Two years since his previous effort Gutter Rainbows hit stores, Brooklyn rhymer Talib Kweli drops off his fifth solo album Prisoner of Conscious. With an array of featured guests, a magnitude of rhythmically responsive instrumental backdrops and more subject matters than a book of short stories, the 15 track lyrical get down is a tempo frenzy of intellectual poetry.
Having begun her ventures in music with a brief encounter in former band XQuisite, R&B singer/songwriter Melanie Fiona launched her solo career with her debut album The Bridge in 2009, earning her first Grammy award nomination for hit single "It Kills Me." The Canadian singer is back with her sophomore album, The MF Life, packed with emotion as she delves deeper.
Hi, I'm Marvin Sparks and I appreciate all types of music (generic mucho?). You can follow me on Twitter to see the madness I listen to. Some may criticise, but I'm genre-blind; it's all about chord progressions, drums and (in my case) HEAVY bass.
While I say I'm genre-blind, this whole post is about genres. Seems a bit contradictory until I explain why...
‘Twas a cold December night and my mission was to observe some soul music in the form of Melanie Fiona supported by Nathan Watson in the cosy (and warm) venue The Luminaire, Kilburn.
Nathan Watson was first to take the stage and hit us with some of his original material, the Curtis Mayfield inspired ‘Watz Goin’ On,’ ‘Soulsisticated,’ and ‘Somebody Help Me.’ His music bounced between being super funky and super smooth. ‘Leave Me Alone’ was a sort of old country/blues/soul mix, in the same vein as ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’
Watson also played his forthcoming single ‘Reach Out’ and at times reminded me of Finlay Quaye. He closed with a few covers, an uptempo and funkier version of ‘Ordinary People,’ ‘Superstition’ and ‘I Want To Take You Higher.’ All this soul funk left the crowd salivating for the headline act.
Miss Fiona burst on stage with a whole load of energy, attitude and a hat covering her eyes to the track ‘Ay Yo’ from her album The Bridge.
Melanie Fiona brought The Bridge to life on Tuesday night in a high-energy, dynamic and electrifying performance at London’s Jazz Cafe.
The night started with a stellar warm-up set by new artist Daley, whose soulful simpers sailed effortlessly over Maxwell’s “Pretty Wings” amongst his own tracks to a moderately full crowd.
When Melanie Fiona graced the stage around 30 minutes later, however, the space was packed to almost-sweatbox conditions and the crowd welcomed her with rapturous applause. The intimate surroundings served Melanie well as she explained that, while she enjoyed touring in huge arenas with Alicia Keys, “I love being able to see your faces!”
New Canadian/Caribbean R&B/Soul singer songwriter Melanie Fiona has delivered a wonderful debut album called The Bridge. On it, she reveals countless sides of her personality. She is strong, sexy, contemplative, and joyous. On this album, she uses a variety of different musical styles with an...
Three years and five mixtapes into his career, Wale's debut album, Attention Deficit isn't offered as an introduction to Olubowale 'Wale' Folarin – instead, it seems to be announcing that he's always been here and you've only just caught up.
Named one of XXL Magazine's Hip Hop Freshmen of '09, Wale's over-confidence in his position as a leader in contemporary Hip Hop's new movement isn't baseless. “I asked Mr West for a little bit of help...” Wale raps on the energetic opening track, “Triumph”. Of course, Kanye West isn't the only musical powerhouse behind Wale; he is in company with Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and label-boss Mark Ronson. However, on “Triumph” and closing cut “Prescription,” Wale seeks respect from his audience based off of his own merit.
It's been a long journey to The Bridge for Canadian songstress Melanie Fiona, one that's taken her across the world. I ask how London matches up to all of the cities she's visited while virtually living out of her suitcase. “I love it! If I could live and work here I would.” ...Over her hometown Toronto? “Well, I can't live AND work in Toronto...” she responds, addressing something I was preparing to discuss later in the interview; Canada's sparse black music scene. While Toronto has a plethora of diverse urban talent, the opportunities for them to penetrate the mainstream Canadian music industry is almost non-existent.