Black Ice & Neon Lights

The Evolution of Robin Thicke

2006-11-20T12:02:00.000-08:00

I KNOW I'M SO FAR BEHIND ON UPDATES WITH THIS PLACE BUT SCHOOL IS LEAVING ME NO TIME TO REALLY DO ANYTHING!! I CAN'T EVEN WRITE REVIEWS LIKE I USED TO!! BUT I DID FIND SOME TIME THIS WEEKEND TO KNOCK OUT MY EVALUATION OF ROBIN THICKE'S AWESOME NEW ALBUM AND I JUST HAD TO SHARE IT WITH YOU GUYS. I GOT MY E-MAIL LIST ON LOCK SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CLICK THE ALBUM COVER AND CHECK OUT MY REVIEW AND THEN PEEP UR INBOXES FOR SOME HOT LINKS! I'LL KEEP WHAT'S IN THERE A SURPRISE!! THANX FOR THE SUPPORT AND LOVE. SPREAD THE WORD!!

The Makings of Me (Album Review)

2006-10-30T14:07:00.000-08:00

CLICK ON THE ALBUM COVER 2 CHECK OUT MY THOUGHTS ON MONICA'S NEW ALBUM!! AND CHECK UR INBOXES FOR THE D/L LINKS!!!! *ENJOY*

THE RETURN OF SHOOTER!!!

2006-10-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

I know it may seem like a long time coming but spread the word because I am back in action!! I compiled my e-mail list and so whenever I update a new album, no need to drop the e-mail if you already applied to be on my list; it'll be waiting for you in your inbox!

If you're new or didn't bother to add yourself to the list, just drop the e-mail and you will be added!! Simple as that!!

Y'all should know the deal but in case you forgot - I'm sure everybody's already bumping the new Janet so just click on the cover to peep out my REVIEW!! And look for the links to Sammie and Kenny & Chante in your inboxes like NOW!!!

SPREAD THE WORD - SHOOTER IS BACK IN ACTION!!!

FutureSex/LoveSounds (Album Review)

2006-10-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

I know I've been slacking lately with my blogging duties but school and work is eating up all my time now. So I'm asking all my faithful bloggers left to support my review of Justin's latest while I get things in order here.

To make things easier on me, I've decided to create a mass-mailing list. That way, I can send one link to a whole bunch of people at once instead of having to individually address each e-mail request. So here's how it's gonna work:

LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN THE COMMENT SECTION FOR THIS POST. I will add your name to the e-mail list and whenever I put up a new album, you will automatically be sent the link. If you want it, keep it. If not, delete the e-mail. Simple as that. Hopefully this works and will keep everybody happy! So check out my JT review and by the end of the week, I will resume satisfying all your new music needs!!

REMEMBER: LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN THE COMMENT SECTION FOR THIS POST IF YOU WANT TO BECOME A PART OF MY LINK LIST!!

The Makings of Me

2006-09-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

1. Everytime Tha Beat Drop feat. Dem Franchize Boyz 2. A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me) 3. Sideline Ho 4. Why Her? 5. Hell No (Leave Home) feat. Twista 6. Doin' Me Right 7. Raw feat. Swizz Beats 8. My Everything 9. Gotta Move On 10. Getaway

IN STORES OCTOBER 3RD ;)

The Dutchess

2006-09-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

1. Fergalicious feat. Will.I.Am
2. Clumsy
3. All That I Got (The Make Up Song)
4. London Bridge
5. Pedestal
6. Voodoo Doll
7. Glamorous feat. Ludacris
8. Here I Come
9. Velvet
10. Big Girls Don't Cry
11. Mary Jane Shoes feat. Rita Marley
12. Losing My Ground
13. Finally

Fergie finally stepped out with her solo debut and sadly, to me, it's a hit-and-miss affair. I thought the album would be more cohesive and entertaining the whole way through. She does have some really high energy numbers and catchy tracks for sure but overall, I think she tried a bit too hard to come off as natural. The poor woman's Gwen Stefani if you will. Sorry Fergie-Ferg. Maybe next time (if you get one). DROP THE E-MAIL ADDY PLEASE.

B'Day (Review + Download)

2006-09-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

I found some time in my schedule to disect and pick apart Ms. Knowles' sophomore release. Please click the album cover to check out my thoughts and then drop the E-MAIL to get the link!!

Continuum

2006-09-14T01:26:00.000-07:00

1. Waiting On The World To Change
2. I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)
3. Belief
4. Gravity
5. The Heart of Life
6. Vultures
7. Stop This Train
8. Slow Dancing In A Burning Room
9. Bold As Love
10. Dreaming With A Broken Heart
11. In Repair
12. I'm Gonna Find Another You

Please bear with me everybody!! School's kicking in high gear so I won't have as much to post stuff but I'm still gonna do my best to deliver the hottest links around!! And if you DROP YOUR E-MAIL for the links, please forgive me if I'm a day or so late with them. But I will deliver!!!

As for John's new album: BEST. POP. ALBUM. OF. THE. YEAR. AND. HIS. CAREER. BUY. THIS. IMMEDIATELY.

...that is all.

FutureSex/LoveSounds

2006-09-09T01:06:00.000-07:00

1. FutureSex/LoveSound
2. SexyBack feat. Timbaland
3. Sexy Ladies/Let Me Talk To You (Prelude)
4. My Love feat. T.I.
5. LoveStoned/I Think She Knows (Interlude)
6. What Goes Around.../...Comes Around (Interlude)
7. Chop Me Up feat. Three 6 Mafia
8. Damn Girl feat. will.i.am
9. Summer :ove/Set The Mood (Prelude)
10. Until The End of Time feat. The Benjamin Wright Orchestra
11. Losing My Way
12. (Another Song) All Over Again

Too damn tired to give my thoughts on this so all I can say is that JT stepped his game up and is gonna deliver one of the hottest albums of the year!! Drop the e-mail if you want the linkage!!!

Coming Home

2006-09-08T00:16:00.000-07:00

1. I Call It Love
2. Sweet Vacation
3. Why
4. What You Are
5. Up All Night
6. I'm Coming Home
7. All Around The World
8. Out of My Head
9. Reason To Believe
10. Stand Down
11. I Love You
12. I Apologize
13. I'm Missing Her

I figured some of my old-school heads may appreciate this as well as the new-skoolers feelin Lionel's new joint "I Call It Love". JD, Raphael Saadiq, Sean Garrett and a whole bunch of other folks helped him put the album together and it works!! Nice, fresh appeal without Lionel soundin like he's going thru a mid-life crisis and trying to desperately to sound "hip & cool" (see: Babyface - Face2Face). Very age-appropriate (that's a good thing!!).

DROP THE E-MAIL FOR THE LINK!!!

Paula DeAnda

2006-09-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

1. Doing Too Much feat. Baby Bash
2. Walk Away (Remember Me) feat. The DEY
3. Easy feat. Lil' Wayne
4. When It Was Me
5. Overloved
6. So Cold
7. Good Girl
8. Wanna Be With You feat. V Nice
9. Make 'Em Clap To This feat. Ak'Sent
10. Breathe
11. Let's Go Out Tonight feat. P.B.
12. I'll Be Down For You
13. Footprints On My Heart

Another college semester has begun so my reviews won't be as frequent and my posts won't be as often but stick with me because I'll do my best to bring everybody the latest and hottest albums around!!! (I promise I got something hot and anticipated for the weekend).

As for Paula's album, it's a nice debut. Clive could've given her a better push but she has some definite hits on here and she managed to sell 18k and debut at #53 so she can only go up from here!! DROP THE E-MAIL ADDY and I will send over the link ASAP!

A Public Affair

2006-09-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

1. A Public Affair
2. You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
3. B.O.Y.
4. If You Were Mine
5. Walkin' 'Round In A Circle
6. The Lover In Me
7. Swing With Me
8. Push Your Tush
9. Back To You
10. Between You & I
11. I Don't Want To Care
12. Fired Up
13. Let Him Fly
14. I Belong To Me

Y'all should know the drill by now. Click on the cover to check out my 3-star review of Jessica's new album (she once again broke even between GOOD and AWFUL) and then drop the e-mail addy in either comment section for the link!!

I'm glad Jessica didn't take the whole mopey sobfest route like Nick did but she still needs to learn the definition of CONSISTENT!!!

Kelis Was Here (Album + Review)

2006-08-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
2. Bossy feat. Too $hort
3. What's That Right There
4. Till The Wheels Fall Off
5. Living Proof
6. Blindfold Me
7. Goodbyes
8. Trilogy
9. Circus
10. Weekend feat. will.i.am
11. Like You
12. Aww Shit! feat. Smoke
13. Lil Star
14. I Don't Think So
15. Handful
16. Appreciate Me
17. Have A Nice Day

Y'all should know the drill by now. Click the cover and peep my thoughts on the album and then DROP THE E-MAIL ADDY if you want the link to this HOTTT album!!! (which I suggest y'all run out and by anyway!!)

Congrats to Kelis for debuting at #9 on the Hot 100!! Her first top-10 debut!!! 61k sold!! GO KELIS!!!

Danity Kane | This Crazy Life (Albums + Reviews)

2006-08-28T01:10:00.000-07:00

Click on the left to check out my thoughts on Danity Kane's debut album (they could seriously be the next big thing for girl groups IF Diddy doesn't go and drop the ball!!)

Then click on the right to read my thoughts on pop/rock's newest singer Joanna (because I do listen to everything). Some may remember her as the little girl fired from playing Annie on Broadway a decade or so back. Ron Fair's breeded her over at Geffen and has now issued out her debut album - a nice collection of pop/rockers with a couple misgivings but a whole lot of potential!!

And remember - DROP AN E-MAIL ADDRESS IF YOU WANT EITHER LINK!!!

