Babyface
“Face2Face”
(Arista/BMG)
If you thought Bo Diddley, Lee Dorsey and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins were still the epitome of American R&B, think again. Today’s R&B means urban soul attitude — US inner-city soundscapes played to ease the mind, body and yes, the soul. Think of D’Angelo and Maxwell crooning their ballads of romance and jealously: tender music reflecting love more than lust. As far back as the late 1980s, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds was leading a small vanguard of artists through the outbreak of nu-school R&B, which would see 1993’s “For the Cool in You” give credence to his reputation as the future of urban music. This status led him to produce artists such as Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men and Madonna. Predictably, his solo career took second place and subsequent recordings failed to generate much interest, let alone a hit. These days, Edmonds is again pushing a solo career, reuniting with friend/producer Antonio Reid, and with “Face2Face,” he’s back on track. Marrying the psycho-sexual funk of Prince with the vulnerable romanticism of his early work, tracks like “There She Goes” adopt the same psychedelic funkiness as the Nerds or Jay-Z — with the hip hop connection maintained via an appearance by Snoop Dogg on the bass-heavy “Baby’s Mama.” Despite this influence, “Face2Face” is always going be filed under “R&B.” Just not in the same pile as Bo Diddley.
Alicia keys
“Songs in A Minor”
(J Records/BMG)
At the tender age of 20, Alicia Keys has already achieved what most musicians dream of accomplishing in a lifetime: a double platinum album, credits on two movie soundtracks (Men In Black & Shaft), a record deal at 14 and a calculated marketing strategy, dating back to her seventh birthday. Okay, that last part isn’t strictly true, but when your kid’s enrolled in Manhattan’s Professional Performance Arts School, you know that stardom is going to be knocking on your front door pretty soon. And in 1998, that knock came from Clive Davis, who secured a deal with Arista but then took his freshly signed protégée to the newly founded J Records. That’s when Keys embarked upon writing the songs she would eventually perform and produce, on this, her debut album. Taking elements of her training as a choir singer and pianist, combining them with current influences and styles, including R&B, hip hop, jazz and classical, she synthesizes a near unique take on modern pop. On the day of its US release, “Songs in A Minor” sold 50 000 copies and to date has shifted over two million units. That makes Alicia Keys hot property and, as you would expect, her music is burning holes in the top ten charts across the world.
Various Artists
“Anti NY”(
Gomma/M10)
Bad timing for the release of an album called “Anti NY,” you might think. But this is a celebration of the city’s culture, or rather, counter-culture. In the early ’80s, when the New York underground was influencing the art scene, so-called “graffiti artists” like Jean-Michel Basquiat were busy recording music, as well as painting the streets and subway cars. Basquiat formed Gray with Michael Holman and they played regularly at the infamous Mudd Club. Blondie, Bowie, Eno and Madonna all hung-out there. “Anti NY’s” sonic palette mixes the original atmosphere of this experimental period, from the kitsch folk of Vivien Goldman (performing “Launderette”) to Jim Jarmusch’s “Girl’s Imagination.” Contemporary versions, reworked with a European twist by today’s underground musicians, put into perspective just how much Basquiat et al were ahead of their time. Syrup’s remix of Sexual Harrassment’s “If I Gave You a Party” and the Protein version of Death Comet Crew’s “Exterior St.” are particularly notable for showing how music has progressed from jazz through to punk, New Wave, disco and hip hop. “Anti NY”: a future classic of the past.
