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Jay-Z “The Blueprint 3″

bio — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:58:47 +0000

To understand this album, I think you have to first understand that the word “blueprint” isn’t referring to a “back to basics” approach. It’s also not a callback to the last two Blueprint albums; a lot of the hate directed at The Blueprint 3 centers around how it sounds nothing like Blueprints 1 and 2. Jay-Z is attempting to move forward, to evolve, to innovate. “Blueprint” refers to Jay creating something new, a template that lesser artists will invariably follow.

So what does “innovation” look like to one of the greatest emcees of all time?

Pretty much the same ol’ shit, except with more synthesizers.

In hip hop, “that next level shit” is almost always based around how the music sounds—crazy flow patterns, weird time signatures, funny voices/accents, new instruments or samples, etc. Very rarely do artists try to innovate by actually saying something new, by digging deeper into themselves or telling new stories or trying new approaches to writing or whatever.

Jay is a prime example of this. Yes, The Blueprint 3 has some unique production, some wild rhyme patterns and an overall futuristic vibe. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still just Jay-Z rapping about how great Jay-Z is… like he’s been doing for thirteen years. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you enjoy listening to Jay-Z be Jay-Z (I generally do). But for an album completely based around the idea that it’s something mind-blowingly new and innovative, the whole experience is rather hollow.

That being said, The Blueprint 3 is still a Jay-Z album and Jay is still a brilliant technical emcee. He sounds hungry here, especially on the album’s opener, “What We Talkin’ About.” Throughout the album, his flow is hypnotic; where some good rappers have air-tight flows you can just zone out to, Jay commands your attention using his words, the negative space between them and even his ad libs. The hooks, unfortunately, are all pretty terrible (especially on “Thank You,” “Venus vs. Mars” and “Reminder,” which is probably the album’s worst track), but the verses more or less make up for that. Jay might not be saying anything new, but the new ways in which he says everything is always compelling.

The production will definitely be controversial. This isn’t Kanye’s old chipmunk soul or traditional East Coast boom-bap or even the old Neptunes stuff Jay sounded so great over. This is the kind of glossy, vaguely-European club music that Beyoncé sing/raps over, and most of it is produced by Kanye West. It’s heavy on bombastic synths and orchestras, light on those hard drums hip hop heads usually prefer and overall just kind of weird. The No I.D.-produced “D.O.A.” made waves as the “oh snap Jay is back” song, but it’s really just a fluke; it’s the most traditional sounding rap song on the album. While No I.D., Swizz Beats and the Neptunes make appearances, the album is really driven by Kanye and Timbaland in full-on futurist mode.

And the production works, for the most part. It’s definitely not DJ Premier, but it meshes well with Jay’s style and really does, on some level, capture what hip hop is probably going to sound like for the next few years (for better or worse). Coupled with appearances by flavors-of-the-moment Drake, J.Cole, Kid Cudi and Mr. Hudson, it’s easy to see how Jay is positioning himself to be anything but an old man going quietly into the night, trying to recapture previous glories. He’s got a legacy in mind, and it’s more about pushing forward than remaking Reasonable Doubt.

But when you’re one of the best ever, you get held to higher standards. Jedi Mind Tricks can rap about the same stuff for a thousand albums, but Jay-Z should be able to do better than that. The Blueprint 3 is a perfectly solid album (well, a perfectly solid album with lots of bad hooks). It does some interesting things sonically, and Jay-Z is still a great emcee, but all the synthesizers in the world can’t mask the fact that the album is decidedly retro in its subject matter and approach. And when you’ve put in as much work as Jay has, “decidedly retro” can become “boring as hell” pretty quickly.

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Battlefield – Jordin Spark (July 21 2009)

bio — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:39:50 +0000

Sure, Jordin Sparks’ sophomore album, “Battlefield” (Jive), was probably named after the overwrought title track where she sings “Get your armor!” a lot over the sleepy synth-tinklings of One Republic’s Ryan Tedder.

But throughout the album, there really does sound like a battle brewing.