B'Day

2006-08-26T00:25:00.000-07:00

1. Deja Vu feat. Jay-Z
2. Get Me Bodied
3. Suga Mama
4. Upgrade U feat. Jay-Z
5. Ring The Alarm
6. Kitty Kat
7. Freakum Dress
8. Green Light
9. Irreplaceable
10. Resentment

So this is what happens when you sneak away for 2 weeks and record an album? 10 tracks. 35:00 of music. Exactly 1/2 of it being tolerable, the other 1/2 being forgettable. Looks like Bee shot herself in the foot with this one. Backlash isn't so pretty. DROP AN E-MAIL IF YOU WANNA RISK IT!!!

The Phoenix (Album + Review)

2006-08-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
2. Slow Down feat. Young Buck & Doc Brown
3. Goodbye
4. Let's Stay Together
5. Biggie Nigga
6. Ghetto Superman
7. S.E.X. feat. La La Brown
8. Down Here, Up There
9. The River
10. Still Here
11. More Than A Girl
12. Stingy
13. Keep Ya Head Up
14. I'll Always Love You

MAKE SURE TO DROP UR E-MAIL ADDY IN EITHER COMMENT SECTION IF YOU WANT THE LINK 2 THE ALBUM!!! And please click on the album cover to check out my educated take on Lyfe's album.

. . . it’s overlong, flawed, and downright showy at times but The Phoenix is also a refreshing change of pace from all things in modernized music. Just like his debut, Lyfe has a story to tell and this time, things have gotten a bit more interesting.

Cherish | Unappreciated (Album + Review)

2006-08-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

1. That Boi
2. Do It To It feat. Sean Paul of the YoungBloodZ
3. Chevy
4. Unappreciated
5. Taken
6. Stop Calling Me
7. Oooh
8. Chick Like Me feat. Rasheeda
9. Whenever
10. Show and Tell
11. Fool 4 You
12. Moment In Time

Click the album cover to peep my review and DROP UR E-MAIL ADDY if you want the d/l link!!

Cherish may not be the 2nd coming of any infamous girl group from the past but this actually works in their favor. The lack of pressure from comparisons will give them ample room to breathe and time to live up to the potential exhibited on this debut. They already know how to write a good lyric and construct a good melody. And once they learn the art of arranging a good vocal is to make it the heart of the song rather than just simply a element in it, I’m pretty sure they’ll find themselves appreciated on a much larger scale.

Back to Basics (Album + Review)

2006-08-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Danity Kane

2006-08-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

1. One Shot
2. Heartbreaker
3. Want It
4. Right Now
5. Show Stopper
6. Hold Me Down
7. Come Over (Interlude)
8. Ooh Ahh
9. Press Pause
10. Ain't True (Interlude)
11. Ride For You
12. Touchin' My Body
13. Back Up
14. Stay With Me
15. Sleep On It

Now Diddy has more than redeemed himself from the Cassie abomination with this one. Unlike his first venture out with a MTB creation, he managed to find 5 beautiful women who ALL can SING (some better than others) and DANCE (some better than others) their lip-glossed behinds off!! With DK and Cherish releasing some hot material now, and Missez and Bella not far behind, it looks as if our girl group void left by DC has been filled by the best possible candidates (for now).

**LEAVE UR E-MAIL ADDY IF U WANT THE D/L LINK*

Cassie (Album + Review)

2006-08-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

Double vision!! The review is on the left (a glaring ONE-STAR) and the album is on the right because I cannot in good consciene let my loyal blog visitors waste their hard-earned money on one of the worst albums of all time. Seriously.

LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDY IF U WANT THE LINK!!!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!

2006-08-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK EVERYBODY 2 PEEP A NEW & IMPROVED VERSION OF "BLACK ICE & NEON LIGHTS"!!!!!

LeToya (Album & Review)

2006-08-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Review is on the left. Album is on the right. Support me y'all!!!

Still Climbing

2006-08-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

1. Let's Get It Started
2. 5 Miles To Empty
3. Love Me Like You Do
4. In The Game of Love
5. Foolish Pride
6. Kiss and Tell
7. Baby Love
8. Around You
9. Revenge
10. All I Do
11. You Give Good Love
12. If You Play Your Cards Right

As requested by my homeboy Antonio. Surprised so many people slept on this joint. Don't sound too bad to me.

The Love Experience

2006-07-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

1. The Voice (Intro)
2. The Love Experience
3. Guess Who Loves You More
4. Who
5. Where I Stand
6. Breathe
7. You
8. Sweet Tooth
9. Ask Yourself
10. Believe
11. Is It Possible
12. Catch 22
13. Until
14. Cadillac
15. Green Leaves
16. Thank You

Nicki requested it and I aim to please. The debut album from another great soul legend in the making right here!! This cat has stayed on his grind and almost pushed 200,000 units of this record!! Props to Raheem for helping to keep great soul music alive!!

Corinne Bailey Rae (Album + Review)

2006-07-28T23:36:00.000-07:00

Review on left. Album on right (as soon as I can re-up the link). Hope everybody decides to help support my journalistic side like they do my blogging side!

Exodus

2006-07-28T01:15:00.000-07:00

1. Opening
2. Devil Inside
3. Exodus '04
4. The Workout
5. Easy Breezy
6. Tippy Toe
7. Hotel Lobby
8. Animato
9. Crossover (Interlude)
10. Kremlin Dusk
11. You Make Me Want To Be A Man
12. Wonder 'Bout
13. Let Me Give You My Love
14. About Me

Well this was posted per request! I heard a little bit about Utada and how she's a massive superstar in Japan and this was her first all-English album and how it blew up overseas and tanked in America because Island Records gave her awful promotion and now she's back in Japan and all this stuff and I took a listen and I learned that this is not my cup of tea at all but since I am to please my blog fans, here it is! Hope somebody enjoys!

In My Mind

2006-07-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

1. Can I Have It Like That feat. Gwen Stefani
2. How Does It Feel?
3. Raspy Shit
4. Best Friend
5. You Can Do It Too
6. Keep It Playa feat. Slim Thug
7. That Girl feat. Snoop Dogg
8. Angel
9. Young Girl/I Really Like You feat. Jay-Z
10. Take It Off (Dim The Lights)
11. Stay With Me feat. Pusha T.
12. Baby feat. Nelly
13. Our Father
14. Number 1 feat. Kanye West
15. Show You How To Hustle feat. Lauren

I actually had high hopes for Pharrell's solo album and he let me down immensely. The beats are average, the lyrics are AWFUL and his flow/vocals are pitiful!! I am so glad I put this one back on the shelf and spared myself $10 and by posting this here, I hope I can help save others some hard-earned $$$ as well. This is what happens when years of critical acclaim delude an artist into thinking they can half-ass their shit and get away with musical murder.

The Evolution of Robin Thicke

2006-07-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

1. Got 2 Be Down feat. Faith Evans
2. Wanna Love You Girl feat. Pharrell
3. To The Sky
4. I'm Not Loving You
5. Threesome
6. High School Man
7. U Center Me
8. Cocaine
9. In My Dreams
10. Teach You A Lesson
11. Superman
12. Spend The Night With Me
13. Lost Without You
14. Against The World
15. Thank You
16. Wanna Love You Girl (Remix) feat. Busta Rhymes & Pharrell

For all of those like me who are BEYOND FRUSTRATED AT ROBIN'S ALBUM GETTING PUSHED BACK YET AGAIN TO SEPT. 12TH, here's the leaked advance of Robin's sophomore album. This is the version of the album that was supposed to be released on Valentine's Day. So you can d/l this knowing that the surprise of his new album hasn't been completely spoiled for you. Robin's said he's recorded some new songs and remastered some additional ones so come Sept. 12th, we'll have a fresh version of Evolution in our hands!! And I for one am glad since the advance sounds nice but shows that the album wasn't quite perfect. It's front-loaded with too many ballads and not enough diversity like his debut. So hopefully, the final product will be one of the best albums of the year. Lord knows we've been waiting long enough for it!!! (And shoutout to Rah Digga aka SoulAquarian for the link since Rapidsharing wouldn't let me upload my file!!).

Aijuswanaseing

2006-07-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

1. Scratch (Introlude)
2. Girl Next Door feat. Ayana
3. You and Me
4. Just Friends (Sunny)
5. Mary Go Round
6. 143
7. Love
8. My Girl
9. Musiq Soulchild (Interlude)
10. Seventeen
11. L' Is Gone
12. Speechless
13. Poparatzi
14. Settle For My Love (Intermission) feat. AAries
15. You Be Alright
16. Aimewitue

Per request of Angelica, here's the debut album from Musiq Soulchild. Now just known as musiq, this is the album that kicked his career into motion. He's gotten better with each album and if you hear how awesome he sounds on here, just think how amazing his other stuff is. Enjoy.

Journey of a Gemini (Album & Review)

2006-07-17T01:41:00.000-07:00

Y'all know the deal. Click on the bottom to read and support my review like ya do my blog and then click on the right for the album. Thanx again!

1st Official Boss Baby Edition Mixtape

2006-07-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
2. Neva B Me feat. Rick Ross
3. Caught Up In The Club (Interlude)
4. Bump-N-Grind '06
5. Caught Up feat. Jody Breeze
6. If I Was Your Girlfriend
7. Erotic
8. Bella Booty
9. Help-A-Ho Foundation (Skit)
10. Lose Control
11. Good Behavior
12. Whatchu Know
13. Maintenance Man
14. Come Ova (Snippet)
15. Gurl, It's Gon Be OK Tho! (Interlude)
16. It's Okay
17. Outro
18. Ordinary Girl

There are a LOT of female groups gunnin for the top spot now that DC3 has retired but my vote is definitely goin to Shan, Kayla and Danah AKA BELLA!!! Under the guidance of Bryan-Michael Cox, these girls are gonna take over this girl group game!!! One listen gives off a real strong TLC vibe and the girls work it like true pros!! If Blaque had kept it together, this is probably what they would sound like now!! But Bella definitely put their own touch on their material and make it certified HOTNESS!!! If people sleep on these ladies, there is no hope left for girl groups!!

