AltWeeklies Wire
Darien Lifts the Gentleman-Soul Mantle on 'Walls'new
While boatloads struggle to be Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway or Marvin Gaye, one Mount Vernon, N.Y., artist is lifting the gentleman-soul mantle from Peabo Bryson's tight grasp.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
L. Michael Gipson |
09-22-2009 |
Reviews
Beyonce: How Much is Enough?new
Entertain a morbid thought: If Knowles were to crash and burn her Thierry Mugler motorcycle breastplate during her current "I Am ... Tour" -- said to out-razzle-dazzle all predecessors with its aerial flips and 70-some costumes -- would she be revered like Michael Jackson?
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Kimberly Chun |
07-08-2009 |
Music
R&B Flower Child Lynee Michelle Spreads a Message of Peace, Love, and Happinessnew
Lynee Michelle makes a living recording love songs and sexy dance tracks, but has built her career from within Baltimore's male-dominated hip-hop scene.
Baltimore City Paper |
Al Shipley |
05-19-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Sum Total: 'Black Moses'new
What matters most here is the music, two full discs of Hayes' unique cover tunes and sultry original raps.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
James Kelley |
04-10-2009 |
Reviews
Nobody Puts the 'Blues' in Rhythm & Blues Like Anthony Hamiltonnew
His fifth studio album, The Point of It All, is arguably his most consistently brilliant work since his debut, Comin' From Where I'm From.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
L. Michael Gipson |
01-14-2009 |
Reviews
R&B Hasn't Only Gone Soft, It's Become Downright Bullshitnew
The watering-down of the genre is one reason R&B has been disparaged as "Rap & Bullshit" by everyone from RZA of Wu-Tang Clan to rap bloggers at Cocaine Blunts to the now-defunct music site Stylus. Another is because it's artistically moribund.
Seattle Weekly |
Ben Westhoff |
12-29-2008 |
Music
John Legend Expands Sound on Latest Releasenew
John Legend is known for making music that goes straight to your heart — or the heart of the one you love. He hasn't lost that feeling, but he's expanding his horizons on his latest release, Evolver.
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
John Grooms |
12-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
With 'The Promise,' Deborah Cox Proves She's Not Donenew
On her first original R&B album in six years, Cox returns with pleasant, if unmemorable, ballads and midtempo grooves of sweet melodies and relationship drama. While predictable, the slower adult contemporary jams work.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
L. Michael Gipson |
11-20-2008 |
Reviews
Orlando's Peter Baldwin Builds Steamnew
In addition to a solo acoustic CD he’s releasing in December, Baldwin is splitting his two halves – acoustic and band – into separate entities.
Orlando Weekly |
Justin Strout |
11-14-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'The Best of Jimmy Hughes' is a Long-Overdue Collectionnew
It only takes a verse and chorus of "I Worship the Ground You Walk On" to realize that Jimmy Hughes is one of the most criminally overlooked early maestros of the soul music explosion.
Jimmy Hughes Gets Another Chance at FAMEnew
A collection of 18 remastered tracks Hughes recorded at FAME studios in the 1960s will be released this week.
Gambit |
Alison Fensterstock |
10-29-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Soul Train's Chicago Rootsnew
The show that put black music on TVs across America got its start in Chicago -- and even after it moved to LA, Chicago kept its own version running daily for nearly a decade.
Chicago Reader |
Jake Austen |
10-06-2008 |
Music
'Brass Knuckles' is Nelly's 'Thriller'new
Brass Knuckles shows an artist who, having been deemed irrelevant, has come back hungry, utilizing every name in his Rolodex and teaching himself some new tricks.
Now a Free Agent, Bilal Has More Love for Salenew
He shot Interscope to the left when the label shelved his 2006 sophomore album, Love for Sale. And now that he's independent, and resolutely so, he's composing most of his new material on Garage Band. Bilal likes it that way.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-20-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Cataracs Have the Fans, Lack the Lyricsnew
For all the group's musical and marketing savvy, when they open their mouths, their words are equivalent of cheap pickup lines: passable for getting your foot in the door, I guess, but hardly charming for guys who seem performance savvy.
SF Weekly |
Jennifer Maerz |
08-06-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: R&B, The Cataracs