On one side is the Jordin that her handlers seem to want her to be – a vaguely sweet Stepfordish Everygirl with a lovely voice who sings interchangeable songs about surface-y stuff like battlefields and love-like things. On the other side is the actual 19-year-old Jordin who has actual feelings and can express them quite well, both vocally and lyrically.

You know who wins? Oh right, you’ve heard the title track. For those rooting for that side, there’s also the blandly R&B “Watch You Go” from T-Pain and “S.O.S.,” which sounds like a Britney Spears leftover and even cops the chorus from Shannon’s “Let the Music Play.”

It isn’t horrible, but it seems like a waste – albeit a profitable one – after hearing the four songs Sparks co-wrote for the album. She gives a personal twist to “Emergency (911)” that makes the dance number work. But it’s the big ballads – “Was I the Only One,” “Faith” and “The Cure” – where her vulnerability and booming voice work best together, where she sounds like a true teenager with actual teenager problems and beliefs.

It’s that side of the onetime “American Idol” who will eventually win out and that’s when her career will really take off. On “Battlefield,” she’s apparently still readying her armor.

JORDIN SPARKS “Battlefield”

GRADE B-

BOTTOM LINE Still a teen, Jordin tries to act her age

Click here to Download (Deluxe edition)

Addiction – Chico DeBarge (14 July 2009)

bio — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:00:16 +0000

Chico DeBarge’s fresh July 14, 2009 record album Addiction already available. His name is sounds familiar?, Yup, you’re right. He is a younger brother of the group DeBarge (who you might remember sang mostly in falsetto and had some hits in the 80s). Chico brought out a self-titled album back in

1986 but, unfortunately, his life since then has been rough He went to jail on drug charges in the 1990s and then was stabbed outside of a nightclub in

it’s nice to see that he’s trying to begin his life back on track with this new album. After listening to the preview, I can see that it truly is about addiction. In the opening track, Chico is heard attending a self-help addiction meeting where he says that he’s a “recovering addict.”

I was agreeably surprised by the tracks. At times, it kinda reminded me of the sound D’Angelo had on his Brown Sugar album. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but I think it’s a good and great comeback effort by DeBarge.

Addiction track list:

1. Addiction Meeting

2. Nefertiti/Center Of The Universe

3. Oh No

4. Tell Ur Man

5. Math Featuring Talib Kweli

6. Do My Bad Alone

7. Slick(Addiction)

8. I’m Okay

9. Medication

10. She Loves Me

11. I Want You

12. I Forgot Ur Name

13. Hey U

14. Chico’s Prayer

15. Change by Lylit

Download Addiction – Chico DeBarge (14 July 2009)

R.O.O.T.S. – Flo Rida

bio — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:04:45 +0000

R.O.O.T.S. (an acronym for “Route of Overcoming the Struggle”) is the second studio album by American rapper Flo Rida. It was released on March 31, 2009.

American rapper Flo Rida became a global success with his debut album ‘Mail On Sunday‘ in 2008. The follow-up, ‘R.O.O.T.S’, has already produced a download record breaking single in ‘Right Round‘, for the most sales in one week. He also held the previous record, with ‘Low’. This time around Flo Rida provides more of an insight into his life, the mood of the music varying to mirror his experiences, making for a well-rounded collection of songs.

As on the previous collection, ‘R.O.O.T.S.’ sees Flo Rida joining forces with an extraordinary array of A-list collaborators, featuring artists like Nelly Furtado, Ne-Yo, and Pleasure P, and including production from Jim Jonson, Dr. Luke, Eric Hudson, Mike Caren, and DJ Montay, who produced ‘Low.’

Flo Rida has said that “there’s definitely something for everybody on this album” in an interview with Billboard, and this is undoubtedly true.
The single ‘Right Round’ is good enough to encourage buying this album but frankly the entire album is good. Much more personal than ‘Mail on Sunday’, many tracks seem to speak more directly to his early days/life.