LovHer

2006-07-13T01:21:00.000-07:00

1. How's It Gonna Be
2. Your Man
3. Girls Gonna Do
4. Girlfriend (Intro)
5. Girlfriend
6. Love
7. Do You Know Me
8. Don't Leave
9. I Don't Want Your Man
10. What Could've Been
11. Commitment
12. Club (Interlude)
13. You Don't Know Me
14. Happy Days

This is one girl group that hasn't quite bit the dust!! LovHer are still together and working hard to officially release a debut album. But since so many people have requested their unreleased debut, I decided to treat everybody to the hot sounds of it!! Enjoy!!

Surely, Vol. 1

2006-07-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

1. Nicole Scherzinger - "Steam"
2. Janet Jackson feat. Nelly - "Call On Me"
3. Jessica Simpson - "A Public Affair"
4. Monica feat. Dem Franchize Boyz - "Everytime The Beat Drop"
5. Fergie - "London Bridge (Oh Shit)"
6. Chingy feat. Tyrese - "Pullin' Me Back"
7. Natalie feat. Bun B - "What You Gonna Do"
8. JoJo - "Too Little, Too Late"
9. Missez feat. Pimp C - "Love Song"
10. Cherish - "Unappreciated"
11. Farnsworth Bentley - "Laid Back"
12. Kelis - "Like U"
13. Keri Hilson - "Come Clean"
14. Sleepy Brown feat. Big Boi & Pharrell - "Margarita"
15. Ciara feat. Chamillionaire - "Get Up"
16. Shawnna feat. Smoke - "Damn"
17. Bella feat. Rick Ross - "Neva B Me"
18. Mya feat. Penelope Jones - "I Am"
19. Teedra Moses - "Take My Love Away"
20. Algebra - "U Do It For Me"

An exclusive for all of Shooter's Black Ice blog fans!! This is Vol. 1 in a continuous series of mixes from yours truly. And since I'm so sure that these mixes will be blasting out of your soundsystems in no time, I've dubbed my new mix compilations: Surely! So enjoy Vol. 1, which contains some of the hottest and newest singles and leaks to hit the web and be on the lookout for Vol. 2 real soon!!

Get Used To It

2006-07-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

1. We've Got
2. Don't Know Why (I Love You)
3. Get Used To It
4. Sex God
5. Let's Do It Again
6. We Won't Stop
7. Right On
8. Music
9. I Just Realized
10. All Fired Up
11. Love Is
12. I've Been Touched

Classic stuff right here!! If you don' t know about The Brand New Heavies, I suggest you educate yourself!! They're definitely an original and their new album is some of that GOOD music. Knock yourself out

Testimony (The Album & Review)

2006-07-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

Same situation as Nelly. Click on the cover to read my review and then click on that lovely snapshot of India to get the album. Thank y'all kindly yet again.

Loose (The Album and the Review)

2006-07-06T17:43:00.000-07:00

Y'all know the deal. Click on the album cover and kindly support a brotha's aspiring journalist dreams by readin my review of Ms. Furtado's new album. Then you can click on the back cover to d/l the album. Thank y'all kindly and enjoy the fine music.

"Bossy" - The Answer

2006-07-05T23:43:00.000-07:00

**no words**

Full Moon

2006-07-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

1. B Rocka (Intro)
2. Full Moon
3. I Thought
4. When You Touch Me
5. Like This
6. All In Me
7. Apart
8. Can We?
9. What About Us?
10. Anybody
11. Nothing
12. It's Not Worth It
13. He Is
14. Come A Little Closer
15. Love Wouldn't Count Me Out
16. Wow
17. Die Without You feat. Ray J

My homeboy Shawn requested that I put this up and so here it is. Another AMAZING album from B Rocka. Had it been better promoted, it would've been much huger. Stop sleepin and start bumpin this one.

Ready Now

2006-07-03T00:34:00.000-07:00

1. Knock Knock
2. Ready Now
3. Ride
4. Love U Better
5. Catch 22
6. Phone Sex
7. Whatchu Sayin' feat. Loon
8. Lifetime (Interlude)
9. Lifetime
10. Can't Be Mad
11. U

Truth and Raphael showed out on this album!! Miles ahead of the stuff she created with Dre. Too bad Pookie didn't promote and this album faded to black so quickly. Truth needs to be put on again by somebody who will know what to do with her. She's too talented to be this obscure now. I copped this for $7.99. Y'all better run to the Wherehouse or Tower or somewhere for your copy. Worth every penny!

Between Friends

2006-06-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

1. The Way I Love You
2. Happy
3. Too Grown For That
4. Me
5. Can't Get Enough of You
6. Day Dreamin'
7. Last First Kiss
8. When A Woman
9. Why Can't It Be
10. Protect My Heart
11. Love and I

BEST UNDERGROUND R&B ALBUM OF 2006!! PERIOD!! TAMIA HAS ESTABLISHED HER STATUS AS AN R&B DIVA AND LEGEND IN THE MAKING. THIS IS THE ALBUM MORE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AND SO MUCH MORE!! IF AMERICA SLEEPS ON THIS WHEN IT DROPS, THERE IS NO HOPE LEFT FOR MAINSTREAM R&B MUSIC!! TAMIA HAS WRECKED SHOP AND SHE IS ABOUT TO COME AND TAKE NAMES!!

Block Music

2006-06-24T00:25:00.000-07:00

1. Can't Do It Like Me feat. Ludacris
2. Block Music (Bang) feat. I-20
3. Damn feat. Smoke
4. Gettin' Some (Remix) feat. Ludacris, Too $hort, Lil' Wayne & Pharrell
5. Candy Coated feat. 8Ball & MJG
6. Roll Wit Me
7. In Tha Chi feat. Johnny P. & Syleena Johnson
8. Take It Slow feat. Ludacris & Bobby Valentino
9. Can't Break Me feat. Buddy Guy & Shareefa
10. Ghetto Fairy Tales
11. Lil' Daddy What's Good
12. Hit The Back/Slide In
13. Chicago feat. Buddy Guy, Avant & Malik Yusef
14. Gettin' Some

Her debut album sold 150k off 1ne single alone so Shawnna's hoping for at least ghetto Gold with album #2. And she just might get more than that. The album is pretty hot. Tons of cameos that never overpower Shawnna, some crunk beats that knock and groove in the right places, and that tenacious flow Shawnna handles so well. She's got her swagger tight, lyrics on-point and just might lock down the block with this one.

Comic Relief!

2006-06-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

I know this is out of the norm for my posts but I just had to bless all my blog fans with MY FAVORITE YOUTUBE CLIP OF ALL TIME!! I suggest you put the oxygen on standby!!

Light Poles and Pine Trees

2006-06-23T00:55:00.000-07:00

1. 1,2,3
2. My Wheels
3. So What feat. Ciara
4. Baby Bend Over
5. Smilin' feat. Ludacris
6. Area Code 229
7. Skit
8. Blacker The Berry
9. I Hate You
10. At The Park
11. Eat 'Em Up, Beat 'Em Up
12. Pistol Grip
13. Sorry Baby feat. Bobby Valentino
14. It's Over
15. Georgia feat. Ludacris & Jamie Foxx

Finally, a Southern Hip-Hop album with some real lyrical content. Well, mostly real lyrical content. Field Mob are the ones to watch. They bout to do it major and make it mean something.

Journey to a/of a Gemini

2006-06-22T13:25:00.000-07:00

1. September Love
2. Azzville
3. Treat U Right
4. Lovin' U
5. U Make Me Feel
6. My Gift To U
7. Marry Me
8. I'll Go
9. Shut U Down
10. Take It There
11. You Didn't
12. What I Gotta Do

1. Special Girl
2. Better Start Talking feat. Jermaine Dupri
3. I'm Gonna Be
4. My Apology
5. Spend The Night
6. Portrait of a Woman
7. Cry
8. Ooh Na Na
9. Feelin' You
10. Can't Wait
11. Lust or Love
12. If U Want feat. Bun B
13. Cuttin' Me Off
14. Another Life
15. I'm Gonna Be feat. Clipse

Just for y'all, I posted a Donell Jones double-play!! Donell is my fave male R&B crooner, right up there with Jon B and I've been waiting on Gemini to drop for over a year!!! It leaked way back last year with 17 different cuts BUT the album Donell just released has a completely different tracklisting!! Yet since I'm a Donell completist, I'm posting both versions of the album. The 1st disc, Journey to a Gemini, is the dozen recording session outtakes cut from the final and album and the 2nd disc, Journey to a Gemini, is the official retail version! Now of course since he's my boy, I'm urging everybody to go out there and support him with your cold, hard cash!! But until you can get to the store, just think of my posting this as the sample before the purchase! Make sure to bump this one on full-blast!

Loose

2006-06-21T00:21:00.000-07:00

1. Afraid feat. Attitude
2. Maneater
3. Promiscuous feat. Timbaland
4. Glow
5. Showtime
6. No Hay Igual
7. Te Busque feat. Juanes
8. Say It Right
9. Do It
10. In God's Hands
11. Wait For You
12. All Good Things (Come To An End)

WHOA NELLY!! Nelly Furtado has evolved into one funkified musicmaker!! She's no longer the quirky singer/songwriter from Whoa, Nelly and Folklore! She hooked up with Timbaland and got some major funk in her trunk!! Seriously, I haven't heard Tim have such sonic chemistry with an artist since Aaliyah and that's saying a whole LOT!! So make sure you run out to the nearest record store and pick up a copy of this. This is a MUST-HAVE SUMMER ALBUM and a strong contender for one of the top albums of the year!! So gon 'head and get LOOSE!! (PS: I included the liner notes and lyric sheets scans inside the file).

A Time 2 Love

2006-06-20T00:12:00.000-07:00

1. If Your Love Cannot Be Moved feat. Kim Burrell
2. Sweetest Somebody I Know
3. Moon Blue
4. From The Bottom of My Heart
5. Please Don't Hurt My Baby
6. How Will I Know feat. Aisha Morris
7. My Love Is On Fire
8. Passionate Raindrops
9. Tell Your Heart I Love You
10. True Love
11. Shelter In The Rain
12. So What The Fuss
13. Can't Imagine Love Without You
14. Positivity feat. Aisha Morris
15. A Time 2 Love feat. india.arie

Denim asked me to up this for him and I thought my blog might enjoy it. It's Stevie Wonder. Classic, timeless music right here.

