Drake’s first official video is directed by Kanye West, and he likes titties and basketball.

One of last years best songs has been given a video.

Our rnb diva Mariah Carey trumps Eminem’s sad ‘Bagpipes From Baghdad’ song with a hard elbow responce. Her single ‘Obsessed’ is a direct answer to his new album track where he spits lyrics as:

“Mariah, whatever happened to us? Why did we have to break up? … Nick Cannon better back the fuck up. I’m not playin, … I mean I really want ya bad, you cunt.”

Mariah, who has always denied his claim about them being in a six month relationship a few years back, plays it cool, responding - backed up by a laid-back beat produced by Tricky Stewart:

“All over the block, saying we met on a bar, when I don’t know who you are … Why you so obsessed with me? Lying that you’re sexing me? … Last man on earth, still couldn’t get this… You’re delusional. Boy, you’re losing your mind … You’re a mom & pop, I’m a corporation. I’m a press conference, you’re a conversation”

Mariah Carey - Obsessed (written by Mariah Carey & The-Dream, prod. by Tricky Stewart)

Maybe this song will be K-Young’s comeback as a songwriter?

K-Young - Broken

Is it only me who’s disappointed at Amerie and her new single? It sounds dated, like a ok album track from her last album Because I Love It, not a new ‘1 Thing’ which she will need to do a serious comeback. Well, I love the girl, and hope she won’t suffer from the standard album push back this time. In Love & War is set to be released on August 11.

More Fauntleroy, no singer/songwriter is better right now.

James Fauntleroy - Te Amo

Born in New York but raised in Miami, newcomer X.L. brings Plain Gold his high quality ballad ‘Back Into It’. It’s not often you stumble on talent like this without a bigger hype backing it up. If you want more of him, be sure to check out his homepage.

X.L. - Back Into It

These both remixes are supposed to be on a mixtape that R Kelly has been making with the amazing DJ Drama and DJ Skee. It’s called The Demo Tape and will be released on the internet within a couple of days or so.

Like this wasn’t enough, R Kelly also has some brand new music of his own on the upcoming mixtape. ‘Tip The Waiter’ is just the type of song you’d expect from this man, nothing amazing but still better than most of his opponents out there. This is the kind of music I like to hear when his next album comes out, and not a bunch of songs with guest rappers and “The R” trying to be a gangster instead of the rnb genius he really is.

Speaking of his next album; In the end of ‘The Best I Ever Had’ remix, R Kelly announces that his next album will be out in September and that we can expect “some real rnb R Kelly shit” so let’s keep our fingers crossed on that one.

Drake Ft R Kelly - The Best I Ever Had Remix

Jeremih Ft R Kelly - Birthday Sex

R Kelly - Tip The Waiter

The girls have exclusively worked with The-Dream, Tricky Stewart and L.O.S., the most notorious team of hitmakers in the industry, and their first single, ‘Drink In My Cup’, was great. But after a first listen to How To Be A Lady Volume 1, I’m stuck wondering how this could be created by the same people who just made Love Vs Money, one of the best albums to come out in a long time. Not only is the production a bit too poppy for my taste, but the songs doesn’t have half of the hit potential that we are used to when it comes to this team.

Of course, it’s not all bad. Leaked songs like ‘W.F.Y’ and the aforementioned ‘Drink In My Cup’ are good, and I could see songs like ‘Muah’ and ‘Kill Bill’ blowing up, though they might not have lyrics that are radio friendly enough to make that happen. With ‘9 To 5′ L.O.S shows once again that he’s one of the best producers at the moment, I’d love to get the instrumentals to that song. Other than that, the rest of the songs sound too much alike and nothing really stands out.

I can still see that the rnb world has room for a girl group like Electrik Red, especially since it’s so much focus on solo artists these days. But when it’s time for How To Be A Lady Volume 2, I hope they can work with more than just the leftovers from The-Dream’s next album.

This year rnb is at it’s best in form of slow jams, at least thus far. Here’s another of Tank’s contributions to 2009’s small but splendid ballad collection.