Flo Rida – R.O.O.T.S. Track Listing

1. “Finally Here” – 4:02
2. “Jump” feat Nelly Furtado – 3:28
3. “Gotta Get It (Dancer)” – 4:44
4. “Shone” feat Pleasure P – 4:23
5. “Right Round” feat Kesha – 3:22
6. “R.O.O.T.S.” – 3:45
7. “Be on You” feat Ne-Yo – 4:03
8. “Mind on My Money” – 3:31
9. “Available” feat Akon, will.i.am – 4:24
10. “Touch Me” feat Kesha – 3:10
11. “Never” feat Keri Hilson – 4:21
12. “Sugar” feat Wynter Gordon – 4:12
13. “Rewind” feat Wyclef Jean -4 :29
14. “Ha” feat Brisco & 4Mill – 3:55 (iTunes bonus track)

“Right Round” was released as the album’s lead single, and became Flo Rida’s second #1 smash hit. Released on January 25, 2009, the song debuted at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 18, 2009. The song jumped to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 topping the one million mark in paid downloads in just two weeks and becoming the fastest million-selling download ever in the US. It has remained #1 on the US Hot 100 for over a month.

“Shone“, was released as a promotional single on February 24, 2009 and peaked at #57 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Sugar” is the album’s second single. It was released on March 17. In its first week on the Billboard Hot 100 chart it debuted at the number 25 spot, making it Flo Rida’s highest debut to date.

The possessor behind arguably one of the hip-hop world’s best aliases, Tramar Dillard has been making club music for years since his teenage days with 2 Live Crew, but it was only until last year’s Mail on Sunday and the titanic single “Low” that Flo Rida became a household name. A little over a year later and now we have Routes of Overcoming The Struggle, or R.O.O.T.S., a record with a heavy name that is hardly reflective of its party nature.
…
By now you and everyone else in the country has heard first single “Right Round,” which swipes the melody from the notorious Dead or Alive song, and it is these kind of club bangers that make R.O.O.T.S. a worthy record for a few spins on the dance floor, if nothing else.

Album Information

Released March 31, 2009 (North America), April 3, 2009 (Australia)
Recorded 2008–2009
Genre Hip hop, Electro-hop, Pop rap
Length 51:54
Label Atlantic, Poe Boy
Producer Kane Beatz, Dr. Luke, will.i.am, DJ Montay[1], Danja, Drumma Boy, Jim Jonsin

source: amazon.com and wikipedia.org

Download R.O.O.T.S. – Flo Rida

Freedom – AKON

bio — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:36:34 +0000

Freedom is the third studio album by Senegalese-American hip hop and R&B singer-songwriter, Akon.
The album was originally named Acquitted. It was released on December 2, 2008.

‘Freedom’ features collaborations with Hip- Hop’s “man of the hour” Lil Wayne (”I’m So Paid”) and Akon’s platinum artist T-Pain (”Holla Holla”).

Akon broke out on the music scene in 2004 with the platinum album Trouble that featured singles, “Locked Up” and “Lonely.”
He returned in 2006 with the triple-platinum certified Konvicted CD. The Senegalese native broke chart history in 2007 as the first artist to simultaneously hold the #1 (”I Wanna Love You“) and #2 (”Smack That“) positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart twice.
He went on to become Billboard Magazine’s Top Artist of 2007, the #2 Hot 100 Producer of the Year, and #2 Hot 100 Songwriter of the year.

Akon has grown with each new album release, while his sound has evolved to the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of his fans, Freedom will no doubt be remembered as the turning point in Akon’s career where he evolves from a hip hop artist to a bonafide entertainer.

With all the radio friendly songs you’ll find yourself humming to many of these songs during the day, therefore, making it buy you won’t regret this holiday season.

Akon – Freedom Track Listing

1. “Right Now (Na Na Na)” – 4:01
2. “Beautiful” (featuring Colby O’Donis & Kardinal Offishall) – 5:13
3. “Keep You Much Longer” – 4:18
4. “Troublemaker” (featuring Sweet Rush) – 3:57
5. “We Don’t Care” – 3:34
6. “I’m So Paid” (featuring Young Jeezy & Lil Wayne) – 3:26
7. “Holla Holla” (featuring T-Pain) – 3:00
8. “Against the Grain” (featuring Ray Lavender) – 3:46
9. “Be with You” – 3:49
10. “Sunny Day” (featuring Wyclef Jean) – 3:15
11. “Birthmark” – 3:59
12. “Over the Edge” – 4:20
13. “Freedom” – 4:12

The first single released from the album was “Right Now (Na Na Na)“, it peaked at #8 on the Billboard 100.
The second single is “I’m So Paid“, featuring Young Jeezy & Lil Wayne. It made a hot debut at #40 on the Billboard 100.
The week the album was released, another song “Beautiful“, featuring Colby O’Donis & Kardinal Offishall debuted at #19.

