Alicia Keys – Girl on Fire (2012) – Review

Review: Girl on Fire is Alicia Keys’s fifth album, following up The Element of Freedom (which I liked a lot), an album in which she brought a new sound to her music, working with producer Jeff Bhasker (who works extensively with Kanye West, especially on his 808s & Heartbreak album).

For Girl on Fire, Keys presents a multifaceted sound (though, for the most part relaxed). It both encompasses the modern R&B sound that Keys brought forth with The Elements of Freedom and has a classical jazz/soul feel. This is an easy-listening album, which invites the listener to just sit back and take in (basking in its light – so to speak). However, fans of Keys’s old work are still probably not going to be happy, as it is clear she has moved on to a new overall sound as she has grown and developed as an artist. Keys works with an array of great producers on the album (including: Jamie xx, Darkchild, Swizz Beatz, Dr. Dre, Jeff Bhasker, Salaam Remi, Pop Wansel and Oakwud, and Malay), but there is still a unified feel, as Keys also produces many of the songs herself.

Lyrically, Keys sings about female empowerment, heartbreak and love – all typical topics in her music. It is clear that she is in a happy place in her life. Along with writing much of the music and lyrics herself, Keys also works with fantastic song writers on the album (including: John Legend, Bruno Mars, Babyface, and Frank Ocean).

While Girl on Fire does not change the game or set Alicia Keys alone as R&B’s greatest female artist, it is still a strong album and one of the best in its genre this year. I think it is an album that will only get better with time, as it seems to grow on me with each listen. It is well worth checking out. 3/5

Essential Tracks:

1)      Girl on Fire (Inferno Version) – Produced by Alicia Keys, Salaam Remi and Jeff Bhasker, featuring Nicki Minaj

2)      101 – Produced by Alicia Keys

3)      New Day – Produced by Swizz Beatz and Dr. Dre

Available on: CD and Digital Download

Essential Songs of 2012: Part 2 – Music Spotlight – May 2012

Artist: Ab-Soul Song: ILLuminate Producer(s): Skhye Hutch Featuring: Kendrick Lamar Album: Control System

Artist: Animal Kingdom Song: Strange Attractor Producer(s): Animal Kingdom Featuring: N/A Album: The Looking Away

Artist: A$AP Rocky Song: Goldie Producer(s): Hit-Boy Featuring: N/A Album: LongLiveA$AP

Artist: B.o.B Song: Out of My Mind Producer(s): Dr. Luke & Billboard Featuring: Nicki Minaj Album: Strange Clouds

Artist: Kanye West, Pusha T & Big Sean Song: I Don’t Like Remix Producer(s): Young Chop Featuring: Chief Keef & Jadakiss Album: GOOD Music - Promo

Artist: Purity Ring Song: Obedear Producer(s): Corin Roddick & Megan James Featuring: N/A Album: Shrines

Audio Here

Artist: Redgrave Song: Dick Moves Producer(s): Angie Mead & Stephen Howard Featuring: N/A Album: National Act

Artist: Reks Song: Straight, No Chaser Producer(s): Statik Selektah Featuring: Slaine Album: Straight, No Chaser

Artist: The Shins Song: Simple Song Producer(s): James Mercer & Greg Kurstin Featuring: N/A Album: Port of Morrow

Artist: Soundgarden Song: Live to Rise Producer(s): Soundgarden Featuring: N/A Album: Avengers Assemble: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture

