Mayer Hawthorne thrives on mix of Smokey Robinson, J Dilla and ELO .

Mayer Hawthorne may have grown up in the trace of Motown, but his arrival into this world, circa 1979, was only a little too deep for any real-time awareness of the label’s golden years. Of course, you’d never acknowledge that from listening to his debut album, which has already earned him favorable comparisons to Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield.



