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Fantasia’s Side Effects

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : April 29, 2013
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Category: Music Monday

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Fantasia performs at the Soul Train Awards in Atlanta.

Much like the track of the same name that earned Fantasia her first Grammy Award, the last few years of her life have been what some may call “Bittersweet”. She’s had hit records, starred in The Color Purple on Broadway, lived her life on camera for reality TV, ended a high-profile romance and most shockingly overcame a prescription drug overdose. If Fantasia tells you she’s been there and done that, then you just might be inclined to believe her. After 3 successful albums, she has returned to her first love once again with the new release, Side Effects of You. She’s got a sexier, slimmer image, a new attitude and a new outlook on life. But the question many are wanting to know is just how good is this new music of hers? Well, here’s what I thought of her new album….

First of all, I have to applaud Fantasia (who affectionately refers to herself as ‘Tasia’) for taking a road less traveled with Side Effects of You. She has worked with some of the most well-known songwriters and producers in the music business, including Babyface, Jazze Pha, Missy Elliott and Swizz Beatz. So you would think if it’s not broke don’t fix it, right? Not the case with ‘Tasia’. She opted to scrap the big names (other than a few featured artists- Big K.R.I.T., Tank, Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott) and went with her gut instinct with producer Harmony (a.k.a “H-Money”). He produced all of the album, minus one song , while Fantasia had a hand in penning most of the lyrics. Thankfully, Harmony was able to give Fantasia’s album a versatile enough of sound to where it doesn’t all sound the same.

On “Supernatural Love”, featuring BIG K.R.I.T, she sings of a double minded feeling of a good love that’s also a poisonous love. It’s a good song, not great….but good. Things get better with the reggae tinged production of “Ain’t All Bad” where Fantasia says that falling out of love isn’t that bad after all. She gives herself a pep talk that she will be ok. I could easily see this one being a single and it’s one of the stand outs in my opinion. But the real show stopper of Side Effects of You is the collaboration with Missy Elliot and Kelly Rowland, “Without Me”. Perhaps the most confident and sassy we’ve seen her on record, Fantasia playfully lets an ex know (“You’re blowing up a little/Don’t give a finger in the middle”) that he wouldn’t be anything without her. Kelly and Missy trade verses and tell the same story. This song is sexy, daring, bold and just awesome. In fact it’s so good that it sets a tone that the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to.   The title track, “Side Effects of You” is perhaps the best song on the CD lyrically as she sings about the side effects that she was unaware of when dealing with a person. She confirmed on the Tom Joyner Morning show that it’s actually not just about relationships, but about the side effects of everyone involved in her life. This one is definitely single worthy too.

‘Tasia’ gets loose towards the midpoint of the CD. On the uptempo, big band cut, “Get It Right”, she yells, “Give the mutha$%^#&*# drummer some!” Ok Tasia….random explicit outburst aside, it’s a pretty good song. And then she pulls what’s easily the biggest make or break move of her entire project. She samples the Whitney Houston classic, “I’m Your Baby Tonight” on the song “Change Your Mind”. How does she pull it off? Surprisingly very well. Although she never really says what she’s changing the guy’s mind from, it’s a great song nonetheless. It may also remind you of Beyonce’s “Hip Hop Star” featuring Big Boi. The CD also has a deluxe version, but I say you’d be better off just getting the regular version. The deluxe songs aren’t stand outs in my opinion (despite the Tank guest feature on “Haunted”).

Side Effects of You is not Fantasia’s best work, but it shows the most growth. In fact, it’s probably the least entertaining for me of all her albums. But, it’s still definitely worth buying because all of her music is above the status quo. My favorite CD of hers is still the self titled Fantasia sophomore project. Kudos to Fantasia (and Tasia) though for following her own path and defying the norm. Side Effects of You should solidify her star status even further and prove she’s really here to stay.

Whitney’s Legacy Never Gives Up

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : November 12, 2012
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Category: Music Monday

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By now, you may have already heard the new Whitney Houston song, “Never Give Up”. The song will be featured on her new greatest hits project I Will Always Love You- The Best of Whitney Houston. Considering she released Whitney- The Greatest Hits, a double disc that also featured rare remixes, in 2000, it will be interesting to see if fans will really buy into it. The CD also features the previously unreleased R. Kelly duet version of her hit “I Look To You”. Usually in the case of a greatest hits featuring a couple of new tracks, the new songs have to come out the gate slamming. In the case of “Never Give Up”, I’m not convinced. The song was produced by Jermaine Dupri, which isn’t bad considering his track record of hits. The melody is nice but it sounds like a scrapped song from one of Mariah Carey’s “Mimi” studio sessions. It even has that quick stutter sing rapping (think “Shake It Off”). That works for Mariah, not Whitney. Coming from an artist who brought such fire on songs like “I Will Always Love You”, “I Believe In You And Me” and even “I’m Your Baby Tonight”, the song just doesn’t fit her catalog. True, many have said that her voice was not the same anymore as it was on her classic hits….but whose voice is after 20 plus years??? Does the quality of music have to suffer? I think not.

