It’s been tough being a Lauryn Hill in the last decade or so since The Miseducation… came out and completely rewrote the script and became the template for neo-soul. Universally applauded and sold by the boatloads, Lauryn Hill cemented her place as an artist on the rise, destined for greatness but then something happened. She fell off the face of the earth. If you believe the rumours that piled up, becoming a virtual maelstrom of misinformation and half-truths, the girl went crazy. Hey, maybe she simply felt the pressure was too much to bear and simply decided to take a powder, take a step back, focus on becoming a mother and wife while living happily ever after. It’ s certainly not out of the realm of possibility but that doesn’t necessarily make great copy, I know. Time marched on and slowly but surely new artists took the abandoned baton laying limp on the ground and ran as far as they could with it but the zeitgeist had passed. None could capture the imagination and ears of people across what seemed like every demographic and target market, music elitist or casual listener quite like Lauryn did. I know someone very well is going to comment and refute my statement by mentioning Alicia Keys. Please don’t. She’s simply not Lauryn.
The welcome but ultimately unsatisfying MTV Unplugged 2.0 released in 2002 aside, it’s been a long wait for those of us who still had faith in her talent and hoped that the creative fire would bring her back to the world again. Sure there was the ill-fated Fugees reunion that never happened (and probably just as well), the sporadic live appearances, the random public outbursts but what we wanted was some new Lauryn Hill tunes. It looks like we may just be getting our wish.
Presenting Repercussions, a new Hill track that’s making its way to the nets like wildfire. A simple boom-bap and immediately we’re brought back to Lauryn’s dulcet tones and it’s like she never left us. Smooth and hypnotic, you’ll be swaying your head, snapping your fingers with your hands held high in the air within seconds. Some may call this track “safe” and doesn’t show any real evolution in Lauryn’s sound. Allow me to be one of those who will gladly state for the record that there is plenty of time for her to branch off later but for right now, I’m vibin’. Lauryn Hill’s back and the music world is truly all the better for it.
The next great blue-eyed soul great? If that’s what our fearless hero, Francis Starlite, is aiming to do, it’s safe to say he’s clearing the path for himself quite handily. With his debut album It’ ll Be Better due out on the 20th of July, another song has been unearthed that should offer further evidence that a star is on the rise. As heard previously with the single Darling It’s Alright, Starlite has the total package in spades with bushels of talent left to spare. A voice that exudes tenderness and confidence yet also yearns for something more, something greater. The lyrics of a storyteller that has seen way too much, too soon and is ready for more. Songs that invite you in, make you feel at home, creating memorable snapshots that you want to remember long after the record has finished playing. Check out a new track, the album closer Get In The Car. Close your eyes and take a ride.
Before I continue with this post, It should be noted that by and large I’m really not much of an R&B fan. Acutally check that…I don’t get very enthused when I hear the likes of Beyonce, Rihanna, Usher and the other posers that merely jump on the train and leave the actual substance and feeling back at the station. That said, I do like Ne-Yo. What I like about Ne-Yo is that he’s a bit of a throwback. He sings but more impressively he writes. Not only does he write and produce for himself, he’s also responsible for writing for some of the bigger hits you may have heard on the radio the last few years. He’s almost a modern day Smokey Robinson, one could say. I said almost.
Mr. Ne-Yo has a new record coming out entitled Libra Scale due out sometime in September. The record, the singer’s fourth will feature the brand new single Beautiful Monster which sounds like a much darker version of the hit single Closer from his last record 2008’s Year Of The Gentleman. How is it? Hmm…It’s quite apparent that Ne-Yo is channeling some serious Michael Jackson here as this is the kind of song he and Quincy Jones could have put together over breakfast and created a hit during the eighties. To be honest, I don’t have a fully formed opinion of the song just yet. It should work in the clubs where the Jersey Shore/bridge and tunnel crowd would eat it up but as a sign of Ne-Yo’s progression as an artist….? I’ll just have to leave this one as an incomplete for now.
For all of my talk about the great songwriting tandems in my opinion of the last thirty years including Morrissey and Marr or Tennant or Lowe, it’s a crime that I always tend to neglect another immensely gifted and influential pair. I honestly don’t know exactly what made it uncool to consider them as such. I probably missed the memo that deemed Daryl Hall and John Oates as “uncool” and it’s just as well. These two were a serious force to be reckoned with from the late 70s into the mid 1980s. Their songs were perfectly crafted and had an uncanny ability to remain lodged in your head. Simple blue-eyed soul based pop songs that became mega-hits in a time where corporate rock dominated and pummeled the airwaves.
You know the songs.. I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do), Private Eyes, Maneater, Kiss On My List, Out Of Touch, You Make My Dreams and quite possibly my personal favourite Say It Isn’t So featured above. As great as their run was, they were one of the unfortunate casualties as tastemakers found their brand of pop to be dated and allowed the tripe known as Grunge to come to the fore. A shame, really. Great songs never get stale and they never get old. Luckily Hall & Oates are touring these days and while it’s been quite a while since their last number one single. It’s a fair bet that going to one of their shows will be a maelstrom of hits. Pretty cool if you ask me.
