Must Get Music

John Legend: Once Again
This album is off the hook! I think this new album is a nice change from his first, titled Get Lifted. I knew it was going to be a hot CD when I heard his first track "Save Room" which has a clean, upbeat tempo with nice lyrics. Some of the tracks such as "Each Day Gets Better" and "Slow Dance" remind me of songs from the late 70's, early 80’s that Marvin Gaye or Lionel Richie could have sung, but with a clean modern edge to them. I also really like PDA (We just don't care), which is another nice up tempo love song, with PDA referring to Public Displays of Affection. "Maxine" another love song that has a Latin sound to it has a refreshing sound. The most moving track on the CD, is called "Coming Home", about soldiers going to war and coming back home. This is a beautiful song with a simple beat that I feel can easily become a classic to play for our soldiers who return home from the war. It almost bought me to tears listening to it.

This album is a must buy for anyone who enjoys good soul music. It differs from his debut album in that there is no hip hop edge to this one and the songs are more diverse, personal and mature. Honestly, I don't know if he’ll be able to top this album as he has set the standard high for himself and other male soul artists. I dare say that Once Again is the best soul album by a male artist this year and I'm sure he'll win a Grammy or two off of it.

Rating: 5 Stars

Lupe Fiasco: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
Lupe Fiasco is a relatively new artist out of Chicago and I believe this is his first album and it is hot! This is the most refreshing hip hop album I've heard all year because his tracks have hot beats, thought provoking, socially conscious lyrics all with little profanity or misogynistic lyrics which plague most hip hop songs. This is another one of those CD's where every single track is noteworthy and I listen to the whole album without skipping tracks.

I heard of Lupe Fiasco before, but didn't know anything about him other than Kanye West mentioning him in one of his songs. What got my attention was his current single that I saw the video for on VH1 Soul called "Day dreamin'" which features vocals by Jill Scott. The song is hot and I think it was a good look on the collaboration tip, though Jill, when are you coming out with a new single? (Like she's gonna see this.....LOL). I think the first single from the album is called "Kick, Push", which has a hot beat and I absolutely love the song, the lyrical content and the message. Another song I really like is called "He say, She say" which is about the problems that can occur when a young boy doesn't have his father in his life. This song is laid out well and artistically done with the lyrics changing within the song to reflect the perspective of the mother, the child and that of the father. "Hurt Me Soul", another socially conscious song talks about everything from problems faced by poor urban folks, to problems with the misogyny in hip hop to references about the current political environment and other societal problems. The last track I'll mention that I really like is called "American Terrorist" which talks about historical and current social issues including racism and the manipulation of the American Indians out of their land.

This is another must buy CD and is a fresh departure from the status quo hip hop album.

Rating: 5 Stars


Robin Thicke: The Evolution of Robin Thicke
When I heard the first track off of this album "Wanna love you girl" featuring Farrell, I thought it was whack, well I still do, and when I heard the second track with Lil' Wayne called "Shooter" I thought that was whack too, although it's grown on me a little bit. Then I heard his new track, which I saw on VH1 Soul called "Lost Without U" which is a very hot song. It has a nice beat, and I like the falsetto-esque voice and lyrics. I decided to listen to the entire album via the 30-second snippets you get on iTunes and thought it was a good from what I heard, so I decided to get it and I'm glad I did.

The very first track on the album "Got 2 Be Down" is hot, which has a nice clean beat with a female vocalist who sounds like Faith Evans to me, who helps out on the track. "Teach U a Lesson" is another song that I really like. It has a nice smooth guitar and percussion beat to it and I like the content of the song, which sounds like he's playing out a fantasy where he is the teacher and his girlfriend is the naughty student who has to stay after school to be taught a lesson. I'm sure there are many a woman (and gay man) who want to be the object of his affections in this song.

Most of the tracks on this CD are quite good and makes him the newest member of the Blue-eyed soul movement. This album is artistic, has good lyrical content, with well thought out tracks. This is another album that you should definitely get if you like good soul music.

Rating: 4 Stars