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Miss Keri Baby Returns

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : April 1, 2013
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Category: Music Monday

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Ludacris, Keri Hilson, & Far East Movement Help Bing And DoSomething.org Celebrate The Bing Summer Of Doing At Osborne High School

4 years ago, Keri Hilson was being blasted in every car stereo, night club and iPod  as she boldy stated what turned her off and turned her on with the Lil Wayne assisted single, “Turnin’ Me On”. Her debut album, In A Perfect World…. also went on to spawn the hits “Slow Dance” and “Knock You Down” with Kanye West & Neyo. Production wise, she couldn’t have been set up more favorably. With Timbaland and Polow Da Don on board for majority of In A Perfect World…, it couldn’t help but be amazing. Ironically, some of the best songs on the CD (“Intuition”, “Tell Him The Truth” and “How Does It Feel”) weren’t lifted as singles. Overnight she was the “it” girl of R & B and quickly released her second album, No Boys Allowed in 2011. That CD featured the platinum prissy anthem “Pretty Girl Rock”. No Boys Allowed was a very solid CD in my opinion and even better than its predecessor. But, somehow Keri Hilson’s overall presence in the music industry just doesn’t seem as big as it should be to me (especially considering her stellar music).

But if you think she’s just a singer, then think again. Many people don’t know that she’s actually been writing songs for years. That’s where the real money is at, and with a net worth of over $25 million, she’s definitely not hurting for anything. But there have been rumors of her working on a new CD for a few months now. She has confirmed through various tweets that she is hard at work on a new CD that will be released later this year. Timbaland and Polow Da Don will handle the majority of production again and she’s probably in the studio now as I’m typing this. Then there’s the Beyonce drama she’s been involved in lately. Though things are just now coming to a head, as far back as the 2008 remix of “Turnin Me On”, she sang, “She can sing, but need to move it ‘to the (left)’ / She need to go have some babies / She needs to sit down, she fadin’… / Go ‘head and tell them folks how long I been writing your songs / I been puttin you on, just check the credits.” She denies this was ever about Beyonce, but come on now. This seems to be too big of a coincidence. Nevertheless, it looks like Beyonce has at least taken Keri’s advice on having babies.

Are you a fan of Keri Hilson? Will she finally get the recognition she deserves with her 3rd album? Will you be buying when her album drops this year?

Check out these Keri Hilson throwbacks.

The Kardashian Theory

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : February 22, 2013
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Category: Foresight Friday

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Kim Kardashian

“My girl a superstar all from her home movie”.  Can you guess who said this quote? If you think it’s Kanye West, then you guessed right. It’s a line from his popular song, “Clique”. This may have gone unnoticed by those who are flight by night fans, but one thing is for sure: he more than likely was talking about his pregnant girlfriend, Kim Kardashian. Is it just me or is this a jacked up thing to say about your girlfriend? But let him tell it, she’s the girls of his dreams….SMH.  And in the rare event that you don’t know, Kim Kardashian virtually became an overnight sensation right around the time she became an online sexual video sensation with R & B singer Ray J.  But this isn’t about leaked sex tapes or disrespectful shouts in a rap song. It isn’t even about high-profile celebrity romances. What it is about though is how we praise people for foolishness.

In a world where keeping up with the Jones-es has turned to keeping up with the Kardashians (and everyone like them), is there any room for, well…..real role models? Don’t get me wrong, I indulge in my share of mindless entertainment at times too. But let’s call a spade a spade here. Kim Kardashian may be beautiful, fashion conscious and financially savvy (by way of rapper singer/football star relationships), but a role model? I’ve heard a lot of people say that she’s a great role model, but I just don’t get it. Again, there’s nothing wrong with entertainment but we’ve reached a sad day when a cast member of the Real Housewives or any other reality TV show is the face of young girls to look up to. But this isn’t just limited to women because men also tend to look up to others who aren’t that great of role models either (ahem…Mr. West).