Tank - Lost In You (prod. by Tim & Bob)

Fauntleroy keeps showing proof of his fantastic skills as an singer/songwriter. It’s that voice, it makes me crave for more, a full album. Too bad he’s busy serving other stars with lyrics, he should approach an own career as an singer, do a “The-Dream”!

James Fauntleroy - Stadium Love

Ocean’s Seven is a newly composed supergroup containing talented B. Cox, Usher, Trey Songz, Nelly, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin and TY. This video is promoting their upcoming mixtape.

If you’ve been following the daily stream of new rnb joints these last couple of years you might accossiate the name K-Young with so-so demo tracks. ‘What People Say’ and ‘Dance With Me’ from 2007 was fantastic songs, but most of his tracks since then have been plain unexciting. Either he doesn’t share his gems with us, or he’s loosing grip of his talent.

As eleven he became the lead singer of the boy band 3rd Storee (he was the boy with the young MJ-voice called Lil Man), and in 2005 he released his debut album as an solo artist, Learn How To Love. His solo career failed to reach success, but as a songwriter he made a big impact with hit singles for acts as Brandy (’Afrodisiac’ & ‘Sadiddy’) and B2K (’Do That Thing’). Sure, that was years ago now, and this track may not be a hint of him closing in on a new hit in the same spirit as ‘Afrodisiac’. But it’s a cute and calm mid tempo track, backed up by producer J.R. Rotem who might have realized that the use of samples in rnb songs is the way to go. The old ingredient already feels fresh again.

It’s too early to count out Kenneth Patt aka K-Young, even if he hasn’t delivered big hits in a while. ‘Curious’ is proof of that. And be aware of shout outs in this one.

K-Young - Curious

Trey’s still one of our favorite studs. Here’s his own version of Jeremiah’s ‘Birthday Sex’. Like he says, August the 4th is the slated date for his upcoming album Ready. A new date to yearn for.

Trey Songz - First Date Sex

Here’s someone who’s listened to Nichola’s wish by putting together a cover on the classic Jodeci hit single ‘Come & Talk To Me’ from 1992. Mario’s truly one of the few artists who’s unceasingly brilliant.

Mario - Come & Talk To Me (Jodeci Cover)

We’re not exactly spoiled by great songs right now, in other words, I should be ashamed by being late presenting a track like this. It’s Tank and The Underdogs, this discouraged ballad from last month doesn’t need an introduction. Whoever heard Tank at his best knows the sound and what to expect. It’s high class quality, over and out.

Tank - Fatal

Whatever happened to the covers?

Throughout the history of soul music, covers of other artists’ songs have played an important role. Otis Redding’s first hit, ‘Pain in my heart’, was a new version of Irma Thomas’s ‘Ruler of my heart’. And Redding’s own ‘Respect’ was made into a hit song by Aretha Franklin and a soundtrack to the civil rights movement. Marvin Gaye’s ‘I heard it through the grapevine’ was originally sung by Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Isaac Hayes’s monumental ‘The Look of Love’ was a Bacharach/David pop song, which was also the case for ‘A House is Not a Home’ until Luther Vandross made a great soul version of it. And so on and so on. Even in the 90’s, when the new rnb music had emerged, covers were still important: Mary J Blige released both ‘I’m going down’ (originally by Rose Royce) and ‘(You make me feel like a) Natural Woman’ as singles, and TLC made a cover of Prince’s ‘If I was your girlfriend’, neatly twisting the original’s gender issues yet another turn. One of the best covers, if you ask me, is ‘Georgy Porgy’ by Eric Benet and Faith Evans – it was originally a song by the super-slick rock group Toto. And let us not forget ‘Can’t take my eyes off of you’, the legendary bonus track from Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album. Originally an early 60’s hit song by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, it was one of the greatest moments on Lauryn’s debut album.

But since the late 90’s, covers have more or less disappeared from the rnb scene. Why? Because samples have taken their place – a consequence of the hiphop influence on soul music. A cornerstone in this shift was The Score, the ultra-successful Fugees album of 1996. It contained both hiphop song using samples of old soul music (’Zealots’) as well as covers of old songs but with new beats (’Killing me softly’, ‘Ready or not’). The following year, Missy Elliott did the same thing on her debut album Supa Dupa Fly – again, The Delfonics’ “Ready or not, here I come” was re-used, but now as a sample for a beat (’Sock it 2 me’), with the vocal melody completely ignored. Instead, Missy sang a new melody for the chorus – she turning the old soul song into a new rnb song, by using hiphop technique. That trend has grown steadily stronger ever since.

