Introducing Dionne Bromfield ..... Here comes the protégée

This is the debut album of Amy Winehouse's God daughter and this is a real promising one from what I've heard so far. I can't deny that the 13 year old girl has talent ( maybe more than some of today's so called artists ). I'm curious to hear what she will sound like in 10 years i know i'm being impatient and rushing things but I'm sure it can only be better and better but so far a 13 year old singing vintage soul music this way that's already quite impressive. One thing is sure I gotta have this album !!

Here's a link for a quick preview of her album

Mama Said Official Video and Live performance

Foolish Little girl

R&B Wars:Bands strike back.. Boyz II Men, All 4 One, Jagged Edge...

Boyz II men

The group's new album "LOVE" is supposed to be released on November 10th. This album is all about covers ( of love songs if you didn't guess it ;) ) The first single " Open arms" ( yeah the one by Mariah Carey covered too ) is available on the net. When I listened to it I just realized how much they were great even if I never really forgot it. I can't wait for the album to be released and to fill my world with happiness.I'll be there " open arms " waiting for it !!

"Open Arms" Play/Download

All 4 One

No no you're not dreaming!! All 4 One the band that gave us the great " I swear " a decade ago. They're back with a brand new album that was released on September 15th. And you know what ?! they still got it. This record is filled with these dramatic ballads only great male groups can sing "If your heart not in it", "My child" and with that little touch of retro R&B like in " You don't know nothing". But they also can make it contemporary like with that auto-tuned ( yeah I know ) song " Go" or " Regrets".So far my favorite one is " When I needed an angel" .

For a little recap here's " I swear" back in 1994

All 4 One - I Swear
par djoik

The first single " My child "

"You don't know nothing" Play/Download

Jagged Edge

I was wondering a month ago what happened to them and then i got my answer...They're recording a new album that will be released in 2010. A single is now available on the net " Full time Lover" . So far I don't have many informations about it but I will keep you posted.

"Full time lover" Play/Download

Mayer Hawthorne....It feels like Motown

Here's the picture .... late 60's,Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson , Teddy Pendergrass, smooth voices, Motown sound...You got it ? Okay.Now 2009, Mayer Hawthorne," A strange arrangement", Motown sound revival ...

We already knew that Soul music was back ( in fact it was never gone ) with the O-mazing, excellent " The way I see it " by Raphael Saadiq or with Eli " Paperboy" Reed , Mayer Hawthorne is just making it more soulful.

This Michigan born soul singer's debut album is everything but strange. It got this vintage Motown soul vibe that you love to hear without doing too much of it. It's just perfect. 12 tracks and you just listen to the whole thing without skipping.

It's 2009 and the Motown sound is still alive...Berry Gordy must be proud of it !!

"One track mind"

Play/Download

In the " Confessional" with Russell Taylor

I gotta confess that I didn't had the chance to listen to the philly native soul singer Russell Taylor debut album "Somewhere in between" and I feel now that I have to.

I gotta confess that "Let me love you" is definitely one of my favorite and I enjoy the fact that Russell Taylor is actually telling stories, good stories like with " Press Pause" .

I gotta confess that he manages to make that classical soul sound contemporary and his mid-tempo songs are quite lively but his ballads are the ones I love most... just the way I love them with sensitive lyrics and his smooth voice making the rest.

I gotta confess that Russell Taylor is an artist I just discovered and I just can't wait to hear more and more ..

"Let me love u" Play/Download

"Press Pause" Play/Download

Calvin Richardson covering Bobby Womack...Do I have to say more ?

I gotta say I always enjoyed Calvin Richardson's voice and his previous records were great but with that latest album that he self-wrote and produced is a must-have.He had me on the first song.