The funny thing is we often give young people a hard time for the people they choose to look up to. But how can we expect them to choose better examples to follow when we ourselves are not always good examples and the entertainment people they look up to are even worse? Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it? The people we love on the TV screen may be intriguing, hilarious or even down to earth, but that doesn’t always mean they are the best food for our minds.

Who do you think is a good role model now in the entertainment industry? Should the responsibility be placed more on the individual than the entertainer?

role model

 

Dwele: Greater Than One, Better Than Most

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : January 21, 2013
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Category: Music Monday

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dwele

You may remember Dwele from his McDonald’s McCafe (their version of Starbucks deluxe coffee) commercial back in 2008, as a featured male vocalist. Or you may remember him from the interestingly written song about infidelity, “I’m Cheatin”. This song, lifted from his Sketches of A Man CD, speaks about him cheating on his girlfriend….with his girlfriend. Then there’s his feature on Kanye West’s hit song, “Flashing Lights” and work with Slum Village (remember their song “Tainted”?). But McDonald’s jingles and memorable hook lines aside, I really never heard much of his CD releases in their entirety. That is until now. In search of some new music, I ran across his CD on iTunes and liked the first 5 songs I previewed. So I decided to buy his most recent release, titled Greater Than One.

“Going Leaving” is a thumping slow groove, complete with trumpets and a swing out dance feel. Dwele is transparent here in a tale about being confused on whether or not he wants to be in a committed relationship and eventually losing the woman he loves. On “Takes22Tango”, he cleverly sings about doing the tango on the dance floor….and then in the bedroom (“working horizontal dance moves”). The song is part calypso, part Erykah Badu. The track sounds eerily similar to “I Want You” from her Worldwide Underground album. Nevertheless, this one of the standouts and best songs on Greater Than One. Speaking of similarities, Dwele’s vocals resemble closely to another much underrated male R & B, artist Raheem DeVaughn. The two team up on “What You Gotta Do”. It’s a great collaboration about appreciating your woman before you lose your woman. Their voices mesh so well together here, that they almost sound like the same person.

In perhaps his most seductive song to date, Dwele take a strong romantic detour on the CD with “Obey”. This song is sheer genius, period. The vocal arrangements and melodies here are smooth, but the contrasting lyrics are forceful (“Don’t play tough if you’re not ready/Before you faint on me”), without being distasteful. You just have to hear this one to get the full effect. “Must Be” featuring J Tait, L’Renee and Black Milk is a catchy, upbeat, boastful track about his love for his hometown Detroit, Michigan. The song slows things down towards the end to catch your breath and hear some soulful vocals. But, Greater Than One is without its pitfalls. Fortunately for Dwele, this only happens once, on the track “Patrick Ronald”. It’s his name for his alcoholic drink of choice, Patron. This song has the potential to be clever, but somehow misses the mark. Perhaps its the interlude that kicks the song off or the lackluster chorus. But even champions have a bad day, right?

Greater Than One is one of the best R & B CD’s I’ve heard in a while. I may be late finding Dwele’s music (this is his fifth studio album), but I’m definitely awake now and won’t be sleeping on his work going forward.

Check out “Obey” and “What You Gotta Do” below

The Great American Cruel Summer (CD Review)

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : October 1, 2012
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Category: Music Monday

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In the last couple of weeks, we have witnessed the release of two of Hip Hop’s most anticipated CDs this year. Kanye West Presents G.O.O.D. Music’s Cruel Summer and Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor II…The Great American Rap Album Part I sold 200,000 copies and 100,000 copies in their first week’s respectively. But do the record sales reflect the quality of each CD? Does Cruel Summer have too many guest appearances to make it a solid CD? Is Lupe Fiasco too conscious for fans and maybe going over their heads?

Check out the video for the full review on what I thought about each CD. Cruel Summer vs. Food & Liquor II…which one is better?