Apart from a short period between 1999 and 2001 – the period between Puff Daddy and Kanye West – hiphop music has always relied heavily on samples. As rnb has approached hiphop toughness, likewise has hiphop approached rnb accessibility, and nowadays the samples used in hiphop songs are considerably longer and more melodious than what they used to be. In the older days, it was tricky for a soul singer to sing melodiously on a hiphop track, and vice versa. Nowadays, the respective sounds of the two genres are so similar that a new track can be made either into a hiphop song or an rnb joint. The most successful producers are those who work in both fields. It is never surprising when a rapper appears on an rnb song – not only because it is a proved formula for a hit, but because the song sounds like something in which a rapper would fit in naturally.

But as much as I love the cool, tough, hiphop-inspired rnb of today, I can’t help but wondering what happened to the covers. It has not only got to do with nostalgia: making a cover signifies something for the artist, it is a way of saying “this song I love, this is my ideal, when I look for songs to record I want them to sound like this”. Indeed, it is a way of paying homage to a strong melody, a good lyric and a show-stopping chorus. The thing is, an R&B singer can make a show-stopping chorus without great melodies and lyrics. It’s simple: just do what the rappers do. The rnb hits of today all more or less use the same formula: use a looped beat with nice chords on it, sing something catchy over it with a melody that fits the chords, and bingo, you have a song. Well, of course it’s just the chorus of a song, but that’s fine, that’s enough. For the verses, just used the same beat with the same chords, and just sing something that is not as attractive and powerful as the chorus. Two verses are enough – you don’t need a bridge, just hire a rapper and he’ll fix the space between the second chorus and the last one. Over the same beat, of course.

Now I don’t want to come off as cynical or negative towards today’s music. I mean, I love rnb from the bottom of my heart. It’s just that I see a problem in the fact that a lot of artists try to make hit songs instead of great songs. Of course, we have melody-writing whiz kids like Ne-Yo or The-Dream who make songs that are more complex than the average. And we have R. Kelly, who would never be where he is if it wasn’t for his ability (and his deep desire of the ability) to write great songs.

Maybe it doesn’t matter whether today’s songs will live as long as those of older times or not, whether they will be re-made a dozen times or not at all. If we like them today and they mean something to us here and now, that’s all that matters, right? Well, this might be true. But I would still like some more cover songs on new rnb albums – they don’t have to be singles, they don’t even have to be among the best songs on the album. But just the fact that they are there, that the artist want them to be there, would be nice. Because it shows that the artist in question is someone who is aware of where he or she is coming from and where he or she wants to go. It shows that the artist is someone with taste, preferences, personality. Making a cover is a way of telling the audience something about yourself. I quite disliked Beyoncé’s version of Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ from her recent album, but if she recorded it because the original song meant something to her, then I think it’s cool that she recorded it and put it there. I wish more artists would do a thing like that. But not many artists dare, or they don’t care. What a shame.

By the way, wasn’t Beyoncé’s performance of Etta James’s ‘At Last’ – the song she sang during Barack and Michelle Obama’s dance on the inauguration night – the most touching she has done in years? I rest my case.

Honestly, all I really want to say with this review is: I love Ciara. I think she’s the coolest, awesomest, tough as nails chick on the planet. And it’s not even a sexual thing, ok maybe a little, but it’s more like I want her to be my best friend, show me impressive dance moves and take me out partying.

To prove my fandom, I’ll say that I was legitimately excited when I first heard that Fantasy Ride was going to be a triple-album. The list of singers that I’d love to see release a triple album is pretty short. In fact, it contains one other name and that’s R. Kelly. But yeah! It was gonna be cool. Each disc was going to focus on different genres: Crunk Town, Groove City and Kingdom of Dance. I was giddy.

