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This page contains 16 entries posted under the "Reviews" category.

Estelle Shines Bright

Ever since Estelle signed to John Legend's Homeschool Records, she's been constantly compared to the likes of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu. The comparisons basically stop at being a talented soulful songstress. On her U.S. debut, Shine, Estelle proves that she has her own voice, her own steez, and definitely her own resonance. The album kicks off with the Will.I.Am-produced "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)," sampling the classic Screamin' Jay Hawkins tune, "I Put a Spell on You," which most people will recognize from Biggie's "Kick in the Door." The song pretty much sets the tone for the album beginning with Estelle singing the hook, followed by her spitting a hot 16 bars, showcasing both her vocal and rap skills.

Estelle: "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)"

Q. Salazar | 05/07/2008 at 12:00 PM | Comments (5) | Permalink

The Roots Step Up With 'Rising Down'

I can't front. I haven't been interested in an album from The Roots since 1999's Things Fall Apart. It had cameos from some unlikely artists such as Eve, but old standbys Common and Mos Def came to represent, so it felt like business as usual. Rising Down represents a return for The Roots back to their hip hop roots, without the unfortunate rock departures that they have made since the turn of this century. While rock and roll is as much a part of our heritage as hip hop or blues, the departure from the norm they attempted on Phrenology, The Tipping Point, and Game Theory and even more recently their Fall Out Boy collaboration, just seemed way too much of wanting to push an envelope that just didn't need to be pushed. On Rising Down, the gloom and doom are back along with Black Thought's monotonous delivery, but the beats are much more true to the sound we've come to expect from them: driving beats, sinewy synths, and unapologetic rhyme flows.

ill Mami | 05/01/2008 at 2:00 PM | Comments (10) | Permalink

Black Spade Serves Hip Hop With Love

Black Spade's debut album To Serve With Love, released yesterday, has been racking up accolades since his four-track Loves Right Here EP dropped last November. He was featured on Soul Bounce last week as a First Spin, and despite the underwhelming response, Black Spade is someone whom you really should get to know. Why?

His album is completely listenable without fast-forwarding from start to finish
He produced all of the tracks, sings on most of them, and his rhyme flow is tight

He will also, like Kanye West before him, likely be a go-to producer for those artists wanting accessible, yet eclectic beats. He is accessible much in the way in the way that Common, another Midwesterner like Spade and Kanye, may rhyme about love or beating your ass for breaking into his crib, but it is always done in an introspective way that manages to create a visual landscape for the listener. Too few emcees these days are able to incite imaginations with their listeners. They instead take the quick route of only rhyming about the surface, not the murky confusion that lies beneath.

ill Mami | 03/05/2008 at 12:00 PM | Leave a Comment | Permalink

A 'New AmErykah' Is Finally Here

Du Day is finally here. Now that the longing and patience has finally paid off with your iPod vibrating with the excitement that only good, new music can bring, comes time to reflect. Not about whether the album is dope or not, because you already knew it would be from the moment you found out New AmErykah: Part One (4th World War)'s release was imminent. Now is the time to reflect upon why you like it. In my experience, every Erykah Badu album must be digested in five distinct stages:

ill Mami | 02/26/2008 at 12:00 PM | Comments (13) | Permalink

Nicolay & Kay 'Time:Line'

It's no secret that Dutch producer Nicolay is a favorite here at SoulBounce. More than a beatmaker, this is a guy that understands composition, mood, and melody. While there's a number of tracks in his discog that knock with the same aggression as some of our more recognizable stateside mainstays, Nic mostly lulls the listener into a groove with tracks that are stripped-down yet far from simplistic. Not a single instrument or sample feels out of place or wasted. He gives you exactly what you need, no more no less.

Like his other full-length releases, Time:Line is musically seamless with each track naturally progressing into the next. But the thing that really sets this album apart from his compilations is that it's thematically seamless as well. From the rousing, muscular intro all the way to ethereal final track, Time:Line unfolds with a linear storyline--birth and death with all the struggles, partying, danger and hopes sandwiched in between.

nOvaMatic | 02/20/2008 at 11:59 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

Jill Scott Thrills In 'Live In Paris+'

"There is a difference between entertainers and artists."
Jill Scott, Live In Paris+

Jill Scott's "The Real Thing" tour kicked off Tuesday night in Seattle, and it is currently making its way across the country well into '08. In the unfortunate event that you haven't secured a ticket, I implore you to buy her Live in Paris+ DVD, because it is truly the next best thing to being there.

Jill is versatile and vivacious in concert, and seeing her live is like attending a master class in performing. She engages the audience with her music and undeniable stage presence. Jilly can go from silly to sassy to sexy in the span of one lyric. Anyone who questions her acting ability need just see her live show to witness her displays of emotion. However, unless you're close to the stage, you may miss her facial expressions and the subtle nuances of her performance, but Live in Paris+ has got you covered. Shot using multiple camera angles and utilizing some creative 24-style editing, you are given an intimate, front row seat to the Jill Scott experience.

Butta | 02/07/2008 at 12:00 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Salt-N-Pepa's Hair, Er, Here (Again)!

