performances from a plethora of artists, Philadelphia Mississippi is a dynamic, genre-fusing work with a distinctive off-the-cuff feel.

From blues luminaries such as Alvin Youngblood Hart (opens in new tab), Cameron Kimbrough (opens in new tab), Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jontavious Willis (opens in new tab) and R.L. Boyce (opens in new tab) to rap stars Freddie Foxxx (opens in new tab) AKA Bumpy Knuckles and Speech from Arrested Development – not to mention fife master Shardé Thomas (opens in new tab) and Grammy-nominated Southern Avenue drummer/singer Tikyra Jackson (opens in new tab) – Philadelphia Mississippi showcases raw talent from beginning to end.

G. Love 'Philadelphia Mississippi' album artwork

(Image credit: Philadelphonic Records/Thirty Tigers)

Pre-order Philadelphia Mississippi here (opens in new tab).

Rod Brakes
Rod Brakes

Rod Brakes is a music journalist with an expertise in guitars. Having spent many years at the coalface as a guitar dealer and tech, Rod's more recent work as a writer covering artists, industry pros and gear includes contributions for leading publications and websites such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Guitar World (opens in new tab), Guitar Player (opens in new tab) and MusicRadar (opens in new tab) in addition to specialist music books, blogs and social media. He is also a lifelong musician.