Well it didn’t turn out that way. In the end we ended up with a conventional fifteen track album. And if you’ve even stayed remotely connected to the internets, you’ve already heard the songs since they’ve been leaking like crazy. That’s the bad news.

The good news is: Ciara is amazing! I adore her! So maybe I’m not the right person to evaluate this album. Hell, I’d love a Ciara album even if it consisted exclusively of Limp Bizkit covers. But I’ll share this small critique: the undoubtable lowlight of the album is when Missy Elliott barges in and takes over in ‘Work’, shouting stuff like “everybody get up in the club”. Hey Missy! Everybody’s tired of your schtick, and nobody thinks you’re cool anymore. Why don’t you come out of the closet and get a talkshow or something instead of ruining other people’s songs with your circa 2002 steez! K thanx.

And oh! The highlight of course is ‘Turntables’, the dancefloor duet with wife beater, liar and coward Chris Brown. But apart from that one, it’s in the slow groovy songs - that I imagine would have made up the Groove City disc - that my favorite songstress shines the brightest. Luv you Ciara!

The new Def Jam star Jeremih’s hit ‘Birthday Sex’ from last year is growing and now being followed up by remixes. Status Quo, Red Cafe, Pretty Ricky and Fabolous are some of the names who’ve joined in with verses, but none can compete with the new talented singer/songwriter Ester Dean’s version (she’s signed to the Polow Da Don created Zone 4 label). She transforms the sex jam to one of the hottest duets of the year.

And yes, we know we’re not first with this one.

Jeremih ft. Ester Dean - Birthday Sex [Remix] (prod. by Mick Schultz)

D. Brown started leaking demotracks like crazy last month, and sings this gloomy but boastful mid tempo track with a ounce of shame in his voice.

D. Brown - Gone With The Wind

The debutant Tynisha Keli made me go exuberant with the unique voice of hers and her ‘Rockstar’ song. Too bad her album The Cronicles Of TK had few other highlights to offer.

Tynisha Keli - Rockstar

This killer ballad is written and performed by J. Melody, a up and coming rnb singer/songwriter from Toronto.

J. Melody - Midnight Luv

Our good friend Jake Oh has handed us his brand new single a week or so before it airs the radio. You know Jake right? He’s the Swedish rnb star who’s talent as a singer, songwriter and producer is competing with the biggest names in the business.

Jake Oh - Last Time (prod. by Jake Oh & Maiocchi)

Listen to Jake Oh’s first two singles and read our interview with him here.

New song by Nivea! And nope, she doesn’t disappoint us, far from. Hopefully we’ll get a new album soon.

Nivea - Zodiac (prod. by Tricky Stewart)

In just a few weeks, Ciara will return with her third album, Fantasy Ride. ‘Lovers Thing’ will be on the album and is a sweet little duet with none other than The-Dream. The song isn’t really up to par with what we’re used to when it comes to The-Dream and his frequent collaborator L.O.S, but it’s a decent track and my hopes are high for Fantasy Ride. It seems like Ciara has worked with some excellent people this time around and the songs that have leaked this far have all been nice.

Ciara ft. The-Dream - Lover’s Thing (prod. by L.O.S.)

It’s pretty obvious that Day 26 are inspired by the last rnb group signed to Bad Boy, 112. The sound is similar, yet updated and though I always liked 112, I must say I prefer the voices of Day 26.

While the first album was leaning heavily on the production skills of Bryan-Michael Cox, the group have this time called in a lot of different producers and songwriters, both new names and well known household producers like T-Pain, Jermaine Dupri , Tim & Bob and the aforementioned Cox.

The result is a more varied album and some of the songs that really stand out to me are ‘Girlfriend’, ‘Stadium Music’, ‘Imma Put It On Her’ and ‘Reminds Me Of You’. I could go on, since I seem to find new tracks to like every time I restart the CD.

After a few listens, I’d say that ‘Forever In A Day’ is just as good as their self-titled debut and I truly hope that Day 26 are here to stay. They remind me of how rnb groups used to sound like in the early 2000’s yet they are still very much 2009.