If you're a Salt-N-Pepa fan like I am, you had to wonder what in the "spinderella" VH1 did to The Salt-N-Pepa Show, which went on an abrupt "hiatus" this past December after only seven episodes. (Meanwhile, we've seen Scott Baio grow a year older, Hulk Hogan lose his family and me lose my lunch from seeing "New York" on my TV screen.) Insane.

I mean, seriously, leave it up to the bigwigs over at the cable network and we would think that their bus broke down and they got stranded on their way back from Jena, Louisiana. Thankfully, that was not the case. In fact, the ladies will be back with fresh episodes starting Monday, February 11th at 10PM EST. Can't. Wait.

What? You don't know about the show?!? Check the history and a recap after the bounce.

Harlem | 02/04/2008 at 12:05 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink

We All Want the Same Thing: Kevin Michael with Less Sex and More Soul

Whether it's threatening suicide, boasting about cosmetics, or converting your favorite childhood superhero into an asinine dance-craze, it's apparent that the newest generation of young, fresh-faced pop stars are desperate to extend their stay on the radar for as long as possible and by whatever commercialistic means necessary.

With this in mind, singer/sometimes songwriter Kevin Michael has two things working in his favor: one, his biracial, post-hippie, by-way-of-Philly faux-bohemian 80s lovechild upbringing and infused image has been untapped in the mainstream thus far. And two, he's actually talented, which makes his eponymous debut album, released this past summer on Atlantic Records, a conflicting listen; while his catchy blend of pop with R&B hooks, melodies, vocal arrangements, and lyrics does produce some occasionally refreshing tuneage, there's still an overwhelming sense of unfulfilled potential just waiting to be tapped.

Shooter | 01/23/2008 at 12:55 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Maturity is Mary J's Cross to Bear

Mary J. Blige is one of a dying breed: R&B singers that make R&B songs. Not Hip-Hop or Pop songs masquerading as R&B or "Neo-Soul" music, but the kind of R&B that successfully unites all of the above as good R&B should. While we wait with bated breath for Faith and Toni to drop the album they may or may not be crafting, or finally come to terms with Kelly Price going Gospel for good, Mary keeps hanging onto a genre that is up to its elbows in hallowed dirt.

That's very noble of her, but it sure must be lonely.

Opening with a trifecta of Wonder Woman power anthems, Growing Pains finds Mary J. Blige at yet another point of self-realization. She's satisfied. She wants to be treated like a woman. She wants you to know that she can do what she wants, because she's grown. The thunderous, muscular "Grown Woman" is her answer to Jigga's "30 Something", with her casually tossing out words like "Valentino", "Michael Kors" and "Yves Saint Laurent", but reminding us that she sports them with the kind of class only someone her age can be bothered with. You have to wonder if she's asserting herself among her younger colleagues, taking what could be construed as base materialism and using it to point out that she's been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and knows how to tuck it in.

nOvaMatic | 12/20/2007 at 12:00 PM | Comments (5) | Permalink

So What Was Von Pea Thinking with 'American Angster'?

We haven't talked anything Hova-related here in a while, mainly because I placed an embargo on all American Gangster coverage in order to re-focus on our soul vocalists. But when we received Von Pea's American Angster remix album in our inbox, I just couldn't resist.

The American Gangster Acapellas dropped December 4th, Jay-Z's born-day, and DJs went nuts. Kevin Nottingham has been archiving all of the different versions and cites Von Pea's as one of the best. We recently highlighted Pea's group Tanya Morgan in our video roundup and Your SoulBounce Founder is a fan of the Grand Vonye tape. Simply put, to receive American Angster via Pea's personal delivery was kinda boss.

Now let's get down to the nitty.

nOvaMatic | 12/17/2007 at 12:17 PM | Comments (5) | Permalink

Re-calling the Awesomeness That Was Mark Ronson's 'Version'

[DISCLAIMER: I'm pretty awful at reviews.] When Mark Ronson's Version dropped earlier this year, not only was I not running this site, but I'd just jumped on the Back to Black bandwagon (in which he played a large part), so nothing else from that region was on my radar. Silly me, because now I'm playing catch up.

For everyone else just hopping on board, Version is just that, covers of songs that run the gamut from Britney Spears to Radiohead, polished to a soulful, retro pop sheen. It would be too easy to dismiss this as an opportunity to shoehorn UK pop stars into the Stax/Motown atmosphere in an attempt to re-dignify Blue-Eyed Soul, and perhaps it is, but it sounds damn good. Nothing here comes off as forced or insincere, maybe because the varied guests don't succumb to melisma and caterwauling. These guys are having fun without phoning it in.

nOvaMatic | 12/13/2007 at 12:10 PM | Leave a Comment | Permalink

Archive » Reviews

Estelle Shines Bright

The Roots Step Up With 'Rising Down'

Black Spade Serves Hip Hop With Love

A 'New AmErykah' Is Finally Here

Nicolay & Kay 'Time:Line'

Jill Scott Thrills In 'Live In Paris+'

Salt-N-Pepa's Hair, Er, Here (Again)!

We All Want the Same Thing: Kevin Michael with Less Sex and More Soul

Maturity is Mary J's Cross to Bear

So What Was Von Pea Thinking with 'American Angster'?

Re-calling the Awesomeness That Was Mark Ronson's 'Version'

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