Wanna see some fancy footwork? Take a peek at the promotional film for the brand new song by New York’s Francis & The Lights called Darling, It’s Alright. I really couldn’t tell you which one I like more, the video or the song. The track itself is a snappy two and a half minute lament track sung elegantly delivered by Francis’ young Joe Cocker-ish vocals. It’s blue-eyed soul sung by a down and out New Yorker just whiling away another lonely night. It used to be that they didn’t write songs like this anymore. Thanks to Francis & The Lights, I’m glad I’m wrong.
If you’re not up on these guys yet, you’re in luck. Their new record It’ll Be Better is out on the 20th of July via Cantora.
Keeping it funky and fresh out of the LES (that’s the Lower East Side of Manhattan for you out-of towners), The Knocks are about ready to enter the fray and drop some 80s style electro-funk on us. Imagine a much less annoying Chromeo and their overdone auto-tuned vox or what Miami Horror would sound like if they didn’t try to so hard to appear authentic. The Knocks’ debut single Blackout while being an obvious nod to 80’s urban pop still sounds fresh to these ears. A definite party-starter and sure to fill the dance floor, The Knocks are primed to bring some dirty New York flava to the masses one hip-shaker and head-bopper at a time.
What say you, friends? Are you ready for the Blackout?
“When you on the corner it’s too much drama
Livin’ with the police right behind ya’
It’s always more than a slight reminder
We livin’ in a war zone like Rwanda.
Before I go back to the heavenly father
Pray for me if it ain’t too much bother.
Whatever don’t break me’ll make me stronger
I feel like I can’t take too much longer”
Before they became Jimmy Fallon’s house band, the Roots were the pre-eminent hip hop band in all the land. Universally adored and fawned over by the critics, hopelessly underrated by the public at large yet treasured, cherished and beloved by those who actually like music. Throughout their almost twenty year career, the band out of Philly simply have done everything there is to do. Luckily for us, they’re not done quite yet!
The band’s new record, the long awaited How I Got Over will finally see the light of day on the 8th of June via Island-Def Jam. Yes, gang…happy days are here again! As you just heard and saw in the video, that is indeed the title track and it is a treat indeed. We’ve got Black Thought singing and delivering his world-weary rhymes as only he can. Earthy in its tone, Black Thought reminds us that as he looks around, nothing’s changed as he sees it. There’s still crime. There’s still poverty. The stench of failure still lingers from ghetto to ghetto. This is the kind of song the Roots are known for and are better than most at writing. No frills, no bling. No glamour and glitz. It’s simply how it is.
There’s really nothing else that needs to be said. It’s the Roots. Buy the record on the 8th of June.
The majestic talent that is Janelle Monae is really going to turn heads this May when The ArchAndroid drops. That much is certain. The verve and pizazz that resonates through sung phrase and the ease in which she is able to command the attention of the listener is something that hasn’t been heard in urban music since…Speakerboxx/The Love Below…?
Since I just alluded to Outkast, it must be said that the new song making its way through the internets called Cold War is very Outkast-like. The instrumental itself is very reminiscent of B.O.B off of 2000’s Stankonia. The similarities end there. Janelle Monae simply owns this track and she shows off her voice a bit more here than she does in Tightrope which is a bit more of a playful track. Like I’ve mentioned before, this is an artist that deserves mainstream acclaim. The talent is there. The voice is there. The je ne sais quois is there in spades. Let’s just hope P Diddy doesn’t screw this one up.
The name has been on the lips of many a tastemaker, blogger, blog reader and music fans who keep their ears to the grindstone for what seems like eons now. Thankfully on the 18th of May, what seemed like an improbability will become reality. The debut record from Atlanta’s Janelle Monae will finally see the light of day! For those of you not in the know, Janelle is an extremely talented artist who it seems has been waging a one-woman war against the staid wasteland that is contemporary R&B. Her live performances are beyond impressive and raise the bar for others of her ilk and the songs themselves are a sort of throwback to the halcyon days of Motown, Stax and Chess but also offer vivid glimpses of where the genre needs to go in order to restore ingenuity and true artistry.
First up, we’ve got the leadoff single taken from the long awaited debut The ArchAndroid entitled Tightrope featuring a very special guest: the one and only Big Boi from Outkast. Tightrope brings forth the kind of energy that has been lost in the last decade in urban music. There’s a pep in its step. An enthusiastic vibe within that simply forces you to jump out of your seat and dance. Lyrically, the song is all about keeping your head up despite what curveballs life may throw your way. Granted it’s not exactly a new subject matter but coming from Monae, it sounds so fresh and it’s so obvious that she MEANS it, you simply do not care. You just want to have whatever it is she’s having. This song is a winner and has officially rendered the likes of Beyonce and Rihanna obsolete.
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