B.o.B – Strange Clouds (2012) – Review

Review: Atlanta MC B.o.B is one of the most unique artists in hip hop, and one of the most talented. He can rap with the best, sings very well, produces many of his records, and plays many of the instruments on the record too. B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray was a great debut album, showcasing his talent and new sound (merging hip hop with pop and pop rock). His sophomore effort, Strange Clouds is seemingly a triumph and disappointment at the same time. On one hand, it features B.o.B on the top of his game musically, as this album does not sound like anything else right now, but on the other hand it is plagued with a number of very weak throwaway tracks (easily could have dropped five songs) and a slew of features (Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown – it is too bad people continue to work with this guy – T.I., Nicki Minaj, and Trey Songz) that in some cases overshadow B.o.B. The album is also very poppy, and it could be said that this album is placating to the masses of generic pop fans over being a hip hop record. While it is a good track, his collaboration with Taylor Swift, produced by pop super producer Dr. Luke, is practically a paint-by-numbers attempt at a platinum song. Swift’s hook is right in the wheelhouse of popular music, so much so that essentially the rest of the track in meaningless (economically, and musically for many as well). Dr. Luke provides the most interesting and infectious beats on the album (and many of the best tracks). He infuses a dub-step sound into B.o.B’s collaboration with Lil Wayne Strange Clouds to great effect. B.o.B’s flow on his first album sometimes sounded akin to Andre 3000’s delivery; that is not the case on this album, rather he sounds a bit like Tech N9ne on a few tracks (which is not a bad thing, it just stood out as I listened to the album). Overall, Strange Clouds is a good album, and will please B.o.B fans (in most cases, though it is his most poppy album to date by far). 2/5

Editor’s Essential Tracks:

1)      Bombs Away – Featuring Morgan Freeman, produced by B.o.B

2)      Out of My Mind – Featuring Nicki Minaj, produced by Dr. Luke and Billboard

3)      Both of Us – Featuring Taylor Swift, produced by Dr. Luke and Cirkut

Available on CD and Digital Download

Drake – Take Care (2011) – Review

Drake – Take Care

For his sophomore effort, Drake made a much more atmospheric, musically cohesive album. Thank Me Later has better standalone singles. Take Care’s singles are strong too (Marvin’s Room, Headlines and Make Me Proud), but they serve the overall tone of the album. For the most part, this feels like a (drunken or ‘faded’) confession, as Drake explores his own sadness, hurt and loneness – both in growing up and in dealing with fame. There are hip hop boasts and hometown representing (par for the course), but the album is at its best when Drake digs deeper into his personal issues. There are also great moments when Drake references the music that influenced him (songs like Underground Kings and Practice). Drake has a very good flow and his sing-song style and singing works really well. It is clear that while Drake did not produce any of the tracks (though he is a co-producer on a few) he had a specific sound in mind when crafting Take Care. He works primarily with Toronto producer 40 (and a childhood friend) and T-Minus (also from Canada) – they produce on sixteen of the eighteen tracks. This gives Take Care a feel and sound that flows throughout (which is surprisingly rare in hip hop, even though most of the best albums have a distinctive and cohesive sound). Drake also has great guests and utilizes them well. Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Birdman from his YMCMB crew make appearances (but are probably the least interesting of the features – though Nicki Minaj gives a decent verse). The other guests include Rick Ross (on a great Just Blaze track), Rihanna, Stevie Wonder, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar (who is wonderful on the Buried Alive Interlude), and Andre 3000 (who drops one of the best verses on the album on The Real Her) – the latter three being the standouts. A minor issue with the album is that there are probably five too many songs (aka five weaker songs) that could have been left off, but overall Take Care is a strong effort and better than Thank Me Later. Drake two albums in (three if you count his So Far Gone EP or Mixtape) is already atop the game with the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z and (sadly) Lil Wayne (because he is not that great anymore, most of his verses are just random gibberish these days – let us be honest with ourselves, Tha Carter IV was terrible, like a 2/5 at best, terrible for someone of his stature in the industry, but seemingly everyone still bought it, so I guess we can expect more less than efforts from him in the future) – and this is the kind of album you expect from an artist of his quality and standing in the game. 4/5

Editor’s Essential Tracks:

1)      Underground Kings – Produced by T-Minus and 40

2)      Crew Love – Produced by 40, Illangelo and The Weeknd, featuring The Weeknd

3)      Lord Knows – Produced by Just Blaze, featuring Rick Ross

Available on CD and Digital Download