Testimony: Vol. 1, Love & Relationship

2006-06-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

1. Intro: Loving
2. These Eyes
3. The Heart of the Matter
4. Good Morning
5. Private Party
6. There's Hope
7. Interlude: Living
8. India'Song
9. Wings of Forgiveness
10. Summer feat. Rascal Flatts & Victor Wooten
11. I Am Not My Hair feat. Akon
12. Interlude: Great Grandmother
13. Better People
14. Outro: Learning

India Arie has done it yet again. The whole self-love, feel-good, positive-thinking ideals her music promotes may get a tiring on occasion but for the most part, this album is full of feel-good music for the soul. She is not her hair but she most definitely is good music. In Stores: June 27th!!

Corinne Bailey Rae

2006-06-15T00:23:00.000-07:00

1. Like A Star
2. Enchantment
3. Put Your Records On
4. Till It Happens To You
5. Trouble Sleeping
6. Call Me When You Get This
7. Choux Pastry Heart
8. Breathless
9. I'd Like To
10. Butterfly
11. Seasons Change
12. Put Your Records On (Acoustic)

I have to give my boy E a HUGE shout-out for turnin me on to Corinne. I read a few write-ups about her on the web and got her album from him but never really played it until I saw the video for "Put Your Records On" on VH1 and fell 12 kinds of in love with it!! Such a perfect summertime song!! And Corinne's smoky, soulful and jazzy vocals just ooze relaxation and pure heavenly bliss all over this album!! This girl better blow up over here in America or else I am moving overseas to make sure I don't miss out on none of this wonderful music!! You need this album in your life!! D/L it now but make sure you RUN and get your copy on the 20th!!

Blackstar

2006-06-12T23:54:00.000-07:00

1. Yah Intro
2. One Day
3. Wishing
4. Nova
5. So Amazing
6. Cry
7. Love Is You
8. Blackstar
9. Feel Me
10. Rooftop
11. Same Page
12. Bury It
13. Baby
14. Friday
15. Babylove
16. Blackstar (Remix)

As requested by Jon, and for all my nu-soul heads who frequent the blog, is YahZarah's debut album. She used to be Erykah Badu's background singer before she got signed to indie label Three Keys Music and released this joint. I remember her video "Wishing" got a lot of play on BET's Midnight Love but I haven't heard much else from her since. This is a pretty kool album tho; definitely puts you in the mind of Erykah, Jill and other of YahZarah's contemporaries. Good music for the soul right here.

Spaceship Entertainment: Say Hello to the Future!

2006-06-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

Launch Date: 6.12.06

Bored with ordinary, everyday entertainment websites and e-zines giving you the same ol’ same ol’? Wish those sites had more to offer than just Hollywood gossip and Spam? Then sit back and log-on to what will become the hottest new source for all things entertainment on the web: Spaceship Entertainment.

What is Spaceship Entertainment? Spaceship Entertainment is a collective of diverse individuals with assorted talents combining forces to bring you the best and most credible info in music, movies, entertainment and beyond. And what exactly does Spaceship have planned for its debut launch? More than anyone will be able to handle in one visit. Thanks to our chief Graphic Designer, Luca, our website is as interactive and user-friendly as one can get and the entertainment sections of our site, alone, are overflowing with hotness.

Center Stage is essentially Spaceship’s choice for their Artist of the Month and this month, we chose none other than Ms. Nelly Furtado. Nelly’s gearing up to release her third album, Loose, later this month and Spaceship has done its best to bring its readers the best information about Nelly’s career, why this new project is so important to her, and samples of some the album’s hottest tracks. Aside from Nelly, Spaceship also got a chance to have an exclusive one-on-one with R&B legend Joi. Featured in Spaceship’s section The Edge - a section that focuses on new acts on the edge of breaking out and underground acts on the edge of breaking thru - Joi allowed Spaceship’s own J. Shooter (Yay, that's me!!) to pick her brain and discover why Tennessee Slim truly is the Bomb.

Shooter (Me again!!) also doubles as Spaceship’s resident Musicologist, on-call to help diagnose and remedy any and all of its readers music-related ailments. Need some powerful doses of good music? Shooter’s Top-8 has you covered. Looking for some great remedies you might have missed out on? Then make sure to take note of the Dr’s Orders. Not sure if a CD purchase will be beneficial to your eardrum and pocket? Make sure to peep Shooter’s Diagnosis’ and get briefed on the potential effects of the latest releases. And then there are the Therapy Sessions if you just want a good dose of advice about pop culture in general.

There’s also Sights and Sounds for you to come and check out the hottest, newest releases in both audio and video. Special to this month, Spaceship has exclusive photos captured at Common’s tour and behind the scenes pics at Complex Magazine’s Smirnoff Party held at WISH in ATL. For all those thinking our musical tastes don’t step outside R&B, our monthly section, The Antithesis, will work to provide the latest information on an artist outside of R&B that we feel are worthy of our readers’ attention. This month, Scottish pop/rock sensation, KT Tunstall, is profiled. And if you’re more into movies than music, The Screening Room has you covered with all you’ll need to know about the latest theater and DVD releases. But music and movies aren’t our only focus.

For all those who want to look their best all summer long, step inside our Runway section with Spaceship’s Editor-At-Large, Seven. Whether your look is casual or professional, Seven fills you in on the hottest in summer fashion elegance for the season. He also sits down for a candid chat with rising Ford model Sean Mychal Davis to discuss both life and race in the modeling industry.

And, at Spaceship, we’re committed to helping all our readers better themselves in different areas of their life. In June’s issue, we’re dedicated to helping our readers get fit and in shape with our Vitality section. And all the college students who come across our page will be pleased to find a section devoted to them, College Life, with important tips for all students that will make the college experience that much easier.

And for all those who can’t get enough of Spaceship’s content, our Webmistress, Sondranita, will be holding things down over at The Colony; Spaceship’s exclusive forum where readers can come and interact with one another, along with the Spaceship staff, and give feedback on a variety of topics.

So stop by, log-on to www.spaceship-ent.com and check out all that Spaceship Entertainment has to offer in the fields of entertainment & beyond.

Spaceship Entertainment - Say Hello to the Future!

Contacts:

General Inquiries: Info@spaceship-ent.com
Advertising: advertising@spaceship-ent.com
MySpace: www.myspace.com/spaceshipentertainment

(I hope everybody that stops by my blog will take out a few minutes to click over and check out Spaceship for real. We all have worked extremely hard to launch it and I hope everyone enjoys its content as much as we enjoyed putting it together. You come to Black Ice & Neon Lights for great music so please come over to Spaceship Entertainment for some great entertainment and information!! :) ).

Taking The Long Way

2006-06-10T00:51:00.000-07:00

1. The Long Way Around
2. Easy Silence
3. Not Ready To Make Nice
4. Everybody Knows
5. Bitter End
6. Lullaby
7. Lubbock or Leave It
8. Silent House
9. Favorite Year
10. Voice Inside My Head
11. I Like It
12. Baby Hold On
13. So Hard
14. I Hope

One of my main cool ppls, Diddle, requested I put this joint up here and I'm sure I'm not the only casual country music lover that browses the site so I figured some other folk out there may like it as well. It's country with some rough edges and the Dixie Chicks ain't takin stuff off nobody this time around. That means YOU, Dubya!! LOL. Enjoy.

Because I Can

2006-06-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

1. Overdrive
2. I Like
3. Watching The Rain
4. Enchanted
5. Catch My Fall
6. Snowflakes
7. Glow
8. Teachin' Myself To Dream
9. Vacation
10. Original Skin
11. Lemon
12. Because I Can

Most people know Katy Rose from her single "Overdrive" being used in Mean Girls and wrote her off as another Avril Lavigne knock-off. But believe me when I say that you are doing yourself a great disservice if that is what you believe. Katy is the bonafide angst-ridden pop/rock, singer/songwriter that music is in desperate need of. This girl's only 18 but you can tell she has definitely lived and has some intense stories to tell. I love this album from top to bottom and I'm hoping you will too.

Kina

2006-06-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

1. Girl From The Gutter
2. I Love You
3. Have A Cry
4. Stop
5. Give and Take
6. Me
7. U Don't Know
8. Loser
9. Hurt So Bad
10. Insanity
11. Still Here

Kina's major claim to fame is being 1/3 of R&B trio Brownstone who had a couple hits back in the mid-90s. Then she left the group to pursue a solo career as a singer/songwriter, pop/rocker and released her self-titled album back in 2000. Her single, "Girl From The Gutter", was a sleeper hit but her label folded and she's currently unsigned but you can check out one of her new songs, "For You", and what else she's working on over at her MySpace: www.myspace.com/heykina. I didn't care too much for her album but I know a lot of people who did and who have been searching for it for a while. So from my hard-drive to yours, enjoy. (E, this one's for you. :) ).

Tiffany Villarreal

2006-06-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

1. The Real Intro
2. Fire
3. Rewind The Time feat. Raekwon
4. You, Yourself & You
5. Erotic (Interlude)
6. Erotic
7. Go To Work
8. Holla At Me
9. For My Girls
10. Better Woman
11. Us
12. Set U Free
13. Silent Gun feat. Sheek Louch
14. Nine Months

This one's posted especially for my boys Shaskeet and Etienne!! Tiffany is yet another victim of dumb-ass label politics and is currently on the search for another label to give her a shot!! Her voice is real nice and she had some great material on here so I don't know why Universal felt the need to shelve and then drop her. If people like Ciara and Cassie and Mashonda get a chance to make and release albums, then Tiffany V. without a doubt is overdue for her time in the spotlight. If you support all those other non-singing hoes, then it's time for you to support one with sum actual talent in her veins!

