20 years of jams.
Posts tagged "Kelis"
bLISTerd: The 100 Best R&B Songs of the ’90s (#60-#51)
We’re almost at the halfway point on our list of the ’90s best R&B songs. Vibe out with jams from Erykah Badu, Usher and Jodeci. Oooh yeah!
Spin Cycle: Nas, Life Is Good
Nas dazzles on his 10th studio album, “Life Is Good,” proving that at the age of 38, he still has a whole lot to say.
Spin Cycle: Duran Duran’s “All You Need is Now”
My cohort Jesse and I figured it was only right, as certified Durannies, that we both tackle the physical release of All You Need is Now, the latest effort from Birmingham’s Fab Five Four Three Five Four. Of course, it didn’t surprise me that JOB and I (and contributor Carlos Halston, who was totally an ace when it came to our definitive guide to their discography pretty much have the same opinion: All You Need is Now is the band’s best effort in years. To […]
The 5ive at 5: Reasons Not to Hate will.i.am (#2)
I’ve never been that big a fan of will.i.am to begin with, so he never really has to do a lot to impress me. When it comes to Nas, though, it’s a much different story. The gifted rhymer had been jumping in and out of my good graces for almost a decade and a half by the time “Hip-Hop is Dead” came out in 2006. His prior album, “Street’s Disciple”, still stands as one of the albums I’ve been most […]
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, […]
Chart Stalker! 7/14/10: Hip-Hop Saves the Day
So much for saying that rap music is a dying commercial art form. If it wasn’t for hip-hop, this week’s #1 album would have only sold 45,000 units. Rappers manage to take the top three positions on this week’s Billboard album chart, led for a third consecutive week by Eminem. “Recovery” continues to defy expectations, experiencing only a 27% drop in it’s 3rd week and selling a still impressive 229,000 copies. The last album to sell more than 200,000 copies […]
New Release Report 7/6/10: Big Boi is Finally Set Free
Remember when there was the big hubbub about Big Boi’s “Something’s Gotta Give” video? It was pretty much a 4-minute campaign ad for Barack Obama, and despite the fact that the song was kinda “eh”, folks were hopeful that Big’s debut solo album was gonna bring the goods-especially after OutKast’s somewhat odd “Idlewild” soundtrack. Well, that Big Boi album-“Sir Lucious Leftfoot-The Son of Chico Dusty”-is finally arriving…damn near halfway into President Obama’s first term. Leaks and label drama have derailed […]
Embracing Your Club Diva: Estelle & Kelis
I’m not sure how I feel about today’s R&B singers doing dance/disco/house-influenced music these days. I mean, it’s great that we’ve decided to reclaim a style of music that we originated, since there was a period around ’93/’94 when we cast house music aside as being too Euro or too gay for us. Two of our favorite single-monikered female singers have released their latest singles, both of which have a heavy club influence. First off,we have Estelle, of “American Boy” […]