The Love and War Masterpeace
He refers to himself as "Radio Raheem" and the "R&B Hippie neo-Soul Rock Star," but the titles don’t matter as much as the talents that Raheem DeVaughn can lay claim to. He combines the best of both worlds, constructing lush, ethereal contemporary R&B with a classic musician’s touch (thanks to growing up under the influence […]
Beyond Comprehension
In the world of hip-hop, the more street cred you have, the more authentic your skills seem to be; so if Freddie Lee chose to spit verses instead of sing, he would already be down by law, thanks to his hard knock life as an impoverished youngster in Pahokee, FL. and his struggle through the […]
City Beat
His roots were planted in honky-tonk town of Cecilia, Kentucky, but songwriter and saxophonist Michael J. Thomas found his calling in funk and soul. Thanks to talents carefully cultivated since junior high, his tenor, alto and soprano sax skills have served him professionally since the age of 19 and have taken Mr. Thomas around the […]
Love Notes
The first thing you notice about Chazz Dixon is that he sounds an awful lot like Smokey Robinson. Dixon not only sounds like Smokey, he matches many of the nuances of Robinson’s voice. Dixon ‘s phrasing is similar. Dixon ‘s voice trails at the end of notes, and it has that raspy quality that Smokey […]
Love And War (US issue)
Fans have been eagerly awaiting this UK golden boy’s debut album ever since superstar producer Mark Ronson introduced him to the world on the international smash, Version. Gifted with a lush tenor with a smoothed out sandpaper timbre playing underneath, Merriweather has a tearful, youthful yearning to his instrument that compels repeated listening. He is […]
Do What You Want, Be What You Are (2009)
In some ways, the most surprising thing about the four disc Hall and Oates compilation, Do What You Want, Be What You Are, is that it took so long to be released. After all, H&O is, by a wide margin, the best selling vocal duo of all time. But, in many ways, the world wouldn’t […]
Who Knew? (2010)
With the tumultuous journey that singer KeKe Wyatt has experienced over the last decade, as a compassionate human being, you want her to succeed. But as a critic you have to be honest about what you hear when playing her new project, Who Knew?Lucky for me, what I hear on KeKe Wyatt’s sophomore album is […]
Jump Start Music
I’d like you to imagine you’ve worked hard all week, had a delightful Friday evening to start the weekend, awakened on a sunny Saturday morning and need some music to get you started as you get ready to go out and have some fun. Jump Start Music is the soundtrack that will accompany you on […]
The Black Hood
In "Why," a song about the ways in which the record industry exploits and objectifies its female chanteuses and video vixens, Tomeka Williams declares "I sing these songs at the risk of a fall." With that line, Williams shows that she understands the fate that often awaits women artists who refuse to work in the […]
Walking With the Night
I’m a jazz fan, so I noted with interest that Adriana Evans’ mother, Mary Stallings, is a jazz singer who performed with some of the all time greats. Stallings’ name doesn’t come up in the conversation of female vocalists in part because she took a hiatus so she could raise her family. She’s been back […]