Chapter 1: Love, Pain & Forgiveness

2006-06-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

1. The Beginning (Intro)
2. I Am Your Woman
3. You Said feat. Liberty City
4. Baby, I'm So Confused
5. Meanwhile... (Interlude)
6. Everybody Wants Something
7. You Got Me Spinnin'
8. Hit On Me
9. And Then... (Interlude)
10. He's Gonna Do You In feat. Buddy Guy
11. You Ain't Right
12. Ain't No Love
13. One Day
14. I'd Rather Be Wrong
15. All of Me
16. The End (Outro)

Sorry I took so long with it Anthony but here's Syleena's 1st album as you requested. I'll get to post Chapter 2 later this week. I think her last album was her best but this joint has some nice cuts on here. "Hit On Me" is that fire especially!! Any of y'all in the mood for some of that soulful R&B with that raw emotion will enjoy this for sure.

The Big Bang

2006-06-01T03:03:00.000-07:00

1. Get You Some feat. Q-Tip & Marsha
2. Touch It
3. This Is How We Do It Over Here feat. Missy Elliott
4. New York Shit feat. Swizz Beats
5. Been Through The Storm feat. Stevie Wonder
6. In The Ghetto feat. Rick James
7. Cocaina feat. Marsha
8. You Can't Hold A Torch feat. Q-Tip & Chauncey Black
9. Goldmine feat. Raekwon
10. I Love My Bitch feat. Kelis & Will.I.Am
11. Don't Get Carried Away feat. Nas
12. They're Out To Get Me feat. Mr. Porter
13. Get Down
14. I'll Do It All feat. LaToiya Williams
15. Legend of the Fall Offs

WOW is all I can say about this album!!! Busta straight showed out on this project and has given T.I. a serious run for the money as far as Hip-Hop album of the year is concerned!! Take notes LL!! This is how you do a star-studded album!! Only 2 solo cuts and I don't even mind he ain't included the "Touch It (Remix)"!! I'm straight up loving this!!!! "I'll Do It All" is stuck on repeat!!!! Y'all d/l this, bump it, and then run to the store June 13th!!! Busta Bus has definitely re-entered the game with a BANG!!!

This Time

2006-05-31T01:20:00.000-07:00

1. Anyway
2. Distant Lover
3. How Can I Get Over You
4. Silly
5. Ooh Ooh Baby feat. Missy Elliott
6. This Time
7. Stay (4 A Little While)
8. A Lil' Somethin'
9. Whoopty Whoop
10. Don't Let The Feelin' Go Away
11. I Wish You Were Here
12. Get With This
13. Never Thought You'd Leave Me

Yet another female R&B singer from the late 90s who bit the dust too quickly. Taral's album did get released but was pretty much ignored by everybody and she was dropped shortly after. She's focused on acting lately (she was in Queen Latifah's Beauty Shop) but I, for one, am hoping she reconsiders a recording career because if she was sounding this good and making good music like this back in 98, who knows what she'd be capable of today. Enjoy!

Soundtrack To Your Life (Album Review)

2006-05-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

...it’s a bit of an understatement to say the odds were stacked against Ashley when he undertook the arduous task of trying to establish his career as a solo act. The mere thought of the uphill battle towards a record deal alone would be too much for most ex-pop music outcasts. But Ashley was resilient and determined to gain redemption from his past musical indiscretions.

Click on the link, please, and check out my full review of Ashley's album. Link to the actual album is a couple posts down.

Just The Way You Like It

2006-05-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

1. So Real, So Right
2. Just One Night
3. Don't Go Away
4. Just The Way You Like It
5. I Wanna Get To Know You
6. I Want You Mine
7. Can't Fight It
8. Give It 2 Me
9. Here We Go Again
10. Love Never Questions Why
11. This Love

This is getting posted per request of one of my many blog supports, Dee! I'd never heard of Tasha or this album but from what I gather, she was another female R&B singer in the late 90s who got caught in label politics and shuffling and was eventually dropped by Universal altogether. But her album sounds kinda nice. A lil dated but there's some definitely good material on here and she has a good voice. So for all the Faith Evans, Kelly Price, Deborah Cox lovers from the late 90s, you might enjoy this album too.

Star

2006-05-26T01:32:00.000-07:00

1. Let Your Hair Down
2. Star feat. Clipse
3. Trouble
4. Feelings
5. Come & Knock On My Door
6. I Still Love You
7. Reality feat. Loon
8. Certified
9. Places
10. Stringing Me Along
11. No Way
12. Blah Blah Blah Blah
13. Betcha She
14. Jealousy
15. Better Day (Ghetto Girl)
16. I'm Wit It

702 are my third favorite girl group of all time - right behind En Vogue and TLC - and this album, the album of their short career, proves that they were on the edge of something major. Had they stayed together, I'm sure they would've been one of the hottest groups in the game. This is definitely one of the best R&B albums of its time and I thought I'd share it with everybody else. 16 tracks of straight, pure FIRE!! Knock yaself out!!

Soundtrack To Your Life

2006-05-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

1. Let U Go
2. I'm Better
3. Soundtrack To Your Life
4. Feel So Alive
5. Crazy Beautiful
6. Who Cares?
7. Shades of Blue
8. Beautiful Lie
9. Perfect Now
10. Where Did You Go?
11. Along The Way
12. Apology
13. Live Before I Die
14. Alright, OK

I admit I was among the skeptics who laughed at the idea of Ashley Angel from O-Town dropping a solo album. I always thought that group was a joke to begin with but Ashley has really impressed me with his solo stuff. Some great pop/rock material that I would've never expected from him. It takes a lil while to grow on you but after a few spins, you can tell he's definitely got major talent. I don't think I'm alone in this either since he debuted at #5 and sold over 74k his first week out. And if you're still not convinced: he's a white boy releasing an 100% pop/rock album on BLACKGROUND records. That alone should be reason enough to at least listen to this once.

Keri'd Away (EP)

2006-05-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

1. Love Ya

2. Where Did He Go

3. Hands & Feet

Keri Hilson is Timbaland's latest protege. She's been his co-writer for a cool minute and has written some of the hottest R&B joints in the game. And if all goes right, she's gonna bless us with her own solo debut, Keri'd Away, this summer. All 3 of these records are HOTT and hopefully, her album will follow suit cuz I believe Keri has kept some of her hottest shit for herself.

Still

2006-05-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

1. Mr. Cool feat. Mario Winans

2. Officially Missing You

3. Still

4. It's A Party

5. Questions

6. Why Ask Why

7. No Way

8. Smile

9. Whispers

10. Poetry

11. Me

12. Tomorrow

13. Officially Missing You (Midi Mafia Remix) feat. Talib Kweli

Us record-buyers got this album as the version titled More but before Tamia got caught up in label drama, she had plans to release the album as Still. And I think I enjoy this version of the album more (no pun intended). All my favorites from More are kept intact here and the unreleased cuts are definitely hotter than the tunes More replaced them with. Hopefully, this will keep people satisfied until Tamia blesses us with Between Friends later this year. This woman is sooooo talented and sooooo underrated and it's such a crime that her success has been halted by shoddy labels and promotion. Hopefully, Between Friends will work on correcting that problem. Until then, Tamia is Still one of the greatest voices in the game and this album proves it.

No Turning Back

2006-05-19T23:49:00.000-07:00

1. Lookin' For Love feat. Knowdaverbs

2. River

3. Spirit Moves

4. Here's My Heart feat. The Katinas

5. Window

6. If You Really Knew

7. Tomorrow

8. Open Up Your Heart

9. Draw You Near

10. No Turning Back

11. Sarah Jones

As requested by one of my "anonymous" fans, this is one of the albums from gospel trio Out of Eden. I remember seeing their video for "Love & Happiness" on BET once but I didn't know they been in the gospel game for so long. Ain't been too successful but their last album got them a Grammy nomination so I guess they're still doing pretty alright for themselves. So here's a lil' music to lift up your spirits and soothe your soul. Enjoy!

So Amazin' (Album Review)

2006-05-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

Christina Milian...entered the R&B arena in her teens and unsuccessfully attempted to put a fresh R&B spin on the then-current teen-pop boom. A few years later, she tried to create a glossy fusion of R&B, hip-hop and pop for her sophomore release, It’s About Time, which was more successful than its predecessor but still failed to ignite a major spark. And now...she’s attempting to evolve into a young urban songstress with the release of So Amazin’. And while Christina’s bid for such a position is genuine, and while her heart sounds definitely in it, the material that is supposed to put her in such a position isn’t always at its most substantial.

Click on the picture to read the rest of my review. The music lover in me enjoys the record but the reviewer in me has to call it like I see it. If you're curious about the album itself, check the archives.

The Answer

2006-05-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

1. 4 Shure

2. Upside Down

3. Body Shots

4. Hoppin' In My Car

5. Joke's On You

6. Shy Type

7. Road Ain't Crowded

8. If I Knew So Damn Much

9. Goin' Together

10. Love/Hate

11. Hedonism

12. II Da Club

13. 4 Shure (DJ Envy Remix) feat. Mya & Jagged Edge

Most people thought Groove Theory went kaput once Amel Larrieux went solo but few know Bryce tried to keep pushing. He recruited singer/songwriter Makeda Davis for GT's sophomore album, The Answer. Shame they got dropped by Columbia before it was released because the album is still pretty hot considering it's 6 years old now. It has more of a hip-hop edge to it but still has soulful overtones that work well with Makeda's voice. Bryce beefed up his production style and made the album's sound more contemporary for its time and still managed to make a great album. Some of these tracks would be bonafide hits in the right hands of some of today's artists. Especially "If I Knew So Damn Much" and "Love/Hate"!! Groove Theory had the right answer but it looks like it came at the wrong time.

