16 Reasons You Should Buy This Album (2014)
We all claim to hate those ubiquitous best of lists, but we really don’t, and that’s why anybody who wants to look like an expert continues to make them. Actually, what we love to do is argue over lists, and that makes them the ultimate conversation piece. A bunch of NBA executives say Kobe Bryant […]
Home for the Holidays
As family and friends gather around for the Christmas holidays, that infectious spirit comes alive with children playing, lots of romance in the air, gift giving and listening to the hymns, carols and hits that kindly remind them of this once a year event. Those special memories have inspired recording artists to spread even more […]
XII
With the emergence of the musical cities in the South over the past decade, traditional Midwestern R&B and Jazz powerhouse cities like Chicago and Cleveland/Dayton have received far less shine. And then there is Detroit, arguably the most important music city in America of the last century. It has, at various times, been at the […]
Truth Is (2014)
Teri Tobin has quietly crafted a solid body of work since Love Infinity, her 2011 debut album. The Arizona native dropped So Good To Me in 2012, which, like the previous record, contained adult oriented cuts that explore various aspects of love, ranging from romantic love to self-love to love of the community. Tobin returns […]
Holiday (2014)
In a way it’s hard to believe that Holiday is Earth, Wind & Fire’s first Christmas album in the four plus decades of existence. One reason for that disbelief is that spirituality and uplift have long been a part of EW&F’s music. So as we approach Christmas 2014, the Mighty Elements make their entry into […]
Rewind (2014)
The deep run on American Idol will always be a part of Timotha Lanae’s resume, but she has quickly moved well beyond being just another pop music contest contestant. Timotha Lanae’s new project is called Rewind, and that title has multiple meanings .The new project includes two Lanae tunes that appeared on the artist’s debut […]
Celebrate (2014)
The Church of God in Christ has maintained a distant yet influential relationship with secular music, and the same thing can be said about the Rance Allen Group, the legendary gospel band whose spiritual home is in that church. The denomination’s “in the world but not of the world” teaching means that listening to secular […]
The Line (2014)
On the rise from an experimental underground that included rubbing elbows with Brendan Reilly (Basement Jaxx) and world star Manu Dibango, super-talented Paris native Isma Hill (born Isma Benhabylès) is finally breaking out on his own. His debut LP, The Line, which took exactly two years to piece together, brings together seven tracks and a […]
The 25th of December (2014)
A stilted, sugary-sweet collection of holiday classics already heard dozens of times before or a cool, contemporary blend with enough timelessness and traditional edges to sound fresh years after its initial release: musicians either create one or the other (or, sometimes, an awkward ear-grating mix in-between) when it comes to Christmas albums. Experience is usually […]
Chapter 6: Couples Therapy (2014)
There is that part of the fan psyche that compels them to question why Syleena Johnson – with her compelling biography and strong body of work both as a solo artist and a collaborator with performers such as Kanye West and Musiq Soulchild – would do a reality show such as R&B Divas: Atlanta. Most […]