It is the first album by Akon not to carry the Parental Advisory sticker and it doesn’t need an edited version to be sold at Wal-Mart. Although in terms of lyrics it’s not totally free of that sex-and-violence insinuating language, it shows that it is possible to release a great hip-hop/R&B recording without resorting to extreme obscenity almost in every song.

Overall, this is easily Akon’s best album. Still not a perfect album, but its definitely his strongest performance yet.

Album Information

Released December 2, 2008
Recorded 2007 — 2008
Genre R&B, hip hop
Label Konvict Muzik / Universal Motown
Producer Akon (exec.) Giorgio Tuinfort

sources wikipedia.org and amazon.com

Download Freedom – AKON

Funhouse – PINK

bio — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:07:22 +0000

Funhouse is the fifth studio album by pop singer Pink, it was released in North America on October 28, 2008.
Teaming once again with hitmakers Max Martin, Billy Mann, Danja and others, Pink (Alecia Beth Moore) is poised to leave another memorable mark worldwide. The album combines rock, R&B, punk and pop with some memorable melodies and infectious hooks.
Known for her edgy and outspoken approach, this record is more than a testament to the singer’s reputation for pushing the traditional pop boundaries. Overall, it’s a mighty return to form.

The majority of the songs on the album deal with divorce (no surprise due to her recent break-up with ex-husband Carey Hart), and while they are unlikely to depress you, Funhouse is Miss P!nk’s most mature offering yet and a fantastic one at that. With the fantastic lead-single ‘So What’ lifting the album to high heights, expect P!nk to have another roaring success with this album, and God bless, because she and the album really deserve it.

Pink – Funhouse Track Listing

1 “So What” – 3:37
2 “Sober” – 4:14
3 “I Don’t Believe You” – 4:38
4 “One Foot Wrong” – 3:27
5 “Please Don’t Leave Me” – 3:54
6 “Bad Influence” – 3:38
7 “Funhouse” – 3:27
8 “Crystal Ball” – 3:28
9 “Mean” – 4:20
10 “It’s All Your Fault” – 3:54
11 “Ave Mary A” – 3:18
12 “Glitter In The Air” – 3:49
13 “This Is How It Goes Down” (non-U.S. track) featuring Travis McCoy – 3:21

The first single, ‘So What‘, was produced by Max Martin, (who produced previous Pink hits such as ‘Who Knew’ and ‘U + Ur Hand’), and was released on August 18, 2008 as a single in North America. The single has been the biggest solo success of Pink’s career to date, topping the charts in eleven countries so far, including her native United States, the UK and in Australia, whilst reaching the top 5 in many others.
The second single, ‘Sober’, will be released to the U.S. in late November.

Funhouse debuted at No. 2 on the United States Billboard 200 chart issued on November 18, 2008, with sales of 180,624, behind AC/DC’s Wal-Mart exclusive, Black Ice, which claimed the top spot with its second-week sales of 272,842.
The album became Pink’s first UK number one album in the UK, entering at number one on November 2, 2008.

Since her debut in 2000, P!nk (Alecia Moore) has been widely hailed as a fearlessly talented singer, songwriter and the Pennsylvania native’s genre-defying creative risk-taking has propelled her to global stardom. To date, the chanteuse has sold 22 million albums cumulatively worldwide.