The Truth (EP)

2006-05-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

1. Take Me Home

2. Take Me Home (Masters At Work Main Mix)

3. Special

4. Beautiful

Per request of Dee, the best I could do is scrounge up this 4-track EP from Sara Devine. She released her single "Take Me Home" a couple years back and it was supposedly written for "Brown Sugar" but didn't make the final soundtrack cut. Then it was picked up for Queen Latifah's "Beauty Shop" flick but still didn't get a big enough push to get Sara's debut album released. On her official website blog, she said she's working to get her music out there this year and according to its website, she's still on Columbia's roster. So hopefully 2006 will bring a little spotlight Ms. Devine's way.

Pictures

2006-05-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

1. Because There's U (Prelude)

2. Gone Girl

3. Somethin About U

4. R U Breathin'

5. That One (That Girl)

6. Quiet

7. Pictures (Never Die)

8. Would U Lie?

9. Moving On

10. Sponge

11. Do U Feel Me? (Interlude)

12. U My Girl

13. She Loves Me

14. Don't Be Worried

15. Beautiful

I have always said one of the greatest travesties in R&B was the fact that Tony Rich came out of nowhere, dropped an amazing album, won a freakin Grammy and then dropped off the radar all together. And it wasn't even that his material after his first album was bad. It just seemed like people jumped off his bandwagon for some reason. And now he's been reduced to selling CDs independently on his own thru I.M. Records. Pictures is another brilliant record from Tony and definitely brings the smooth soulfulness of Mint Condition to mind. Nice to hear R&B with some live instrumentation running through its veins. This one may be a hard find, which is why I'm posting it here, but I'm URGING everyone who downloads this to support it and purchase it if they get a chance. Brilliance should at least get some respect and appreciation this lifetime.

Gemini

2006-05-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

1. Stay With Him (Intro)

2. What We Do Here

3. Everytime You Go Away

4. Grown Man Business

5. Everything I Do

6. Here With You

7. All Over Now

8. She feat. Talib Kweli

9. Stay

10. Come Back

11. Whatcha Gonna Do? feat. Juvenile, Akon & Skip

12. Your Song

13. Me & You

Per request of my homie Shaskeet, here's the last studio album from Brian McKnight. Now Brian's got a good voice and he can write a mean love song but this is the first album of his that I enjoyed from beginning to end. Damn shame it's been his least successful and got him snubbed for even more Grammy's. But if he continues making great albums like this, I'm pretty sure his career will be just fine. R&B needs a good, solid underdog to rely on.

Jagged Edge

2006-05-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

1. Intro

2. Ghetto Guitar

3. So High

4. Watch You

5. Hopefully

6. Get A Lil' Bit of This

7. Cryin' Out feat. Bad Girl

8. Good Luck Charm

9. So Amazing feat. Voltio

10. Seasons Change feat. John Legend

11. Questions

12. Sexy American Girls

13. Baby Feel Me

14. Who U Wit?

15. Ass Hypnotic feat. Petey Pablo

16. I Ain't Here For This feat. Sosa

My niggas Jagged Edge have done it again!! Despite this album being leaked for over half a year, my boys kept pushin!! They dropped a hot second single, "Good Luck Charm", and released the album unaltered!! Not one track removed or added from the leaked version!! And they still are expected to debut top-10, with over 130-140k in sales first week out!! It's official. JE are the last REAL male group we have in R&B and they are definitely in this for the long run!!

Mars/Venus

2006-05-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

1. Intro

2. Weekend Thing feat. B-12

3. After Party

4. Didn't Mean To Turn You On feat. Duganz

5. Chick On Da Side

6. Fingerpointing

7. Blackout

8. All I Need (Bonnie and Clyde) feat. Duganz

9. All Those Fancy Things

10. Quickie

11. The View (Interlude)

12. I Got Love (Scars)

13. Hater's Disease

14. Qualified

15. Mars/Venus (Interlude)

16. Do U See

Per request of my boi Danny, here's the one and only album from Motown's own Koffee Brown. "After Party" is still a jam today and there album is pretty good. Damn shame sex and their failed relationship led to the dismantling of this group. R&B could use a good male/female duo these days. Enjoy.

Morning (Album Review)

2006-05-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Although 10 tracks and 38:00 may not seem like time enough for Amel to get her message across, the album’s runtime works to the major benefit of the album on a conceptual level. The album has an even divide between Amel’s favorite subjects of conversation: the exact first half is about the emotional rollercoaster of love and the second half is about the beautiful struggle endured that is life. And the plane on which these two topics converge is cushioned with some of the most lushest, expansive and culturally rich arrangements all buttressed by the passionate allure and elasticity of Amel’s vocals.

Here are my collected thoughts on Amel's newest masterpiece, Morning. If you want the album, check the archives.

What's Left of Me

2006-05-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

1. What's Left of Me

2. I Can't Hate You Anymore

3. On Your Own

4. Outside Looking In

5. Shades of Blue

6. Beautiful

7. Everywhere But Here

8. I Do It For You

9. Run To Me

10. Ghosts

11. You're Not Alone

12. Resolution

Seems like Nick's divorce left him with a broken heart and a bad album. Some of the songs are kool and I'm diggin the whole pop/rock sound with his voice but too many of the songs sound similar to one another for the album to be distinct. And the general theme of "I'm hurt but I'll get over it and in some cases, act like I'm not as hurt as I really am" gets tiring midway through the album. It'll sell, for sure, based off the drama alone but hopefully, once Nick gains some closure, his third go-round will be the album to remember.

A Girl Like Me (Album Review)

2006-05-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

...so what does one do when their debut single is a smash hit and their debut album is lost in the shuffle in less than 6 months time? Go for the jugular, of course; call up some higher-profile producers, dilute the reggae with more straight-laced pop and R&B, send the artist’s image into glamour overload, and issue forth a sophomore set in enough time to promote it as if your debut never really existed. And thus, 9 months after she emerged with Music of the Sun, Rihanna has returned to re-introduce herself with A Girl Like Me.

In addition to blogging, I've been writing reviews for about 2 years on the side over at the consumer website, Epinions.com. And since a lot of people are always asking my opinions on different albums before they download/buy them, I decided I'd use my blog as a spot to display some of my reviews and help a few people make some wise download/purchasing decisions. Click on the picture to read the whole review. Enjoy.

Georgia Peach

2006-05-10T01:03:00.000-07:00

1. GA Peach

2. You Can Get It

3. Touch Ya Toes

4. Don't Hate feat. Jody Breeze

5. Buy My Drink

6. See Me Naked feat. Jasper

7. Pack Ya Bags feat. Kalenna

8. Type a Girl

9. Lifestyle feat. Gangsta Boo, Diamond & Princess

10. Every Rapper Can't Trap

11. Let It Clap feat. Akon

12. Chanel Shades

13. Bring It Mamma

14. Hold Whatcha Got

15. Who Can Love You

16. Got That Good

17. Poppin' Bottles feat. Pastor Troy

Shout out to Boogie for hookin me up with this album. Rasheeda left the major labels for da indie underground and has finally dropped her second album. She's not the best lyricist by any means but her production is slick and catchy considering her label status and production budget. And she has a tough yet smooth flow that can seduce and relax in the same song. Rasheeda deserves a listen just like every other femcee in the game so do yourself a favor and get a bite of this Georgia Peach.

Mo'Hogany

2006-05-10T00:29:00.000-07:00

1. Monifah's Anthem (Bad Girl) feat. Queen Pen

2. Suga Suga

3. Touch It

4. Would You

5. Have You Ever Been Loved

6. Fallin' In Love

7. Better Half of Me

8. What's The Deal feat. Screwface

9. Why

10. What'cha Gonna Do?

11. Monifah's Anthem (Bad Girl II) feat. Queen Pen

12. I'm Loving You

Much love and a big shout-out to Lil' James over @ In The Mix for hookin me up with this album. I wore this album out back in the day and I'm fallin in love with it all over again. Monifah was one of the baddest chicks in the game and she has one of the best voices I've ever heard. I'm hopin she decides to bless us with a fourth record someday because all 3 of her solo albums were great in their own right. "Touch It" was the big single from this record but it's definitely a smooth and soulful affair at heart. Enjoy.

Every Beat of My Heart

2006-05-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

1. Intro

2. I Got Love

3. I'm Heat feat. Game

4. In Love With A Thug

5. Somethin'

6. U'll Never Find

7. Take Me As I Am feat. Wyclef Jean

8. Every Beat of My Heart

9. I'm Through feat. Millie Jackson

10. You Can Do Better feat. Tank

11. That's Enough

12. Come Around My Way

13. Not Lookin'

Jermaine Dupri may be a hot producer but he can be a dumb-ass label executive when he wants to be. He let DFB and Bow Wow drop horrendous albums and then let Sharissa's brilliant sophomore album collect dust on the shelf. Last I heard, she was still in the lab recording so hopefully, we'll hear some hot new stuff from her this summer but until then, enjoy one of the best unreleased R&B albums of the year.

Ice Cream

2006-05-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

1. Love Angel feat. R. Kelly

2. Someone

3. Ice Cream

4. Bye-Bye

5. Slow Grind

6. Half

7. Ice Cream (Remix)

8. Baby, Come On

9. Don't Turn Away (Interlude)

10. Stay

11. Handle Your Business feat. Ronald Isley

12. Stay Right Here

13. Right Here With Me

14. Sister

JS were my girls when they debuted back in '03. Everybody tried to call them a knock-off of Changing Faces but these girls were truly their own group. Kellz hooked them up with some great material and these ladies had angelic voices that could sell the phonebook if they had to. Sad Dreamworks screwed over their promotion and then the label folded on them. Last I heard, Kandy (the one on the right) had married Mr. Biggs aka Ron Isley and is now pregnant their first child. So I guess plans for a sophomore album are on hold for now. Until then, d/l this and enjoy some of the smoothest R&B around. Who don't love a good scoop of Ice Cream?

