Checkpoint 303 releases 13 new tracks in May, in collaboration with Palestinian singers Jawaher Shofani and Wardeh Sbeit and poet Jihad Sbeit.

Back in February, Anthony Joseph released Time, a collaboration with bassist and singer Meshell Ndegeocello, and for me, the spoken word album of the year so far, by far. Since then he’s been touring that collection of spoken word funk, jazz, roots, far and wide. And this month, three remixes take three tracks into new territories of sound.

“A funeral party for the age of materialism.” Tramp the dirt down.

Stop everything for a moment. Pause to listen. This is a very beautiful project, and a valuable project too.

Last week, Puerto Rican hip hop artist Ikol Santiago released this video for a track from his April ’13 album Iguacas.

Essential hip hop. Pataphysics is Pat Marks, Melbourne-based soulful guerilla hip hop artist. Musician and revolutionary poet with insightful rhymes, in both English and Sri Lankan. Latest video hits home, hard.

So many layers in Cyrus Shahrad’s music. So much restrained emotion in Shura’s voice. And this video (by Tom Jobbins), so simple, also very very complicated (much the same could be said about these musical collaborations).

Seriously I haven’t been this excited by a voice since Amy.

A new track from Ghana’s Mutombo, first release from an album coming in 2013. This time – and foreshadowing many collaborations – Mutombo works with M3NSA.

If you want a global update on the hottest women Hip Hop artists right now, check this generous mixtape from Nomadic Wax.

Cher danseurs, you of refined and intelligent style, you who love to dance at the pace of the beat of your heart, you earnest folk who like to smile, with only a small delay I suggest to you this:

MIDI East is a library of East-Euro/West Asian music – 9,000 midi files discovered “floating around” the internet by Aus/Berlin electronic musician, producer Brian May (DJ Delay / Beam Up / Sonical), and offered up to electronic musicians and producers with a challenge – to put down the synced sampler and do some hard work on some raw files and create some new electronic music.