Album Information

Released October 28, 2008
Recorded 2007—2008
Genre Rock, pop, R&B, hip hop, pop punk, electropop, dance-pop
Length 47:02
Label LaFace
Producer Al Clay, Billy Mann, Butch Walker, Danja, Greg Wells, Eg White, MachoPsycho, Max Martin, Jimmy Harry, Tony Kanal

sources wikipedia.org and amazon.co.uk

Dowload Funhouse – PINK

Fantasy Ride – CIARA

bio — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:10:21 +0000

Fantasy Ride is the third studio album by American R&B/pop singer Ciara.
It will be released in the United Kingdom on May 3 and worldwide on May 5, 2009 through La Face, Jive and RCA Records.
It was made available for pre-order on the US iTunes on April 21 and April 22, 2009 in the UK.

Having sold over seven million albums with her debut, Goodies, and follow-up, The Evolution, Ciara raises the stakes with Fantasy Ride. Packed with energetic beats, dynamic production, and provocative lyrics, Fantasy Ride secures Ciara the top spot as a superstar performer. Features production by Justin Timberlake, Rodney Jerkins, Tricky, Polow Da Don, and Danja. Also features appearances by Missy, The-Dream, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Chris Brown, and T-Pain.

Fantasy Ride also introduces Ciara’s comic book character, “Super C“. Ciara said that Super C is her “inner strength and more aggressive persona”. The Super C character is set to become a major factor in Fantasy Ride promotion. She is a futuristic, superhero-esque Ciara, based on the robotic character Ciara portrayed in the “Go Girl” music video.

Here is the official cover for the album and the official cover for UK & Japanese release.

Ciara – Fantasy Ride Track Listing

Standard edition

1. “Ciara to the Stage” – 3:45
2. “Love Sex Magic” (featuring Justin Timberlake) – 3:40
3. “High Price” (featuring Ludacris) – 4:02
4. “Turntables” (featuring Chris Brown) – 4:31
5. “Like a Surgeon” – 4:27
6. “Never Ever” (featuring Young Jeezy) – 4:32
7. “Lover’s Thing” (featuring The-Dream) – 3:27
8. “Work” (featuring Missy Elliott) – 4:05
9. “Pucker Up” – 3:52
10. “G Is for Girl (A-Z)” – 3:37
11. “Keep Dancin’ on Me” – 3:33
12. “Tell Me What Your Name Is” – 3:38
13. “I Don’t Remember” – 3:47

Bonus tracks

14. “Echo” – 3:38 [UK & Japan Bonus Track]
15. “Go Girl” (featuring T-Pain) – 4:30 [3] [Japan Bonus Track]
16. “Never Ever” (Mike D Radio Mix) [Japan & UK Bonus Track]
17. “Love Sex Magic” (Jason Nevins Electric Bounce Radio Mix) [Japan Deluxe Edition Bonus Track]
18. “When I” [iTunes Pre-Order Only]

Limited deluxe edition

14. “Echo” (Danja, The Clutch)
15. “I’m On” (DropZone)
16. DVD with exclusive video content.
I. Behind the scenes at: Photoshoot, Rehearsals, Recording Studio
II. The Making of: Go Girl, Love Sex Magic, Never Ever
III. Music Videos: Love Sex Magic, Never Ever, Go Girl

Singles
“Never Ever“, the first official US single, was produced by Polow da Don and co-written by Ciara and Elvis “BlacElvis” Williams, the song it features Young Jeezy. It peaked at number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has currently peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Its UK release was cancelled due to poor U.S. sales.

The second single, “Love Sex Magic” features Justin Timberlake, who also co-wrote and co-produced the track alongside upcoming production team, The Y’s. The single is performing well on numerous charts, it reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland and number 5 in the UK.

Tours
Ciara will be the official support act for Britney Spears on the European leg of her The Circus Starring: Britney Spears tour in support of Fantasy Ride. Ciara will appear on 3rd – 7th June and once again from the 10th – 14th June at London’s O2 Arena.
Following The Circus tour, Ciara will embark on her own world tour in support of the album.

