Kelly Price: Kelly (Review)

May 102011

Kelly Price Album Cover

Rating: 4.5/5

Appropriately titled Kelly, Price’s latest project strikes with a throwback feel but first takes us to church with her signature power. With opener “Tired”, you’re quickly reminded of who you’re listening to. And, if you haven’t met Kelly’s vocals before, the soulful melody turn rock anthem will speak to you so that you’ll never forget.

Songs sashay between back-in-the-day party or chill vibes and good old-fashioned “Come to Jesus” sanging (not to be confused with singing), which sample a few familiar hooks. Hip-rolling tracks like Reggae infused “Good for You” and bell-bottom inspired “Vexed”, will have both young heads and the young-at-heart popping their fingers.

Each song has a message. In “Here I Am”, my confused sistahs can identify with the need to get that yummy fix when you know it ain’t right. But in “Feel So Good”, Price tells us how it is when you’ve found Mr. Right.

Duet with Stokley of Mint Condition gives it to you straight: You’re my man–that’s it. Ladies’ anthem “Get Right or Get Left” stomps in the same message with a country charged piano and bass backdrop. Beyonce’ fans will smile at the intermittent hook.

In truth, the compilation can be summed up with the four songs at the top of my IPOD list. Price sings an uplifting “I’m Sorry” to herself for the bad choices she’s made in her life, followed by a touching acceptance of her own apology, and a promise to do better. A few other singles triumphantly take on this self-love badge of honor, such as “Intervention” which preaches the truth about domestic violence with the catchy hook, “1-800-799-SAFE”. Yes, the actual number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline! Clever. I challenge the radio stations to play this hit; stand for something and give our young women something meaningful to sing.

“Himaholic” had me reminiscing those college days when I looped Price’s past CDs through the night, drowning in those addictive lyrics and moving arrangements. The song hit home for me with its counseling lingo, from addiction to relapse, since I am a counselor by trade. Ladies, you’ll really feel this one, almost as much as “The Rain“, hands down my favorite from Kelly.

A Catharsis. Riveting. The song begins with Price’s sweet soprano–like a soft prayer , then anchors your spirit in a powerful release, as she sangs about letting the rain metaphorically wash away her pain . She ends with a peaceful declaration that she’d rather stand in the rain… Simply beautiful.

A classic, Kelly doesn’t disappoint.

Kelly Price’s Official Site

TashaMack is an editor, writer, blogger, and part-time contributor to MusicandModeling.com. For more info., visit her on twitter: @iamtashamartin.

Fabolous: The S.O.U.L. Tape (Review)

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May 062011

Fabolous - Soul Tape

3.5/5

After 2010’s There Is No Competition 2 mixtape, Fabolous follows up with The SOUL Tape, a loosely conceptual collection that has Loso flowing over mostly soul-sampled or soul-inspired production. Though the production is a little different from past efforts, it’s still the same Fabolous, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The SOUL Tape opens with the 2Pac-sampled Pain. Fab waxes poetic about the song’s title. When you hear the hard-but-relaxed beat and the 2Pac opening, you would think Fab is about lyrically go to a different space. While it is a very strong verse, it stops short of any introspection or reflection. Even on a semi-serious subject, Fab’s wit, humor, and clever punchlines start to appear early on, and the listener realizes not much has changed. The mellow tone continues, but with more recognizable production. Wolves in Sheep Clothing has Fab and Paul Cain freestyling over Kanye’s soulful Devil in a Blue Dress. The usually out-of-his-league Cain really rode this track. Guess this type of production fits him.

The haunting pianos of “That’s Not Love”(with Lil Wayne) is reminiscent of Rags-to-Riches-era Kool G Rap. It is updated with an altered vocal sample(which I kinda miss these days) that makes it fit the concept of the Tape. They both deliver strong performances, but expectations were high with these two top-shelf emcees. Seeing Wayne in the tracklisting brought back memories of “You Aint’ got Nuthin’” from the Tha Carter III, which Fabolous absolutely destroyed.

“In The Morning” is a reworking the very nice J. Cole song of the same name. No fancy rapid lyrical acrobatics, few heavy puchlines here. This one gets straight to the point. The song asks a question that most guys have asked their girl at least once. At least once per day. The J. Cole backdrop is minimal with soft keys and Fab adapts perfectly. The quasi-romantic theme takes a downturn on the forgettable “Drugs(Do This To Me)” featuring Paul Cain and a new artist under Fab’s wing, Broadway. Fabolous is less inspired here and so is Paul Cain. Yawn.

After the “Drugs” wear off, the amped-up swag-fest of “Yall Don’t Hear Me Tho” gets things going again. Producer Cardiak’s marching-band snares and rumbling bassline is perfect for Fab and Red Cafe to do what they do best, stylin’ on haters. It doesn’t really fit the soul-sampling concept of this mixtape but a great track nonetheless, and a highlight in this collection.

“Mo Brooklyn, Mo Harlem, Mo Southside” is another high point. Over Nas & AZ’s similarly-named classic, Fab, Vado, and Lloyd Banks represent their respective boroughs. Vado (Harlem) delivers a solid verse, but just because of Vado’s connection to Cam’ron, one could not help but ponder the alternate reality of a Killa Cam appearance on this track. Fab, Cam and Banks on that track likely would have been near-epic. That aside, this is a very solid track and Lloyd Banks steals the show with a very dexterous, AZ-inspired flow.

