Grade: A-
Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley first joined forces for one of the most impressive alternative albums of 2001, the uber-inventive In Search Of… Since then, the trio has come full circle. After 2004’s more traditional Fly Or Die proved to be little more than solid (both critically and commercially), the band is [...]
GRADE: C
Ray J, Ray J, Ray J… By all logic, there is no reasonable explanation for why this guy has been able to stay relevant for the better part of 11 years. He is far from a great singer, a D list actor (his last major film was the Shaq star vehicle Steel) and [...]
GRADE: B+
In case you have been living under a rock for the last 2 years, Day26 is the latest product of Sean “Diddy” Comb’s reality TV phenom, Making The Band. They are an R&B quintet made up of Michael “Big Mike” McCluney, Robert “Bitchassness” Curry, William “Shirtless Willie” Taylor, Qwanell “Dawn’s Boyfriend” Mosley and Brian [...]
GRADE: A–
The Queen of Hip Hop Soul is top form. In a time where new, generic, cookie cutter R&B artists are appearing (then quickly disappearing) every other week, it’s refreshing to see urban music’s favorite underdog finally getting the pop props she deserves.
Both vocally and lyrically, Mary J. impresses on Growing Pains. Though not [...]
GRADE: C+
How would you imagine a collaboration album from the artist formerly known as Lil Bow Wow and the lead singer of B2K would sound? Think hard. No surprise, that’s EXACTLY how Face Off sounds.
Bow Wow has seen an odd decrease in the overall quality of his albums in the last few years. In [...]
GRADE: A–
Terius “The Dream” Nash has proven himself to be a more than competent songwriter by penning number one hits for Rhianna, Madonna, J. Holiday and Britney Spears. Like fellow songwriter Ne-Yo, Nash has decided to parley his industry status into a singing career with the release of his solo debut LoveHate.
It should come [...]
GRADE: B
Alicia Keys deserves to (one day) be mentioned in the same breath as soul icons like Roberta Flack, Minnie Riperton and Aretha Franklin. Not only for having a stellar and unique voice, but also for creating music with the kind of passion that sends chills through every inch of a listener’s body. [...]
