FLASHBACK: Brandy- Afrodisiac

Brandy made a welcome return to the charts last year with her album Two Eleven, which proved popular with fans and critics a like. It had the likes of India Arie singing Brandy's praises (literally). Arie and Solange Knowles have both credited Brandy with setting a standard for a specific style of singing that artists still copy today. In the industry there is such a thing as a "Brandy Run", and her 2004 Afrodisiac album is a great collection of songs that showcase Brandy's unique voice wonderfully. Go-to music man, Timberland produced the majority of the album but Afrodisiac was also responsible for introducing a certain Mr Kanye West to the mainstream. He produced a few tracks on the album and featured on Talk About Our Love. This was the album's stand out hit. Rapper T.I also pops up on the song Where You Wanna Be.  This was an eclectic sounding album with interesting sampling of Indie-alternative and Rock  bands, such as Coldplay and Iron Maiden. Brandy has also mentioned that the late R&B singer, Aaliyah was a huge inspiration for the album, both musically and lyrically. Brandy recevied a Grammy nomination for Afrodisiac  and it's easy to see why: it's a great album that properly  reacquainted fans with everything they always loved about Brandy.

FLASHBACK: Daniel Merriweather- Love & War

Australian Singer Daniel Merriweather released his impressive debut album Love & War in 2007. Produced by Mark Ronson  the critically acclaimed album peaked at number 2 on the UK albums chart. Merriweather's deep grainy vocals sounded perfect over Ronson,s retro sounding production. The album features the two singles Change and Red and also features a duet with Adele on the song Water and a Flame

Love & War is a quality New Soul album, I remember being really excited about Daniel Merriweather when I heard first Red, It's been six years since Love & War hope he is somewhere working on some new stuff, he's a great talent.

Flashback: Childish Gambino- Camp

This is a bit of a cheat 'Flashback' because it's only from like 18 months ago (if that) but I'm doing it because it was my intention to do an 'Introducing' post on Childish Gambino but I never got around to it *slaps wrist*. Childish Gambino is one of my favourite rappers right now. The 29 year old is also a scriptwriter and actor and comedian. His debut 2011 album Camp was hot because it said something different: he has all the flavour and energy of more typical rappers but he is talking about relationships, growing up being one of the only black kids at a white school, and about the awkwardness and anxiety of feeling like you're constantly straddling two world's. He is super witty as he makes shrewd observations about society. It's a solid album with interesting flows and excellent production too. Here's one of my favourites, Heartbeat.

FLASHBACK VIDEO:Roger Sanchez- Another Chance

OK, it's not new music. But this is my favourite music video ever. It's so simple but the idea is amazing! A woman walking around New York City with a massive heart that no one wants- the metaphor is somehow simultaneously subtle and obvious and beautiful because of that. LOVE it!! Turn the volume up and listen to the dialogue as well, enjoy!

Side note I will be posting more dance music videos, the concepts are more than unique!

FLASHBACK: N.E.R.D- In Search Of...



I remember first hearing this album and going into sensory overload! The fusion of different musical genres is immense: there are elements of Hip hop, Funk, Pop, Alternative Rock, Dance and R&B all fused together, blending and separating to create this amazing Alternative Hip hop Psychedelia. The group did receive some criticism for clumsy, crass lyrics, but I think this is a misunderstanding. The lyrics mirror the music to create a fusion of odd words and unconventional imagery. This album is about finding new, original and relevant ways to express and define age old feelings of angst, isolation, identity, love, sex and freedom. In Search of... is full of layers so everyone is invited to listen (or search); whatever you find is up to you.

This album was never really given the due credit it deserved for helping to open up a new kind of freedom of expression within Hip hop music. I remember Missy Elliott describing N.E.R.D as "grunged-out hip hop" and she was right. Pharrell and his band mates were skateboarding, trucker cap wearing, tattoo bearing rappers, the like of which, hadn't really been seen before. N.E.R.D made it OK to be a different kind of Rapper- a different kind of R&B singer and you can see the legacy of this with artists like Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino and even Lil Wayne.N.E.R.D will always represent a kind of punk Hip hop and In Search of... is as relevant now as it was then.

Resurrected For Your Listening Pleasure: Justified

I've been listening to Justin Timberlake's 2003 debut album 'Justified' all day! It almost slipped my mind, just how great this album is! With the help of some big name producers such as Timberland, Pharrell Williams and Scott Storch, Justin created a collection of songs that showcased his vocals on ballads, mid-tempos and up-tempo tracks. The album was popular in the mainstream but also respected on the 'urban' radio stations too. The accompanying videos show off his natural charisma and showmanship. This was a fantastic debut, Justin shed his slightly cheesy boy band image and became the new cool kid. There still isn't anyone who does it quite like him! check it out: Resurrected for your listening pleasure.