Album Information

Released May 5, 2009
Recorded 2008-2009
Genre R&B, pop, dance, hip hop
Label Jive, RCA, La Face
Producer Ciara Harris (executive), Christopher “Tricky” Stewart (co-executive), The-Dream, Dr. Luke, Danja, The Clutch, Jasper Cameron, Polow da Don, The Y’s, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Blade, Carlos “LOS” McKinney

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Gliding & Soaring (Ginuwine) – June 2009

bio — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:08:42 +0000

Over the course of his 13-plus year career, Ginuwine has been many things: singer, actor, sex symbol, dancer. And on his sixth studio album, A Man’s Thoughts, which was released in the U.S. on June 23, 2009, G finds himself still transitioning his image and style from that of a ladies man in his early 20s to that of a husband and father in his mid-30s. A Man’s Thoughts continues the growth found on his last few albums, but just barely. Creatively, it’s very possible that Ginuwine has reached his peak as an artist. But despite that, he still has enough talent and charisma to be considered one of R&B’s leading men.

Gliding & Soaring

It seems like it was just a couple of years ago since Elgin “Ginuwine” Lumpkin was dancing on a table and gyrating in the video for his first hit single, “Pony.” But it was actually way back in 1996, a full 13 years ago, and in the years since, Ginuwine’s career has had its ups and downs. Likewise, his sixth studio album, A Man’s Thoughts, has it’s own ups and downs. Among the ups: the album’s strong first single, “Last Chance,” a mid-tempo jam about trying to keep a fractured relationship together. The song, which was written and produced by Bryan Michael Cox and Adonis Shropshire, has great lyrics and production that properly showcases his thin but emotional singing voice. Other winners include the uptempo dance track “Get Involved,” featuring Timbaland and Missy Elliott, whom Ginuwine hadn’t collaborated with in years; and “Lying to Each Other,” which sounds Timbaland-produced, but was actually helmed by Elvis “Blac Elvis” Williams.Unfortunately, Timbaland only contibuted one song on the album: much of the production duties fell in the hands of various people, most notably RL, the former frontman for ’90s vocal group Next. And much of the production is uninspired and dated, not to mention cliched. Ginuwine is able to overcome this flaw on some tracks, but on others, like “Orchestra” and “Touch Me,” he can’t. Since his vocal style is fairly subdued, producers have always played a very important part in whether or not the listening audience feels his music. Unfortunately, only about half the time throughout A Man’s Thoughts do the songs soar instead of merely glide.

Songs in this album:

Bridge To Love Lyrics
Even When I’m Mad Lyrics
Get Involved Lyrics
Interlude Lyrics
Last Chance Lyrics
Lying To Each Other Lyrics
One Time For Love Lyrics
Open The Door Lyrics
Orchestra Lyrics
Show Me The Way Lyrics
Show Off Lyrics
Touch Me Lyrics
Trouble Lyrics
Used To Be The One Lyrics

Download A Man’s Thoughts

Jeremih (Jeremih)

bio — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:59:49 +0000

The story of every one-hit wonder is the same. Through a supremely mysterious combination of talent, ambition and luck, an unknown artist writes a song they didn’t expect would be popular outside their hometown (Hurricane Chris), the melody and hook turn into a musical crack rock America gets hooked on (J-Kwon), the song gets played continuously until everyone’s sick of it (Shop Boyz), and the artist is never able to match the intensity of their initial hit (Huey). Of course, every so often an artist explodes and stays hot (Flo-Rida) – sometimes they even become legends (Ludacris) – but those are the exceptions. Mims is the rule.

Considering he’s single handedly brought back the “it’s my birthday” pick-up line, it’s only fair that we ask one simple question: is Jeremih a one-hit wonder? In a word, no. Much to my delight the young Chicago crooner has crafted a self-titled debut album that chronicles a still developing artist with the ability to become a music industry mainstay. If labels could draft musicians like NBA teams draft players, he’d be the guy picked in the late first round who may not have been as highly touted, but immediately becomes a solid contributor. Did I just call Jeremih the Kevin Love of R&B? Yes, I believe I did.

There’s not much to say about Birthday Sex that hasn’t been said before, or done repeatedly. There’s a reason it’s a hit. The production is catchy without relying on gimmicks, Jeremih delivers a vocal performance with just enough auto-tune, and it’s about sex. Better than New Year’s Eve sex, which is always a little too drunk, and anniversary sex, which is always a little too heavy on the romance, Birthday Sex delivers a perfectly enjoyable experience. And yes, I’m talking about the song and the act.

