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Tag: Ne-Yo

  • The SonicClash Mini-Review: Keri Hilson

    keri

    Keri Hilson’s debut has been one of the more anticipated recent releases in R&B. The beauty has made a name for herself as a songwriter, and a cameo on Timbaland’s hit “The Way I Are” raised her profile and set the stage for her first official album, In a Perfect World…. Having already spawned three hit singles, my curiosity was piqued. I had to find out what Keri was all about.

    I could’ve done without it. Perfect World is a mixed bag. Hilson has a pleasant singing voice. It’s a thin but deceptively versatile instrument very much like the voice of fellow R&B diva Ciara. The fact that Hilson writes her own material should vault her over the anonymous singers that share her style, but her songwriting is no great shakes. Unlike fellow soul singer/songwriters like, say, Ne-Yo (who co-stars opposite Hilson and Kanye West on the current hit Knock You Down, one of this album’s highlights), Hilson’s pen game is generic, and she hasn’t mastered the one art every great songwriter knows-melody.

    My other issue with In a Perfect World…? Everything sounds super-canned. I have nothing against synth-pop, usually. However, the best of that sub-genre usually has some feeling behind it. Keri Hilson? Not so much. Even Aaliyah had an air of concentrated cool that permeated her records. This album has no soul, and I would think that the average person looking in the R&B section for an album would be looking for some kind of soul, right?

    Keri Hilson’s definitely a talented lady, but maybe just not as talented as the press and hype machine would like us to believe that she is. In a Perfect World…sounds like it was focus-grouped into oblivion, tailor-made to fit onto pop and R&B radio circa 2009. The end result is listening to something like “Loose” or “FutureSex/LoveSounds” with all the character sucked out of it, which leaves you with danceable beats and not much else. And danceable beats alone do not make for a good album. So, ultimately, in a perfect world…, you’d be best off leaving this album in the rack at the record store.

  • Chrisette Michele Evades the Sophomore Slump with “Epiphany”

    chrisette

    There haven’t been a lot of newcomers in the R&B field worth mentioning over the past couple of years, but Chrisette Michele is definitely a star on the rise. Most people first heard her distinctive voice singing the choruses of Jay-Z’s “Lost One” and Nas’ “Can’t Forget About You”. With a vocal delivery and phrasing straight out of early 20th century jazz, she applied that voice to contemporary rhythms on her debut album, I Am, which was a modest commercial success (and a Grammy winner).

    Two years later, album #2, Epiphany, is on shelves, and Chrisette has changed her style slightly. It’s a more youthful-sounding album:  a more vibrant, sunnier effort from a musical standpoint, and there’s a little more of a hip-hop knock to it from a production standpoint (in simpler terms, the beats are harder) Vocally, Chrisette has mostly dropped the jazzy inflections, but still has a very mature voice, sorta like a younger version of Jill Scott. Very similar musically to Ne-Yo’s Year of the Gentleman. Small wonder, then, that Ne-Yo himself did a lot of the heavy lifting on this record, serving as executive producer and co-writing about 2/3 of this album’s tracks.

    The cool thing about Ne-Yo’s productions is that he’s expanded his sound so that his songs aren’t immediately recognizable (unlike most other R&B and hip-hop songwriter/producers)-well, except for the ironically titled Another One, an acoustic-guitar-and-handclaps jam that sounds very much like Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”. The album’s hit title track has a gently knocking beat, but Chrisette’s message is no-nonsense: “I think I’m just about over being your girlfriend/so I’m leaving”. It’s one of the better F.U. songs I’ve heard in a while, maybe because it’s so sweetly sung that you don’t immediately realize it’s a breakup song. Ne-Yo himself gives vocal assistance on the midtempo hand-clapper What You Do, with his Jackson-esque backgrounds providing the perfect complement for Chrisette’s tale of infatuation.

    Chrisette definitely earns her diva stripes with the big power ballads Blame it on Me and I’m Okay, but she also proves she can get down on the dance floor with the bubbly, effervescent Playin’ Our Song. She sounds completely natural on both ends of the spectrum. Mostly, though, Epiphany stays grounded in midtempo territory. That would normally signify a boring album, and there are a couple of songs here that just kinda float by, but the majority of the album is well-performed. There’s just no bells and whistles, and every once in a while you have to remind yourself that sometimes good music comes without flash.

    While Chrisette has changed her style ever-so-slightly, Epiphany isn’t going to scare away the fans who purchased her first album. It’s mature, well-crafted R&B, with classic melodies and lyrics against contemporary production. The songs have a little bit of bite in them, but there’s a high standard of craftsmanship here. Chrisette and Ne-Yo comprise one R&B partnership that I wouldn’t mind hearing again.

  • Beyonce, T.I. Head List of BET Award Nominees

    beyonceJamie Foxx-who will be hosting- and a slew of other artists were on hand last night to announce the nominees for the 2009 BET Awards, and Beyonce and T.I. turned out to lead the pack with 5 nominations each. Beyonce scored 2 nods in the Best Video category and also was nominated twice in the Best Female Actress category. T.I. picked up nominations for Best Male Rapper and Best Video (for “Live Your Life”) among others.

    Lil’ Wayne, T-Pain and Keri Hilson are right behind with four nominations apiece.

    As usual, I’m left scratching my head at some of the nominations. Why have categories like Best Group and Best Female Rapper if the pools are so thin? The nominees for Best Group are Day26, The GS Boyz (of “Stanky Legg” fame), N.E.R.D., The Roots and Three Six Mafia, while the Best Female Rapper nominees are Trina, Lil’ Mama and M.I.A., who is also curiously nominated for Best New Artist, although she’s already on her second album. Looks like the BET Award nominating committee is sipping on the same sauce as the folks who do the noms for the Grammy Awards.

    Ne-Yo and Maxwell are among the artists scheduled to perform on the show, which will air on June 24th. SonicClash will, as usual, be live-blogging the event.