Day 26 - Reminds Me Of You (Produced by Tim & Bob)

]]> http://plaingold.com/2009/04/21/day-26-forever-in-a-day/feed/ http://plaingold.com/2009/04/19/riz-jekyll-hyde/ http://plaingold.com/2009/04/19/riz-jekyll-hyde/#comments Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:54:24 +0000 Sebastian http://plaingold.com/?p=2032

Riz new song ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ reminds us of his single ‘Rock The Bed’. The production got the same smooth sound and dark mood to it, but this time the lyrics fits the athmosphere of the production a bit too well. Is this a subtle follow up to Ray J’s sadistic horror song ‘Snakes In The Grass’? It’s hard to know what Riz in exact terms is referring to when singing about turning into a vicious monster in the car, with the girl, but I hope it’s something more innocent than what first comes to mind. Apart from the questionmark about a sadistically theme or not, I love the song, and think we can expect much from this new Konvict star.

Riz - Jekyll & Hyde

Trey hasn’t turned silent. Just like always he’s been putting out new songs every week or so, but lately they’ve been lacking the umph that’s needed do him and his voice justice. ‘Be Where You Are’ is an exception though. This is a nice piece of pop song, with a formula unlike anything else we’ve heard this year. If not as good as last year’s ‘Murder She Wrote’, at least one of his best tracks since then.

His third album Ready is said to be released in June this year.

Trey Songz - Be Where You Are (prod. by Deep)

A ballad with a timeless sound, and a incredible performance by Day 26 reminding us of an early 112 at their best. Couldn’t be more refreshing.

Day 26 - Perfectly Blind

You know who he is. He is a man that needs no introduction: Timothy “Timbaland“ Mosely, the most influential producer in hiphop and R&B for the past decade. But what goes up must come down, and it is time we acknowledge the fact that Timbaland is in a serious decline - maybe not success-wise, but surely quality-wise.

In 1996, Timbaland came bursting in on the scene with Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’ and Aaliyah’s ‘If Your Girl Only Knew’, two magnificent singles with then-unheard minimalist funky sounds. After that, he gained attention from his production on Ginuwine’s debut album and Aaliyah’s ‘One In A Million’, proving that he was equally skilled when it came to slow jams (such as the title song from ‘One In A Million’). The big breakthrough, however, came with Missy Elliott’s 1997 debut album ‘Supa Dupa Fly’. Timbaland produced the tracks, Missy composed the melodies, and pop music would never be the same.

The following years would prove to be Timbaland’s most prolific. He gave us unforgettable and still unique classics such as Aaliyah’s ‘Are You That Somebody’, Nicole’s ‘Make It Hot’, Jay-Z:s ‘Nigga What, Nigga Who’, Ginuwine’s ‘What’s So Different’, Petey Pablo’s ‘Raise up”, Missy Elliott’s ‘Get Ur Freak On’ and Destiny’s Child’s ‘Get On The Bus’. With each release, Timbaland seemed to reinvent himself. The drum patterns were unpredictable but unquestionably funky, the twisted synth sounds were out of this world, the chords were advanced - and at the same time, it was all about classic rnb love songs (or, when he collaborated with rappers, classic hiphop club songs).

The big change came when Aaliyah died in the summer of 2001. Her last Timbaland-produced songs, ‘Try Again’, ‘We Need A Resolution’ and ‘I Care 4 U’ brought out the best in both of them. But after her tragic death came grief and silence. Sure, Tweet’s ‘Oops (Oh My)’ and Missy Elliotts ‘Work It’ (both from 2002) were okay, but not really magical. With the exception of his impressive effort on Brandy’s Afrodisiac album (2004), Timbaland produced very little of interest. It didn’t matter that Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me A River’ or Jay-Z:s ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder’ became hit songs - they were, by Timbaland standards, another-day-at-the-office tracks.

Then came Nate “Danja” Hills, and with him, Timbaland’s second spring. Together they produced three complete albums: Nelly Furtado’s Loose (2006), Justin Timberlake’s Futuresex/Lovesoundz (2007) and Timbaland’s own second solo album, Shock Value (2008). Each spawned many hits, with a new, more straightforward and techno-oriented version of the Timbaland sound. The change is, of course, partly attributable to Danja, who went on to become a renowned producer himself (Britney’s ‘Gimme More’, T.I.’s ‘No Matter What’, Mariah Carey’s ‘Migrate’). But there was also something new in Timbaland himself: a new energy, an urge to become a superstar himself, just like the artist he worked with. And so he began singing.

