Unorthodox Jukebox
Ah, Unorthodox Jukebox, the perfect name to summarize Bruno Mars’s second album. Considering the charm of his vocals and the Midas touch he has for big hooks (“Billionaire,” “Nothin’ on You,” and “Lighters” were all Top 5 hits for rappers), up to this point Mars’s discography plays like a mini jukebox. He proved on his […]
Juneteenth Revolution
Since present-day performers are usually pre-packaged and pre-shaped to a ludicrous extent before we even catch a sampling of their work, encountering someone who’s as bright and bubbly as her music is an anomaly…until you encounter Collette. She may have started tapping into her potential in clichéd fashion (church), but the Columbia, SC native singer, […]
Lotus
Looking back, the tabloid-fodder period of 2010 and 2011 were probably years Christina Aguilera wished never happened. Burlesque tanked. Her marriage with Jordan Bratman dissolved. Then, she flubbed the lyrics of the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl. Making matters worse, Bionic, a highly ambitious album curtailing her musical taste buds into Gaga territory, fell […]
KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic
Fresh as fabric softener and rollicking as a roller derby, multi-instrumentalist Mayer Hawthorne steps out swinging on this enthralling six song EP. Now there is a string of words I’ve never considered placing in a review of Mayer Hawthorne…ever. Yet, it is undeniable that this race is granted not to the swift but to one […]
A Better Picture
In essence Kat Webb, with her hip dreadlocks, looks as if she should be singing folk songs rather than the breezy neo soul that permeates A Better Picture, her sophomore album. Webb comes across as a hybrid of both these musical styles, while visually she brings to mind jazz chanteuse Cassandra Wilson. Possessing, at times, […]
Just What She Needs (2013)
Perhaps best known as Maxwell and Roy Hargrove’s trombonist, in 2009 Saunders Sermons arrived on the scene as the Michael Franks for the millennial generation. Delivering what was easily one of the most inspired projects of that year, Classic Delights, Sermons had established a high benchmark for himself. Updating his sound in funkier, more masculine […]
R.E.D.
Eh, not another one of these acronym-laden albums. You would think the ever-dapper Ne-Yo wouldn’t need to buckle under the pressures of miming the titles of The Game’s 2011 album or Taylor Swift’s best-selling 2012 album, but his latest disc, R.E.D. (meaning “Realizing Every Dream”), feels like a last-minute effort to feel creative. But, that’s […]
Spread Love this Christmas
G. Wright is a young man, so it would have been no surprise if he had sought to bring some contemporary sheen and production techniques to some classic holiday tunes on his latest project, Spread Love This Christmas. It would have been even less surprising considering his work in the R&B field during the 1990s. […]
When You’re In Love at Christmas Time
Christmas is a season of reverence, love, fun and wonderment. The reverence obviously refers to the holiday’s religious significance. The same, of course, can be said about the love aspect. After all, Christ’s birth is an expression of God’s love for humanity. Christmas is also a time when families share gifts as an expression of […]
Christmastime (2012)
An actress, attorney and vocal powerhouse, Yolanda Rabun is a triple threat who succeeds mightily in whatever she sets her mind to. After building an enviable professional resume thanks to working with the likes of Jennifer Holiday and the late Isaac Hayes, Ms. Rabun created considerable buzz for her own skills with her 2011 release, […]
