Tuxedo is a collaboration between soul singer/songwriter Mayer Hawthorne and Seattle-based hip-hop producer Jake One (Drake, The Weeknd, J Cole, De La Soul). Influenced by the classic disco-funk of '70s and early-'80s acts like Chic, Shalamar, and Zapp, these guys are right up my alley.

I love classic R&B and soul/funk music. While listening to a Marvin Gaye Pandora station in 2010 a song came on that sounded like it was from the 60s R&B scene. I remember thinking that I had not heard the song before, which was surprising because there weren't that many songs recorded and released back then, so surely if it was a 40 year old banger I would have heard it by now.

When I looked at the song it was by an artist named Mayer Hawthorne. Upon further review I found out the song I was listening to had only been released a couple years prior (2008)! I became an instant fan and still am to this day.

Fast forward a few years to 2015 and the first release from the new band, Tuxedo.

Uhhh, yes please!

Just listen to one of the singles from that first record.
That keyboard though 😍😍😍😍😍...

Here is another up-beat joint from the first record.

Tuxedo II

In 2017 we were blessed with Tuxedo's second release, Tuxedo II.

Check out the opening cut, "Fux With The Tux", complete with a cameo appearance by Snoop Dogg!

Tuxedo III

Two years after that the band released Tuxedo III.

Lost of featured artists on this one and every song is a throwback to those classic funk vibes, so here's the whole album if you want to check it out.

Here's a slow jam from Tuxedo III, classic!

Tuxedo IV

The guys went 5 years before releasing Tuxedo IV in 2024.

I just found this album the other day and have not really listened to it much, but I'll have it on repeat today. Gotta get ready for the show Tuesday night 😎

Here's the first single from Tuxedo IV, "Back 4 More".