But I’m not here to write about Birthday Sex, I’m here to write about everything besides Birthday Sex. Right off the bat there are some solid indications that Jeremih is no one-hit wonder album – first, there are exactly zero guest features (don’t worry, T-Pain and Weezy won’t starve). And second, the entire album is produced by up-and-comer Mick Schultz, making Jeremih and Schultz’s partnership a younger version of Dream and Tricky Stewart. In fact, calling him a Dream in training isn’t that crazy. Just take Raindrops, a track with a heartbeat drum line that Jeremih transforms into a R&B banger, or Buh Bye, a more pop-oriented jam that should pack dance floors. Now Jeremih’s got a way to go before he’s a Dream. The album occasionally dips into juvenile territory, most notably on the forced swagger anthem Imma Star and the painfully shallow My Ride, but Jeremih’s young. Give him time.

After listening to Jeremih I could make a couple more superstar comparisons, most notably on the album’s slowest track Starting All Over. On Starting All Over Jeremih flashes moments of Raphael Saadiq’s vocal style with the storytelling ability of Ne-Yo, who himself is the closest thing we have to a young Michael Jackson (RIP). More than any song on the album it’s Starting All Over that makes me hopeful about Jeremih’s future. It proves he has true musical depth, the ability to craft a song, not just make a hot track. Now a thousand things could happen between now and the hypothetical future success I’m predicting for Jeremih. He could knock up a former For the Love of Ray-J contestant and get his own reality show. He could start hanging out with Bobby Brown and pick up a drug habit. Or worse, he could decide to start chasing popular trends instead of creating them, diluting his music with focus groups and blatant please for radio love. But unless he changes his name to J-Homicide and catches a case, Jeremih’s got as bright an R&B future as anyone. Here’s hoping he gets there.

Grade B+ Review by Nathan

Download (Only for review only – If you like it, please buy the album legally)

Intuition (Jamie Foxx)

bio — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:37:27 +0000

Intuition is the third studio album by actor and R&B singer Jamie Foxx.
The follow-up to 2006’s platinum-selling ‘Unpredictable’ is another triumph for one of R&B’s smoothest performers and features a host of special guests.
Lil Wayne and Kanye West appear, as well as T.I., who is included on the first single ‘Just Like Me’.
‘Intuition’ is sure to please with writing and production by The Dream, Timbaland, Sean Garrett, Tricky, Salaam Remi and Marsha Ambrosia.
It was released on December 16, 2008 in the United States under J Records and debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 265,000 copies in its first week.

Jamie Foxx – Intuition Track Listing

1. “Just Like Me” (featuring T.I.) – 3:27
2. “I Don’t Need It” – 3:58
3. “Number One” (featuring Lil Wayne) – 5:02
4. “Digital Girl” (featuring Kanye West and The-Dream) – 4:47
5. “Blame It” (featuring T-Pain) – 4:51
6. “She Got Her Own” (featuring Ne-Yo and Fabolous) – 5:33
7. “Intuition Interlude” – 1:46
8. “I Don’t Know” – 3:23
9. “Weekend Lover” – 4:14
10. “Why” – 4:53
11. “Freakin’ Me” (featuring Marsha Ambrosius) – 3:46
12. “Slow” – 5:42
13. “Rainman” – 3:55
14. “Overdose” – 4:10
15. “Love Brings Change” (Bonus track) – 4:06

iTunes bonus track
“Cover Girl” (featuring Lil’ Kim) – 3:56

The first single, “Just Like Me“, was released on November 11, 2008 and debuted at number 48 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, it peaked at number 20.

This is not a CD for little children nor is it for people with one foot in the grave. You will be able to party on it as well as have grown up time with it.
Great follow up Jaime!

Album Information

Released December 16, 2008
Recorded 2007–2008
Genre R&B, Hip-Pop
Label J
Producer Timbaland, Kanye West, Mike City, Sean Garrett, Babyface, Chris “Deep” Henderson, Drama Family Entertainment, Jamie Foxx, Jim Jonsin, No I.D., Tricky Stewart, Stargate, Calvo Da Gr8

Download (Only for review, If you like it, please download legally)

Intuition