Calvin got the groove covering the Bobby's Womack classics such as "Across 110th street". And listening to that album actually makes you feel good. He succeeded to gave justice to the great Bobby Womack. Covering a song especially classics from a legend is hard and the challenge is to keep his own personality as an artist without " destroying" the original songs ( Whitney on that one I'm talking to you...still mad on the cover of " A song for you"). His version of " I'm through trying to prove my love to you" is simply gorgeous. Now I'm back to listening to it and please get this album you won't be disappointed...

Watch the videos

So Whitney is back!!!! (But not the old Whitney …)

The world has been waiting for this comeback for so long (including me).We all have been missing our beloved diva and this year she's back with this brand new album "I look to you" with productions by Alicia Keys or Akon among others.

Unfortunately I still can't make up my mind on this record. Maybe my expectations were too big .Whitney still got her talent, she's still the legend but we're far from the Whitney we knew back in the days .Maybe I'm being too hard on her. She's been through a lot and she's still here. There are some songs that I enjoyed listening to but some are just beyond Whitney's level especially that attempt to cover the Donnie Hathaway classic "A song for you" that never should have been . "I didn't know my own strength" or "I look to you" are songs that reminds me of the old Whitney (especially the old Whitney's voice), those good old days when Whitney and amazing voice were synonymous. But well as I said I don't want to be too hard on her after all it's Whitney Houston we're talking about. Let's just hope that her voice will be back the more she performs meanwhile she's still gorgeous ( See the Ebony Cover )

Here are videos of her performance on GMA

Ledisi is really “turning me loose”…

First of all, I hope you already own your copy of Ledisi's Turn me Loose yeah I'm talking to YOU. Ok now I know that you do or about to (ahem!ahem!) *insistent glances* let me tell you that I am such a fan of Ledisi and ever more now. "Turn me loose" is her new album and just like the wine her albums are getting better and better with time. Ledisi's fourth studio album is sounding more modern than what she has done before. I've been introduced to Ledisi's amazing voice in 2002 with her album "Feeling orange but sometimes blue". I immediately fell in love with "Sugar/Brown Sugar" and "In a sentimental mood" and bought her first album "Soulsinger". In 2007 she released her Grammy nominated album "Lost & Found" that completed so gracefully my discography.

This new record sounds R&B, funky, hip-hop …in other words here we're talking about grown folks' music. This record is filled with her personality and so far after more than two weeks of intense daily listening I can't choose a favorite song ( and I tried very hard trust me *wink* ). From "Running" the opening song of the album to the energetic cover of Buddy Miles "Them changes" without forgetting the addictives "Alone" or "I need love" this album is just one of the best of this year.

Here are videos where she explains where she found inspiration for her new album and how she wanted to make it

Time flies and Smokey is still having fun !!

Smokey Robinson is in the business for decades. I still remember those Sundays afternoons when my father used to play his vinyl of "Smokey Robinson & The miracles». When I listened to Smokey Robinson today I remembered immediately why I enjoyed it so much.

With his new album " Time flies when you're having fun" Smokey Robinson proves us that time never spoil real talent. With guests such as Joss Stone, India Arie or Santana, he is providing us a record just like only him can make with a contemporary touch and of course great lyrics ( it's not like we didn't know his writing skills since he wrote ones of the greatest songs ever ) , nice groove and smooth .

Romantic and smooth R&B is so lacking in today's music and Smokey is back to fix it. But he's not limited to ballads; Robinson shows us also how funky he can be on "Girlfriend," a mid-tempo ode to his love or "One Time". With "Please Don't Take Your Love," Legend Carlos Santana brings a bluesy touch where Robinson shows what singing is really about and sings in different languages. His cover of the Jackson 5 classic, "I Want You Back" is so far one of my favorite with his duet with India Arie " You're just my life». And his interpretation of "Don't Know Why", the first single of the album, can easily outshine Norah Jones. 50 years after his debuts Smokey Robinson is still having fun making music and I'm still having fun listening to it!!

Listen here to the full album "Time flies when you're having fun" ( The "I want you back" cover is the last one )