On “Riesling & Rolling Papers”, Fab spits few lines about where he’s at right now, in life and in the industry. The Game’s Buckwild-produced “Like Father Like Son” is borrowed for a backdrop. Fab’s verse had a feeling of closure, and as such, it would have been a good choice for the last track. But that honor is reserved for “Pay Back Music” (feat. Freck Billionaire), which is a reworking of, yeah, you guessed it. Fab drops an okay verse here, but the assist from Freck does not come through. With weak metaphors like “lay you flat like a quesadilla” and “hotter than a furnace is”, it’s unfortunate that this is the last verse on the Tape.

Earlier in “Pay Back Music”, Fabolous states, “from the bottom, but we thinking top notch / thinking out-the-box while everybody hopscotch.” A very nice line, but with regards to The SOUL Tape, not so applicable. This collection is very much in-the-box, Fab breaks no new ground here. It’s a very skilled, but familiar Fabolous with the same lyrical content over choice beats. And for quality free music, I’m okay with that.

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charliedigital is guest contributor to MusicandModeling.com. Find his random tweets and re-tweets on hip-hop, black culture, and technology @charliedigital

Lupe Fiasco: Lasers (Review)

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Apr 122011

Lupe Fiasco: Lasers

Rating: 2/5

By now, most Lupe Fiasco fans know of his struggles with Atlantic over the release, and likely, the content of his third album, Lasers. The result of that struggle is an album filled with synth-electro-pop production, a tired (or beaten) Lupe, and what the hell–some auto-tuned hooks too. That is not to say the production is subpar, it’s just that it does not seem to fit the emcee’s subject matter.

It’s clear that this album is pushing for more pop appeal. (Imagine more “Superstar” and less “SLR”). That fact is made more obvious by Lupe’s recent interviews. He expresses genuine discontent with this album’s production process, and that appears to come through in his performance. We do not get the wit and head-spinning precision seen in Food & Liquor and we do not see the deeper Lupe from The Cool. Whether from lack of focus, label pressure, or just making it more palatable for the listener, we get a “dumbed down” version of Lupe for the majority of this album.

The album’s opener, “Letting Go (featuring Sarah Green)” with its sleepy, emo, auto-tuned hook truly sets the tone for the album. Lupe reflects on his current situation and the industry, but the song sounds dated, even though it feels like it’s aiming for a B.o.B. “Airplanes” appeal. Lupe goes for a double-time flow on “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now”, which has a synth-bounce straight from the Far East Movement’s catalog. It’s a pure club track, and Lupe sounds out of place on it.

“Words I Never Said” is one of the better songs on the album, despite the currently omnipresent Skylar Grey’s feathery emo-chorus. The sound is slightly heavier, but the synth is also slightly overbearing. Lupe is closer to his top form here lyrically, but it is difficult to digest the heavy rhetoric and conspiracy theories over such an upbeat radio-targeted track. It just doesn’t fit. Another highlight is the first single, “The Show Goes On”. This head-nodder really hits the target, and Lupe rides the track perfectly. The album needed more of this vibe (like the stellar “I’m Beaming”, included as a bonus track, not included in this review), but that turned out not to be the case. Trey Songz phones in his best R. Kelly impression for the super-generic “Out of My Head”. Lupe’s verses are largely metaphorical in this one, but that will likely be lost on the target audience. This one will probably be a hit on black radio.

Much of the remainder of the album finds Lupe half-heartedly plowing through lackluster production, pop-rock choruses, and a few more R&B pairings. And that seems to be the overall feel of this album, that Lupe is not fully invested in this project. That said, as of this review’s press time, Lasers has performed better at retail than his previous efforts. Hopefully, with his label woes soon-to-be behind him, fans of his previous efforts will look forward to the next release.

Lupe Fiasco’s Official Site

charliedigital is guest contributor to MusicandModeling.com. Find his random tweets and re-tweets on hip-hop, black culture, and technology @charliedigital

Lonny Bereal: Love Games Part 1 (Review)

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Apr 082011

Lonny Bereal: Love Games Part 1

Rating: 4/5

For the most part, Love Games, Part 1 pushes playful, head-bobbing car music with a lilt of ruggedness that only hints at Bereal’s vocal skills. The heart—the beat—of this collection of star-studded collaborations is the love ballads, which to me are a separate mix tape within a mix tape.

Love Sign aptly showcases Burrell’s wide vocal range which promises to woo the hearts of ladies. A blast from the past, If I Told You has a Dru Hill, boy band feel that’ll make you reminisce past steamy love affairs. Super-sexy Phone Sex with Teddy Riley is the quintessential love making hit of the tape, with a Tyrese and Blackstreet feel that is barely trumped by the ever-so-sexy Room Service (featuring Tank) that could double for private dancing or top-down-cruising-with-your-girl music—with a few secret groping sessions, of course.

If you really want to peep Bereal’s vocal skills, check out Dayz, a shoulder-rocking love song, no bedroom needed. And, though I’m not really feeling the Petty Pablo feature in I Get My Lean On, the hot Salsa vibe makes you snap your fingers, even if you can’t two-step.

A professed romantic, I can do away with the Deray skits and club mixes like Got That. (Can we retire the v-coder, please?!). If I were honest, the playful hooks were somewhat entertaining, but the win for me was hands down the rhythmic, emotional love ballads that perfectly showcased Lonnie Bereal’s soulful voice.