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Baduizm
:Album Details:BONUS DVD (PAL) :Badu and her large turban appeared out of nowhere in early 1997, on a murmuring, romantic album that trod the median between old-school soul and contemporary electronic R&B. Badu's songs, especially the hit 'On & On' and the catchy 'Certainly,' recall Sade in their polished, subtle sexiness. Badu almost never raises her voice--save the occasional 'ooh-wee!' exultation--but she skillfully uses repetition and chanting to empower her words. Later portraying a beautiful swamp queen, she was ...
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Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
: :Handsome in his designer clothes and angelic, nappy dreads, Maxwell styles himself a modern-day urban love prophet in the tradition of Marvin Gaye. He concocts a conceptual music suite that purports to tell a fully rounded tale of meaningful love set in the tough but misunderstood inner city. What he delivers, however, contains only the faintest hints of what he promises. Instead we get a whole lot of the same tired R&B elevator slush and lyrics like 'Gonna take ...
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Mama's Gun
: :A true tour de force, Mama's Gun is that rare sophomore album that shows a maturing artist at her best. Erykah Badu's voice was always her main attraction--its unique sound has been compared to Billie Holiday and Chaka Khan. Here, it's her skill with that voice that shines. Badu shapes her instrument to suit her material (all of it written or cowritten by her). A full range is represented: On faster, danceable tracks like 'Penitentiary Philosophy' and 'Booty,' she ...
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Now
: 's Best of 2001:Three years after the scattered Embrya, new-soul prodigy Maxwell returns with Now, his most fully realized disc yet. While not as ambitious as D'Angelo or just plain flippin'-off-the-wall as Macy Gray, the singer-songwriter does claim a stance: acoustic-guitar-based, near-tone poems ('Sympton Unknown') and Kate Bush covers ('This Woman's Work') are hardly the stuff of your average pop-R&B love man. Maxwell's lush thickets of overdubbed vocals could stand as a fine listen on their own; the varied ...
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Live
: :There is always cause for concern when a promising new artist follows up a solid debut with a live album rehashing all the same material. After seeing Erykah Badu steal the 'Smokin Grooves Tour' summer of 1996, however, it only makes sense that her record company decided to release Live as a stopgap between her next studio recording. To put it mildly, the Badu live experience is anything but typical. There is a kindred bond between the singer and ...
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Floetic
: :It's hard to imagine two more talented hipsters than Floetry singer Marsha Ambrosius and emcee Natalie Stewart, a.k.a. the Songstress and Floacist. The U.K. duo's Floetic debut has it all--smooth R&B, soulful jazz, hip-hop, spoken word, supple ballads and a warmth that cradles the listener from beginning to end. In short, it's exquisitely, decidedly feminine. The pair occasional raise the roof with sizzling rhymes and beats, but they clearly place a premium on vibe, evident in Floetic's mostly chilled, ...
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Emotional
: :Excellent Condition :On his debut album, Carl Thomas offers more of the well-sung, romantic R&B that never seems to fall out of favor. Unfortunately, while the Puffy Combs-executive-produced Emotional is perhaps a must-own for diehard fans of the genre, it seems less than inspired when compared with, say, Brian McKnight's state-of-the-art Back at One. All the elements are in place here--a guest shot by Kelly Price on 'Giving You All My Love,' a Stevie Wonder sample on 'Summer ...
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Brown Sugar
: :D'Angelo is obviously inspired by the progressive soul of the early '70s, but he has also borrowed carefully from the hip-hop of his own generation. Like many of his contemporaries, he has recorded a tribute to marijuana--the album's title--but it's far wittier than most. It takes the form of a conventional love song ('Brown sugar babe, I gets high off your love ... that's why my eyes are a shade blood burgundy') and mimics intoxication in its throbbing bass ...
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Voodoo
: 's Best of 2000:Like Robin Hood working on a tip from Chuck D, D'Angelo has stolen back the soul that was missing from the just-add-water R&B scene. Voodoo is a simmering cauldron of sound, a magical collection. Stained with sweat, longing, and rage, this is an album with trouble on the brain. But it also includes sacred sweet nothings and rapturous raw rhythms to get you through the night. --Lizz Mendez Berry Amazon.com:Halfway through the languid midtempo ballad 'Send ...
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Embrya
: :The bass line of the opening track is the first sign, and the smooth funk of the second track confirms it: On Embrya, Maxwell has done it again. Sophomore efforts don't always fare well, especially when an artist is still riding high on the accolades of a debut, but Maxwell has managed to take the exquisite soul of 1996's Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite and, without sacrificing any of its verve, turn it into something far more sophisticated. Not only ...
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