The Word

2006-05-04T00:25:00.000-07:00

1. Intro

2. Her

3. All My Life

4. Interlude

5. Start To Fade feat. Smokey Robinson

6. Trust

7. Quiera Me

8. Interlude

9. Momma Said

10. Peach

11. Interlude

12. U R My First

13. Slow Mo

14. Interlude

15. 6 O'Clock (N.I.G.G.A)

16. Tomboy

17. Velvet Sky

18. Outro

A few people may remember this cat from the early 2000's. Novel was signed to Rawkus and dropped a hot single called "Peach" and then the label folded and his album shelved. Thank the powers that be in the music industry that he is coming back for a secong go-round on Dallas Austin's reactivated Rowdy Records!! Check for his "debut" album, The Audiobiography, in stores later this year. And until then, enjoy the hottness of his debut.

Soul Parade

2006-05-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

1. Runaway

2. Lips

3. A Woman Knows feat. Bilal

4. I Swear

5. Nectarine feat. Andre 3000

6. Star

7. Nothing

8. Crazy

9. Daddy, How?

10. Where

11. One

12. Can't Let It Go

Yet another stroke of musical genius that bit the dust thanks to label politics. Cherokee tried to move to greener pastures by switching from RCA to Arista and got caught in the middle when both labels under went major reconstruction. The album was delayed indefinitely and Cherokee hasn't been heard from since. Such a tragedy seeing as how this is one of the best albums to emerge from the whole "neo-soul" movement and had plenty of records on it to entertain black radio audiences across the nation. Here's to hoping Cherokee goes for a third try somewhere in the near future.

My Soul

2006-05-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

1. Lonely

2. I Give, You Take

3. My Soul

4. Nowadays

5. Coffee In Bed

6. You, Me & She

7. Dreams From The Hills

8. Intoxicated

9. Weakness

10. Always

11. Simplified

12. Hate To Love You

13. Miss You

A Soulshock & Karlin protege from Denmark, Maria's album got lost in the shuffle of other pretty-faced, decent-voiced female R&B albums released around the same time. But it's definitely worth a listen and one of the more entertaining albums to come from that genre. Enjoy.

Beautiful World

2006-04-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

1. Oh Shooter

2. A Beautiful World

3. Suga Mama

4. Flowers In Bloom

5. When I Get You Alone

6. The Stupid Things

7. I'ma Be Alright

8. Brand New Jones

9. Vengas Conmigo

10. Flex

11. Make A Baby

12. She's Gangsta

13. Lazy Bones

14. Cherry Blue Skies

One of my all-time favorite albums from one of the most underrated singer/songwriter/producers this generation has ever seen. His new album doesn't drop until December so download this, rip it, burn it, love it and then go buy 3 copies. One of the best albums I've ever heard and sure I'll ever hear. Period!!

Get Dirty (EP)

2006-04-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

1. Caught Up

2. I Luv U

3. Ooh La La (Remix)

4. Wrapped Around Me feat. Missy Elliott

5. Freak feat. Babs

6. When I'm Gone feat. Loon

7. I Luv U (Remix) feat. Jim Jones & Yung Joc

8. All I Want To Do

9. Where U Going

10. So Complete

After 7 long years, Diddy has finally decided to give Ms. Cheri Dennis some shine!! The girl's got a killer soprano, stunning features, and some hot-ass music!! Her self-titled debut album drops June 13th but until then, here's a lil' EP featuring some assorted cuts from her as well as a couple mixtape joints. Maybe she'll be the one to put Bad Boy back on the map. (damn, Blogger sucks at sarcasm).

Todd Smith

2006-04-25T00:30:00.000-07:00

1. It's LL and Santana feat. Juelz Santana

2. Control Myself feat. Jennifer Lopez

3. Favorite Flavor feat. Mary J. Blige

4. Freeze feat. Lyfe Jennings

5. Best Dress feat. Jamie Foxx

6. Preserve The Sexy feat. Teairra Mari

7. What You Want feat. Freeway

8. I've Changed feat. Ryan Toby

9. Ooh Wee feat. Ginuwine

10. #1 Fan

11. Down The Aisle feat. 112

12. We're Gonna Make It feat. Mary Mary

13. So Sick (Remix) feat. Ne-Yo

The G.O.A.T. in Hip-Hop? Probably not. Still an active and entertaining emcee? Definitely!! Even though this record shoulda been called "LL & Everybody & Their Damn Mama", it's a hot record with blazing production and LL's signature flow. Probably the feel-good hip-hop album of the year.

So Amazin'

2006-04-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

1. Say I feat. Young Jeezy

2. Twisted

3. Gonna Tell Everybody

4. Who's Gonna Ride feat. Three 6 Mafia

5. So Amazin' feat. Dre

6. Hot Boy feat. Dre

7. Foolin'

8. My Lovin' Goes

9. Just A Little Bit

10. Tonight

11. She Don't Know

I must thank Nick Cannon for screwing Christina over because he motivated her to make one helluva album!! Christina's got a lot of shit to get off her chest and she is not biting her tongue on the situation either. Not all the songs are about the messed-up relationship she was in but the songs that are are definitely some of the hottest joints Christina's done. Cool & Dre did a pretty banging job on the production and Christina's voice sounds a lot stronger. It's a bit on the short side but lately, I've found the best albums are the ones that get straight to the point. The title didn't lie; this album is So Amazin'!!

A Girl Like Me

2006-04-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

1. S.O.S. (Rescue Me)

2. Kisses Don't Lie

3. Unfaithful

4. We Ride

5. Dem Haters feat. Dwayne Husbands

6. Final Goodbye

7. Break It Off feat. Sean Paul

8. Crazy Little Thing Called Love feat. J-Status

9. Selfish Girl

10. P.S. (I'm Still Not Over You)

11. A Girl Like Me

12. A Million Miles Away

13. If It's Lovin' That You Want Pt. 2 feat. Corey Gunz
16. Coulda Been The One

Droppin 2 albums full of completely new material in less than 1ne year is unheard of for most artists. But considering Rihanna got a 6/7-album deal with Def Jam, I guess the Carter Administration wanted to make sure they didn't let a good thing go to waste. It's been said that Rihanna's 1st album, Music of the Sun, was finished when she signed with Def Jam and her latest album, A Girl Like Me, is her proper debut for the label. Either way, it's definitely the better album of the 2. It has more of an R&B feel with sophisticated touches of pop and reggae. Her production is banging and her voice is pretty much on-point the whole way thru. Definitely a must have for any fans of her debut and those curious from the lead single, "S.O.S.". Ladies and gentleman, we just might have the Barbados' answer to Britney Spears on our hands.

St. Elsewhere

2006-04-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

1. Go Go Gadget Gospel

2. Crazy

3. St. Elsewhere

4. Gone Daddy Gone

5. Smiley Faces

6. The Boogie Monster

7. Feng Shui

8. Just A Thought

9. Transformer

10. Who Cares

11. On-Line

12. Necromancing

13. Storm Coming

14. The Last Time

Gnarls Barkley is the brilliant musical brainchild of musician Cee-Lo and producer Danger Mouse. Those familar with Cee-Lo know that he is an all-around MUSICIAN!! He sings, raps, writes, produces; the whole 9. As he said himself, the only thing he doesn't do is "fuck around"; and that applies both to on his wife and with his music! And Danger Mouse is one of the greatest producers you're not listening to. Despite the fact he was ROBBED of a Grammy this year, he is also the mastermind behind the wonderful mash-up that was Jay-Z's Gray Album and much of the Gorillaz' best work! With these two creative powerhouses in the studio, Gnarls Barkley is nothing short of the most bizarrely entertaining exercise in musical acrobatics you'll experience all year.

Director

2006-04-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

1. So Many Ways

2. This Is Your Night

3. You Know What feat. Lil' Wayne

4. 4 Minutes

5. Stickwitu (Urban Remix) feat. PCD

6. With You
7. Exclusive feat. Lloyd Banks

8. Right Place, Wrong Time

9. Grown Ass Man

10. Director

11. Lie About Us feat. Nicole Scherzinger

12. Imagination

13. Mr. Dream

14. Now You Got Someone

15. GPSA (Ghetto Public Service Announcement) feat. Jermaine Dupri

Avant has consistently gotten better with each of his albums and Director proves that the delayed release made the album worth the wait. Easily the best male R&B release of the year so far and will probably top my list of best albums period by years end. Gon cop this April 25th!!!

Morning

2006-04-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

1. Trouble

2. Unanswered Question

3. No One Else

4. Earn My Affections

5. Weary

6. Morning

7. Gills and Tails

8. Magic

9. Just Once

10. Mountain of When

One of the finest and most underappreciated female singers in the R&B game, Amel Larrieux, has a new album dropping April 25th and I HIGHLY SUGGEST everyone who downloads this here to go out and buy it. Amel has an amazing voice and the way she puts her pen to pad is incredible. So frustrating that major labels frequently waste talent like this. She sold 150,000 independently of her last cd with only ONE single!! This album has more than enough urban radio hits on it for sure so here's to hoping Amel blesses us with 2 or more singles this time around and hopefully cracks the 500,000 mark!!! For all of you who have allowed Ashanti, Ciara and the like to sell millions worldwide; considering buying this record part of your redemption.

Unleash The Dragon

2006-04-11T23:51:00.000-07:00

1. Unleash The Dragon feat. Beanie Sigel

2. Got To Get It feat. Make It Hot

3. Is Love Enough feat. LovHer

4. 2nite (Interlude)

5. How Can I Love U 2Nite

6. Your Love Is Incredible

7. So Sexual

8. Thong Song

9. Incomplete

10. Addicted

11. Dru World Order (Interlude)

12. Enchantment Passing Through

13. You Are Everything (Remix) feat. Ja Rule

I'm relaxing on vacation during Spring Break so I'm not doing too much posting but since my boy Ty requested I post this CD for him last week, I decided not to leave him hanging. This time. Never been a big Sisqo fan. Thought his 2nd CD (which I might post) was better than this joint. You welcome Ty.

