I. Am. A. MESS! I can't believe I haven't been on here since December 31st of last year!! I've been slipping. But I'm back. (Holllllaaaa!) :)
I'm trying to re-live the past 3 months of my life, and figure out why I temporarily abandoned one of my only releases. There's been a lot of good. I'm definitely blessed. A little bad. Some hope. A lot of disappointment. A reality check. I've experienced almost every emotion one can feel. That's definitely not a good reason for staying away. But that's the excuse I'm providing. So take it, or leave it (take it, please!). :)
Okay so on to what really matters...MUSIC!! I'm staring at my stacks of CD's as I type this. Which of these were purchased since January 1st? (By the way, muuuuch love and respect to those people who still buy CD's. There's definitely a benefit in owning a CD. But maybe I'm just extra nostalgic...)
Raheem Devaughn- The Love & War MasterPeace (I've had this CD for about 2 weeks and am just now opening it today. Once I listen to it, I'll let you know my thoughts on it)
Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh (I'm loving this CD so far. No disrespect to Part One, but she has really gotten back to the Erykah I grew to love with this album. After a few more listens, I will definitely be spotlighting this album)
Amel Larrieux- Bravebird (This CD is about 6 years old, but I couldn't pass it up. It was only $3.95 at Rasputin's! Plus I love her style. It's a great album to play when you're having a stressful day, and need something to take you to another place)
I think I'm going to spotlight my girl Choklate's To Whom It May Concern album. You've heard me talk about Choklate before. Singer from Seattle? Toured with Eric Roberson? Ringing a bell? I finally got her latest album (released in May of 2009). I still can't believe I never knew about this girl when I lived in Washington. It looks like she was doing a lot of local touring during that time. Seeing her in concert would have definitely made my time out there a lot better. But that's neither her nor there...
I'm not focusing on her album because it's necessarily the best album I've bought in the past 3 months, but more because it's the one I've been listening to the most.
If I could categorize her music, I'd call it "soulful hip-hop soul". Most of her songs were created with predominately hip-hop producers. So there's a beautiful blend of her smooth vocals over hard, hip-hop beats. Which is great for me. Don't get me wrong, I think I'm one of the most open-minded people when it comes to all genres of music. I love hip-hop. I've always admired the skillful way a producer can create a song, especially when there are samples involved. But I honestly can't relate to much of the content in the songs. Trust, I'll pull out a Common or Mos Def album and get down on it some times. But those aren't albums I can listen to every day. So Choklate allows me to enjoy my guilty pleasure (hip-hop beats) while giving me some lyrics I can truly relate to.
With that being said, the thing I love about her albums, is the same thing I don't love about her albums (I know, it sounds confusing. Wait for it--). While the manufactured, hip-hop beats are a refreshing change from your typical slow, "neo-soul" songs, this album is missing a key element- LIVE INSTRUMENTS! I'm a sucker for a live band. Give me some nice acoustics, funky bass, and an entrancing piano solo, and I'm good! With this album, you won't really get that. But it's still a really good album, nonetheless.
The title track "To Whom it May Concern" is the perfect song to sum up exactly who Choklate is. And as you listen to it, you'll see that she's just like us... a little all over the place. "To whom it may concern, I'm a good girl, I'm a hard worker, I got a big heart, don't mess me over// To whom it may concern, I'm still learning, I'm not perfect/ I try to be slick, but it never works."
My absolute FAVORITIST FAVY FAVORITE song on this album would be "One A Ya'll." Did I mention how much I love this song??! This song is the epitome of a flawless Choklate song. Although I'm not 100 percent sure, I'm about 92.5% sure that this song samples the Isley Brothers' "Summer Breeze" (I'm talking about that KILLER intro). And I'm 95.4 % sure that it's Ron Isley's voice being sampled in the background. Besides the amazing production of this song, the lyrics are...the truth!
The song talks about something women don't really want to admit to (and off the top of my head, I can't think of any song that approaches this topic in this way). Girl meets boy. Boy isn't exactly giving girl what she wants. So girl meets another boy, hoping he can supplement what boy #1 is lacking. So now girl has 2 boys "Thought she had it all under control and, that she was quite the pimp...". But she's realizing both boys can't live up to her expectations. "Now she's sitting wondering where they are and feeling like, deep inside that/ One a ya'll should call. Somebody should be worried about my heart/ One a ya'll should call. And be the man I'm hoping one a ya'll are." I've spoken to several women about this and although it might not necessarily be healthy, the way women get over one guy is by finding another one. And when you realize that replacement man can't fulfill your expectations either? That's a saaad day.
"She needed more than you was giving and she, she loved you more than you will ever know/ She's wondering where she went wrong 'cause/ AIN'T NEITHER ONE A YA'LL THE ONE..."
Other notable songs on this album are:
"No Answer"
"The Blues"
"Serious?"
NEW ARTIST ALERT...!!
A new artist I've discovered in the past couple months is PJ Morton. Looks like he's been around for a while. I would always hear his single "The One" on Music Choice channel 909 in the morning. Although I didn't really like the single (sounded a little too commercial for me), I could tell this man had some undiscovered gems that he let slip by the record execs (lol). So I started digging...After doing a little research, I was pleased to find out that he is releasing his new album next week! So I'll be ordering my copy soon. But the song that made me fall in love with him is "No Ordinary Love" off his 2006 release Emotions. Man. THIS SONG. It is live instruments galore! Whenever I play this song, I can imagine that I'm front row at this concert. His style is a little more Stevie Wonder-ish/ classic R&B-ish than your typical Dwele or Eric Roberson. But some times it feels good to "take it back, while staying where you're at" (was that lame? I totally just made that up on the spot, lol). Buuut seriously, this is a beautiful song all around. Great live instrumentation. Great lyrics. Great voice. Just a nice, pure love song. Don't find many of those anymore!
GREAT MUSIC IS GREAT MUSIC. Don't let your experiences be confined by titles. Genres. Sub-genres. Open your mind and allow it soak in all it can. I say that because I've been trying to expand my musical tastes. One type of music I've always stayed away from was "house." For me, that term was synonymous with "techno" and "gay clubs." Oh, but it's so much more! Some songs that have been categorized as "house" or "downtempo" or "acid jazz" are NOT what you would think. I promise!
Jazzanova is a popular collection of DJs and producers from Germany. Anyone familiar with "acid jazz" or "nu jazz" would consider them one of the modern frontrunners of the movement. My point is this: Jazzanova works with EVERYBODY. They have a FEW songs with Phonte from Little Brother. Songs with Dwele. Jill Scott. Just something to think about...
Whew! I think I've written enough. It won't be so long until we're reunited. Promise! Til next time...help spread the word about REAL music. :)
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