Timbaland’s vocals had always been a part of his trademark sound - on the early songs, we could hear his grunts and beatboxing, and very soon he began talking in intros and outros, which gradually (around ‘Are You That Somebody’ in 1998) transformed into full-scale rapping. Timbaland was never a really good rapper and he knew it, so he kept his presence at a minimum, appearing only when he knew that his vocals absolutely fitted the song in question. He had a sound and professional approach. But all that change with the “re-launch” of 2005. On Nelly Furtado’s ‘Promiscuous’, Timbaland surprised us by singing melodiously (and not very beautifully).

Since then, Timbaland’s singing has increased, and since the success of these albums, his ego has been blown out of proportion. He and Danja have parted ways, and the new post-Danja Timbaland, the guy who produces hits for Madonna, seems to care about only two things: making money and being a star. Listen, just to take an example, to ‘Elevator’, Flo Rida’s 2008 single which Timbaland produced. The track is absolutely nothing spectacular, and if there is an inch of something good in it, Tim ruins it by singing the silly hook. What’s worse is that today’s Timbaland productions don’t sound so much like Timbaland at all. He, who once had the most unique and instantly recognizable sound, now sound just like everyone else who has been inspired by him. The drums are never out-of-this-world. The soundscapes never fascinate. All we hear is radio-friendly pop songs, music that never takes any chances, completely lacking edge and creativity. That is where Timbaland is today.

Timbaland has always used songwriting collaborators to turn his tracks into songs. First there was Missy Elliott, then there was Steve “Static Major” Garret (R.I.P.) and then there was Danja (who did more production that songwriting). The people around Tim today - the producing trio called The Royal Court among others - are not of that calibre. Keri Hilson, who helped Timbaland a lot on the Shock Value album, is a great melody-maker, but since Timbaland’s sound today is already very pop-oriented, her singalong-friendly hooks sometimes do more damage than help to the songs. Case in point: ‘Return The Favor’, the single from Keri’s debut album which Timbaland has produced and sings on. It’s a bonafide hit, but it’s not the kind of song that makes you go bananas in the club. Which it attempts to be, I believe.

Recently, Timbaland produced a whole album for rock singer Chris Cornell (that old dog from Soundgarden and Audioslave). Why? Is there any reason for a talented R&B/hip-hop producer to dabble with soulless, meaningless MTV-styled “alternative” rock? Timbaland is also responsible for OneRepublic’s ‘Apologize’. Again, meaningless rock, and again, no hints whatsoever of being a Timbaland-produced track. He takes the easy way out. By now, he is one of the most sought after and highest paid producers in the music industry, and he knows that if the words “produced by Timbaland” are written on a single, it will probably become a hit. He settles for that, and is too lazy to really try to top his previous achievements. And why should he? He gets paid just the same. But it’s actually very sad. Here we have a musician of enormous talent, but he doesn’t make creative music any longer - all he seems to care about is to market the Timbaland brand.

Timbaland’s crisis after Aaliyah’s death in 2001 didn’t silence him, but it made him more cynical and detached from music. While he still keeps coming up with track after track, the experimental glow is gone, and perhaps the joy of making music is gone as well. A new Timbaland song is just another day at the office. If someone had told me ten years ago that he would one day sink this low, I wouldn’t believe it. But here we are, it’s 2009 and Timbaland makes me angry instead of happy.

The video for Trey’s promotional single ‘Brand New’ produced by Soundz. In my opionion he can do much better than this. You all agree right?

This Hilson track didn’t make the cut for the album but is a real dancefloor monster.

And beware the poor quality, so far it’s only to be found as a mixtape rip.

Keri Hilson ft. T-Pain & Lil Jon - Hey Girl

Lil Eddie hasn’t had a hit in quite a while now. Will his team up with Ryan Leslie change that? It should, ‘Harlem Boy’ promise a lot from their collaboration.

Lil Eddie - Harlem Boy (prod. by Ryan Leslie)