“Never Give Up” does have an inspirational message though, which specifically speaks to the single mother and the student by day, dancer by night. Nevertheless, I think people will like it just because it’s something new from Whitney Houston. I probably won’t be buying the new CD since I already have her first greatest hits. Plus, I think that this is just a quick cash scheme to get rich and gain profit from another great talent gone too soon. There’s nothing wrong with releasing new music (I think every deceased artist’s record company does it at some point), but there’s a limit to any madness. An upcoming The Bodyguard inspired musical, book and the new reality show are a bit much for me. I just can’t stand to see people using someone else’s misfortune for financial gain. But it’s all in loving memory right? Ok, I digress. ***stepping off soap box now***

But seriously, it’s still so hard to believe Whitney Houston left this earth almost exactly 9 months ago. But her legacy still lives on….and always will. There’s no doubt she had one of the best voices of any generation and there’s nothing wrong with honoring such a powerhouse singer. But what is the fine line between honor and personal gain? Will you be buying the CD when it hits shelves tomorrow? What’s your favorite Whitney Houston song/moment?

In case you haven’t heard it yet, here’s “Never Give Up”.

Are Brandy Fans Nodding Off?

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : October 15, 2012
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Category: Music Monday

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A lot has changed in the music industry since Brandy’s last CD, Human, was released over 4 years ago. Gone are the days where you can ride a successful CD for 2 years and have multiple hit singles (that is unless you’re Adele, Rihanna or Lady Gaga). But that’s exactly what Brandy was used to with her first 2 (and most successful to date) albums, Brandy and Never Say Never. After several album release date push backs and a delayed music video for the Chris Brown assisted “Put It Down”, Two-Eleven is just hours away and ready to take on the world…well, almost. The CD is already on its second single, “Wildest Dreams”, which usually means 1 of 2 things….a saturated market of hit songs (think Nicki Minaj) or fishing for a hit to hype the CD release up. In Brandy’s case, I believe it’s more of the latter. But, as we all know, sales numbers don’t always equal quality.

Brandy has ditched her nasal tone for a sexier, lower register in the latter half of her career. Ironically, I like this Brandy a lot better than the hit making machine behind “The Boy Is Mine” and “I Wanna Be Down”. She had great singles back then, but I think CD’s like Aphrodisiac and Full Moon are more cohesive and conceptually grounded. As she preps for the official release of Two Eleven tomorrow (already available on iTunes today), something tells me this may be some of her best work yet.

One thing Brandy seems to be using as her secret weapon this go round is her image. Her CD cover alone is one of the best I’ve seen lately and she looks better than….well, she ever has. No word yet on whether or not she’ll be unleashing her “Brand Nu” alter rap ego again (it was first introduced on Timbaland’s Shock Value II project), but it sounds like she’s finally found her niche between R & B, Pop and Hip Hop. With the help of Timbaland, Frank Ocean and longtime collaborator Rodney Jerkins, it will be interesting to see what sounds she comes with.

Several of the CD’s tracks have already leaked, which could prove to be either hurtful or helpful to sales . Producer Bangledesh offers an addictive track on ‘Let Me Go”. Brandy’s vocals and the music here are on point, but the lyrics are somewhat corny to me. Then there’s the Rico Love produced “No Such Thing As Too Late” and “Paint This House”. On “No Such Thing As Too Late” she tells her lover that he’ll wait before moving to the bedroom if he really cares about her (think new age “Let’s Wait Awhile”). This time the production lacks a little (but fits the song’s concept), although Brandy’s voice is flawless. But “Paint This House” is the real showstopper of Ricco Love’s 2 tracks. I’ll just say she’d be shooting herself in the foot to not make this a single. “Nodding Off”, 1 of 4 bonus tracks on the Two-Eleven deluxe version, actually leaked in 2008. But it’s just as good now as it was then (check out a snippet of it in the video above).

Will you be buying Two-Eleven when it hits the shelves tomorrow, or passing it up?

Brandy’s Dreams Delayed, Not Denied

Posted by :Peauxetic Expressions On : August 27, 2012
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A few weeks ago, you may remember that I reviewed Brandy’s single, “Put It Down” featuring Chris Brown. Although I did initially like the song, I wasn’t head over heels about it. However, after seeing the music video (one of Brandy’s best in years), the song is growing on me more. Seems like everything was in place for a successful release for her album Two-Eleven. The album title is derived from Brandy’s birthday and the date of her idol, Whitney Houston’s death (whose last words to her were “Nobody can be you. Just be you”). After several push backs (and numerous push backs of the release for the “Put It Down” music video), the new release date will be October 16, 2012. And considering the last week’s leak of her 2nd second single (which she leaked herself), “Wildest Dreams”, this may have been the best move her camp has made regarding Two-Eleven. The new song was inspired by her boyfriend, Ryan.

“Wildest Dreams” is a well produced R & B track that doesn’t reach any new songwriting heights (“Never thought someone would care about me”), but there’s something enjoyable about it. Maybe it’s the gritty, dark edge of the music and her vocals (which are crisp and well-arranged here). I’m not sure how this song will actually fare on the charts, but it’s definitely getting fans geared up about the release of her new CD. I thought Full Moon and Afrodisiac were some of her best CDs to date. Looks like Two-Eleven may be following in its footsteps.

What do you think about her new single? Will Two-Eleven be a hit, despite its many push backs?