Behind Closed Doors

2006-04-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

1. Twist It feat. Lloyd Banks

2. Cloud 9 feat. 50 Cent

3. Got Me Going Crazy feat. Cecile

4. Never Too Far

5. Private Party

6. Wild 2nite feat. Shaggy

7. Best Friend (Remix) feat. 50 Cent

8. Seems To Be feat. Avant

9. Private Party

10. So Sexy

11. Love Song

12. All

13. Unconditionally feat. G-Unit

14. So Into You feat. Maino

Even though 50 is trying to trick everybody into thinking his new single is really the (3rd) 1st single from Olivia's project, the album at least has a release date of May 23rd. And since everything 50 touches goes top-10, "Best Friend (Remix)" is probably the hit Olivia couldn't get solo. The song, and her album, would be that much better if it was mostly solo but it's not as bad an album carrying the G-Unit imprint as one would think. Behind Closed Doors: proof that even 50 can't completely fuck up R&B.

The Charm

2006-04-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

1. Represent

2. Heat It Up

3. Claremont Lounge feat. Killer Mike & Coool Breeez

4. As The Rim Spins

5. That Man

6. The Otherside feat. Petey Pablo & Sleepy Brown

7. Ain't Life Grand feat. Scar

8. Run Away feat. Frankie J

9. Wonderful

10. Ms. New Booty feat. Ying Yang Twins & Mr. ColliPark

11. Hey! (A Lil' Gratitude)

Even though Deliverance is still his best album, and it sounds like he made this new album the direct opposite of that album on purpose since it didn't sell, The Charm still isn't as bad an album as some have said. His production is tight throughout the whole thing and even if his lyrics are pretty cliche, he still manages to be a bit better than the average emcee out there. It's a nice, quick, smooth listen and will hopefully bring Bubba the success he deserves so that maybe we can get a Deliverance sequel in the future.

Worth Tha Weight

2006-04-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

1. My Chicago, Pt. 1

2. Let's Go

3. R.P.M.

4. Money Mike (Skit)

5. Shake Dat Shit feat. Ludacris

6. U Crazy feat. Jermaine Dupri

7. Weight A Minute

8. My Chicago, Pt. 2

9. What Can I Do feat. Missy Elliott

10. Posted (Remix) feat. N.O.R.E.

11. So Real So Right

12. Dude? (Skit)

13. Kick This One

14. Super Freak

15. Turn It Up

16. Block Reincarnated (Remix) feat. Kardinal Offishall

17. Cami's Solo

18. Dude (Remix) feat. Beenie Man & Ms. Thing

Per special request of my homie Georgie, I upped Shawnna's first album. Her production is hot on here and she's got a fire flow but Luda and DTP didn't promote this joint right at all!! She never even got a 2nd single off of it. It pushed 150k but it could've done a lot better. Then again, Shawnna's partly to blame for passing on "Gold Digger" for the album!!! Hopefully, her new album dropping in June, Block Party, will bring her that recognition and success she deserves. Enjoy y'all!!

This Is Me

2006-04-02T00:25:00.000-08:00

1. This Is Me (Intro)

2. Hurt U Bad

3. The Things U Do

4. Sweat of Your Brow feat. DeMarco

5. Calling You

6. Stay The Night

7. Free To Love Me

8. Material Things

9. Double Life

10. 5x Love

11. Just Life

12. Lovin' You

13. Living In The Ghetto

14. Gotta Let U Know (Scream)

15. I Travelled

16. This Is Me (Outro)

Requested by an anonymous visitor (u can say ur name - ur safe here), I located a copy of Jully Black's album. I remember this chick from the Brown Sugar soundtrack and from doing a hook for Nas on God's Son. Matter of fact, the hook to his song "Heaven" was lifted from Jully's own "Things U Do". SoulDiggaz produced the majority of it and gave her some tight beats. And she has a voice on her. Only time I don't feel her too much is when she tries to mix in her Island roots and accent but for the most part, it's a pretty hot album. Too bad it's only available in Canada! So to avoid the import fees, here you go! Enjoy!

can'tneverdidnothin'

2006-03-31T17:58:00.000-08:00

.1. Till I Get To U

2. can'tneverdidnothin'

3. Fooled Ya Baby

4. I Gotta Know

5. Around The World

6. Swing It Around

7. Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeta

8. On & On

9. Happy In The Morning

10. Hey Love

11. Fatherless Child

12. I Don't Think We've Met (Bonus)

Per request of my boy E, I've upped Nikka Costa's latest project, the brilliantly titled Can'tneverdidnothin'. She sold pretty good, 250k, with her debut album but I guess major labels like hers (Virgin) just have no clue how to market and promote an artist like Nikka. She's completely left of center from any rock music out there and she would be a hard sell to just about any demographic. She's sold 25-30k of this record so far but if more people saw and experienced her live show like I have, her sales would be a lot higher based on that alone. So gon head and show Nikka some love!! And for all those that don't, y'all is just funkier than a mosquito's tweeta!!

On The Jungle Floor

2006-03-30T21:41:00.000-08:00

1. Intro

2. If I Take You Home

3. Hot Stage Lights

4. Daredevil, Baby

5. Ride, Ride, Ride

6. Being A Girl

7. Suspicion (She Knows Me Too Well)

8. Mean Sleep feat. Nikka Costa

9. Priest or Police

10. Character

11. Interlude

12. No Sense of Crime

13. At The End of a Slow Dance

14. The Thrill of This Love

15. Hole In My Heart

16. The Night Is Young

TRUTH + REAL MUSIC is back in the building and it goes by the name of Van Hunt!! I wore a groove so deep into his first album that I had to buy another one!!! I was convinced that he was incapable of making bad music and he proved me somewhat right with this new one. I'm still on the fence about it but I swear it's because I will not allow myself to completely enjoy its brilliance until I have the finished, official, shrink-wrapped copy in my hands on APRIL 4TH!!! If you d/l this, make sure you go and support this man somehow, someway because he more than deserves it!! NOTE: (the intro and interlude are not on the final version of the album).

FishScale

2006-03-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

1. The Return Of Clyde Smith (Skit)

2. Shakey Dog

3. Kilo feat. Raekwon

4. The Champ

5. Major Operation (Skit)

6. 9 Milli Bros. feat. Wu Tang Clan

7. Beauty Jackson

8. Heart Street Directions (Skit)

9. Columbus Exchange (Skit) / Crack Spot

10. R.A.G.U. feat. Raekwon

11. Bad Mouth Kid (Skit)

12. Whip You With A Strap

13. Back Like That feat. Ne-Yo

14. Be Easy feat. Trife

15. Clipse Of Doom feat. Trife

16. Jellyfish feat. Theodore Unit

17. Dogs Of War feat. Raekwon & Theodore Unit

18. Barbershop

19. Ms. Sweetwater (Skit)

20. Big Girl

21. Underwater

22. The Ironman Takeover (Skit)

23. Momma feat. Megan Rochell

24. Three Bricks feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Raekwon

This has got to be one of the illest hip-hop albums I've heard in a minute. Ghost's flow is straight fire and he has some bananas production!!! He took a cue from Janet and sent the CD into interlude/skit hell (24 tracks, 65:00 - only 13 full-length cuts of music) but he definitely has enough weight in his voice and words to carry it thru. It'll probably get slept on like the rest of his catalog has but I felt I owed it to the public (and the people who kept buggin me for it) to let y'all experience some great hip-hop.

3121

2006-03-29T00:59:00.000-08:00

1. 3121

2. Lolita

3. Te Amo Corazon

4. Black Sweat

5. Incense and Candles

6. Love

7. Satisfied

8. Fury

9. The Word

10. Beautiful, Loved & Blessed feat. Tamar

11. The Dance

12. Get On The Boat

While I HIGHLY recommend you go out and purchase this record, I realize everybody can't do so right away and you shouldn't be completely denied of Prince's genius. So I decided to post this on here so those who want to buy the album can get a nice taste of it before they make good on that purchase. If you wanna know my complete thoughts on the album, check out my review of it [url=http://www.epinions.com/content_224724553348][b]here[/b][/url]. But I will say this; 3121 managed to take the essence of classic Prince and trim it with just enough funk, class, and brilliance to make it another Platinum notch in his belt. Ok, you can indulge yourself now.

King

2006-03-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

1. King Back

2. Front Back feat. UGK

3. What You Know

4. I'm Talkin' To You

5. Live In The Sky feat. Jamie Foxx

6. Ride Wit Me

7. The Breakup

8. Why You Wanna

9. Get It

10. Top Back

11. I'm Straight feat. BG & Young Jeezy

12. Undertaker feat. Young Buck & Young Dro

13. Stand Up Guy

14. You Know Who

15. Goodlife feat. Pharrell & Common

16. Hello

17. Told You So feat. Governor

18. Bankhead feat. P$C & Young Dro

This is a pretty hot album. Who knew that when T.I. dropped I'm Serious way back in 01 that he'd become this huge. I ain't heard any of his other albums all the way thru but it's apparent this cat's one of the rappers to watch. It will be nice when he finds something to rap about other than hustling, drugs, p***y, and himself but until then, albums like this are a nice diversion from the rest of the hip-hop albums covering the same topics. I smell a #1 debut!

Ghetto Revelations: II

2006-03-26T12:26:00.000-08:00

1. It's You feat. Paul Wall
2. Where Were You?
3. My Block
4. Can U Handle This? feat. Pitbull
5. Bounce Wit Me feat. Stack$
6. I Refuse
7. Your Portrait
8. I Got That feat. Smitty
9. Why
10. When You Hurt
11. Let's Make A Change
12. A Change Gonna Come
13. Back It Up feat. Stack$

I listened to this and it's a cool lil album but I'm mad Urban's trying so damn hard to be thugged out and gangsta. I like him more, and think he sounds much better, when he's dishin out some of that smooth hip-hop soul like he did on "Where Were You". Plus there's the fact he straight ripped Ashanti's "Still On It" for "I Got That" and anytime you have to steal material from Ashanti, you know you're desperate for some good stuff. As it is, I'd get it used, bootleg it, or d/l it, which is why I'm posting it here in hopes I can save a few folk out there a few bucks. Enjoy.