Former teen queen Brandy makes a case for adult relevance with her sixth album, “Two Eleven.”
Spin Cycle: Monica’s “New Life”
R&B veteran Monica is back with a new album. Find out what we think about “New Life.”
The Viewfinder: “It All Belongs To Me” by Brandy & Monica
It’s been nearly a decade and a half since Brandy Norwood and Monica Arnold squared off on the #1 smash “The Boy Is Mine.” Back then, the two were teen idols. The fact that they’re able to reunite at this point in the game and still create something newsworthy, speaks to the talent of both women. However, while I can’t deny that Brandy and Monica are both gifted, I can also say that this reunion could have resulted in something […]
Blerd Appreciation: Remembering Aaliyah-10 Years Later
The day was Sunday, August 26th, 2001. Me and the person I was dating at the time were returning from a trip to the Cape. It was my first visit to the state that, in a few years, would become my home. We were fairly near New York, because I remember that we’d switched the radio dial to Z-100, NYC’s Top 40 station. They were playing “Back & Forth” or “One In A Million” or one of those Aaliyah songs […]
New Release Report 7/26/11: R&B Overload…and Rabbits
It’s got to be tough living in someone’s shadow, especially when you’ve got talent of your own. Kelly Rowland has spent the last fifteen years (for better or for worse) being perceived as “the other chick in Destiny’s Child”. That does her kind of a disservice-seeing as a) she’s fine as hell (prettier than Beyonce, IMHO) and she’s got a pretty voice, even if the material she’s given is often terrible. Her solo career has really never gotten off the […]
Albums That Time Forgot: “Urban Renewal-An R&B Tribute to Phil Collins”
While I’m trying to figure out whether I want to review Phil Collins’ “Going Back” album, I thought I’d clue you guys in to an album that I bet you never even knew existed. Yes, “Urban Renewal” is a real album. Yes, it includes a sea of contemporary R&B and hip-hop artists remaking Phil Collins songs. Although some of you may wonder whose harebrained idea this was, believe me when I tell you that the idea was sound in theory, […]