THEESatisfaction Loves the Sa-Ra Creative Partners was released Feb. 23 via the

THEESatisfaction Loves the Sa-Ra Creative Partners was released Feb. 23 via the duo’s website.THEESatisfaction this week made available for free what a release described as “the first installment of their musical appreciation series.” Or, put another way, odes to artists whom the local hip-hop duo admires. Titled THEESatisfaction Loves the Sa-Ra Creative Partners, the mix sees MCs/girlfriends Catherine Harris-White and Stasia Irons stamping the left-field SA-RA’s sound with their cosmic sensibility and gay pride lyrics. Although the interstellar references are getting old, overall, it’s a quality, groovy little suite of five songs that tackles complex issues of identity politics with style.The mood here is firmly rooted in raunchy, Rick James-style funk–a tact that allows Harris-White and Irons to blow steam without sounding like blowhards. Opener “Bi-Sexual” is a wink and a nod to sexual experimentation that treats flirtation as fun, fickle sport. (“I don’t usually do guys, but tonight I might be…bi-sexual.”) The second track, “Pause,” is a sly, slippery number aimed at homophobes, and is followed by the night-sky-scanning soul of “Moonday (Intergalactic Church),” which is about as overtly spacey (thankfully) as the duo gets. The mix ends with the upbeat shit-talking of “Ooh THEES Bitches is Bad.” Why? Because they are.