Our music staffs lays out their favorite local releases of the year.

Last year we ran a Three Stars feature on Silver Spring-based Zo!, aka Lorenzo Ferguson, and by all accounts, he hasn’t had a slow moment since then. Zo! played a role in The Foreign Exchange’s acclaimed Leave It All Behind album and has toured with the group extensively. Not to mention, he’s been working on his own LP, SunStorm, which will be released early next year. In the meantime, Zo!’s laced us with a…

Keyboardist and producer Lorenzo “Zo!” Ferguson may not be a household name but he’s been quietly amassing a strong list of credentials, particularly in the world of hip-hop, in D.C. and beyond. He’s contributed his talents to projects by Slum Village, Little Brother, and Kev Brown as well as released nine solo projects. A native of metropolitan Detroit and former collegiate baseball player, Zo! was an integral part of the music scene there until he…