It's so rare that I come across a great R&B ballad these days that when I hear one, it's incredibly refreshing. Even better, the ballad below features two of my favorite artists you may not have a healthy enough appreciation for. I've waxed poetic a few times about the talents of Donald Glover, but you may not have gotten a solid dose of the extremely soothing vocals of Jhene Aiko. There's a complete calmness about her voice that sounds so soft on the ears. There's a great underlying message in Bed Peace that I hope you can fully take in too. It's extremely well written and thought provoking, so don't cut it short by simply vibing out to the mellow vibes the track produces. Word on the streets is that the track below is going to surface on her upcoming Sail Out EP that will be a precursor to her big studio debut Souled Out, which is scheduled for a 2014 release by Def Jam Records. You can bet that this won't be the last time you hear from her on this blog before that comes out...#BedPeace
Like death and taxes, there are a few things you can count on in life. Another truism you can add to that list is @neyocompound producing consistently top notch R&B music. From producing to writing to performing songs himself as a vocalist, he's really good at what he does. Thankfully, in an effort to post a few more R&B tracks per month and get back to the Slow Jam of the Month post, he came through with a new single that fits in nicely with what I'm trying to do.
From the whiny instrumental lead in to the slow, heavy drum and bass mixing with soft piano, the ingredients for a great slow jam are there from the start. It helps that Ne-Yo's lyrics on the verses tug on the heartstrings and the easy to relate to hook is delivered so soulfully that you can't help but sing it yourself. Dude just knows how to craft a slow jam from start to finish by getting the most out of the trifecta of hitmaking (writing, producing, vocals).
Not only have I been slacking on the Hip Hop, I feel like I'm falling even farther behind on the R&B. I used to do a slow jam of the month and I'm considering bringing that back starting today with 4 AM. Hailing from the homeland of Drizzy @Drake, aka the frosty land of T Dot, @MELANIEFIONA is a hidden gem. She didn't get the dap she deserved for her debut album The Bridge and last month she quietly released her sophomore album The MF Life. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of her first single, Gone and Never Coming Back, I'm a huge buyer of 4 AM and her newest single with @bobatl, Change the Record.
If you held a gun to my head and forced me to pick a favorite, I'd reluctantly pick 4 AM, but it's close to a coin flip. I'm siding with 4 AM because the woman scorned tracks have always resonated with me for some reason. Between the high powered vocals and outpouring of emotion, it's hard for me not to gravitate to the track. The vocals are so soul filled, you feel the pain of the woman waiting up for her man as he's out on the town, most likely up to no good. It's not easy to find the unedited version of the track, which is unfortunate because the mf fits well in the hook. I've got a feeling the talented @iamricolove had a lot to do with the end result and success of the track, but that's not to take away from the A+ delivery by Melanie.
When it comes to R&B vocalists, there are very few out right now that have as soulful of voices as @hamiltonanthony and @misskeribaby. Anthony has that raspy, throwback tone you could compare to a Bill Withers and Keri...I can't think of an better female artist in R&B when it comes to vocal range. Add to that the legendary touch of Babyface who wrote co-wrote and produced the track below and you've got yourself a concentration of R&B talent that is hard to top.
Plus it's been a minute since I posted a slow jam, so in an effort to not lose touch of my softer side, tonight I'm giving some dap to two of the most talented (both vocally and writing) individuals in the game. If you're a fan of Anthony, you probably already know his new album Back to Love is due out in three days on Tuesday, December 13th. I'd venture a guess that it's chalked full of grown and sexy music that both you and your parents, who more than likely dig the old school sound of his voice, can share over the holidays...#ParentsLoveSlowJams
Anthony Hamilton feat Keri Hilson - Never Let Go (prod by Babyface) |iTunes
Man it's been a while since I heard @kem_intimacy's grown and sexy ballad Share My Life. The track and Kem's Intimacy album has been out about a year now, but when I woke up to the track below as my radio alarm on Sunday, it was such a calm, peaceful way to start the day that I couldn't help but have a good day. Straight up, dude is the modern day Teddy Pendergrass and epitomizes what my twenty-something generation refers to as grown and sexy music.
"Older, mature yet hip; something that is for a more mature group of people"
Somethin' like Earth, Wind and Fire or Isley Brothers...anything that a girl in their 20s wouldn't look at you like "No way you're puttin' that on and gettin' in these jeans" (#ginuwineVoice). In other words, somethin' so classic that it plays even with the younger ladies. In short, G&S music walks a tenuous line with young women and is usually a tool only used by the confident, audacious male types, but to be fair, in the end your chances are probably more contingent on your level of game.
I digress, but real talk, if you don't have game and you're still tryin' to impress a girl, learn the lyrics to this track for the pillowtalk move, slow dance style. Lord knows this has been on my BMM playlist for quite a while, but hearing it when I woke up this weekend reminded me just how much I loved this track. I'm givin' it the classic stamp, it's reached that level of legitimacy...which rhymes with Intimacy...cop that!
It's safe to say @kevinmccall1 & @chrisbrown have a good thing goin' with their success on Deuces, which lead up to their recent mixtape together Un-Invited Guests, hosted by @djdrama & @deejayillwill. Safe to say this is the best cut off that mixtape and a solid chance for top BMM playlist addition this month. Feel free to stream the mixtape below...
On first reaction, this is one of the better R&B slow jam collaborations I've heard in quite a while. There are slow jams and then there are BMM slow jams, this one falling on the latter side of the spectrum as Jamie harmonizes his way seductively out the speakers before giving way to yet another introspective, poetic verse delivered by ADG. I swear the slower the track, the more @drakkardnoir is able to shine with his slightly personal, but always coherent and eloquent descriptions of the well delivered subject matter.
This time the subject just so happens to be that type of girl that you always end up falling for. Whether that be the chick who is the life of the party and always up for an adventure, or the stylish chick who is crazy beautiful, but you always end up going home with a shopping bag of stuff that's only half yours...or even the girl with the piercing eye contact that is curvy like a cello and constantly affectionate...we all have our "types" and too often they're based mainly on looks and as a result, type becomes a word synonymous with "vice" rather than "acquired taste". But through the years we learn to never trust a big butt and a smile and those who are confident enough to keep refining their "type" are always the ones that prevail. #My2Pennies + #ADimeWorthKeeping = #PlentySense
Read along while you press play below and fast forward to the 2:33 mark for Drizzy's verse...
"Look, dress hanging off your shoulder, barely sober
Telling me how you moving away and starting over
Girl, quit playing you just drunk, you just saying sh**
Oh you dance, dance like how, like ballet and sh**
Oh, wait, no, I get it girl, I’m with it
I’ve been down this road before and yeah I skidded but forget it
Damn, yeah, I wonder why I never why I learned my lesson
It’s feeling like the second chance and its the first impression
And I heard it’s nothing new except for someone new
But how you supposed to find the one when anyone will come with you
Talking to myself but I never listen,
Cuz man it’s been a while, and I swear that this ones different
That’s why I’mma take you anywhere you wanna go
Let you meet my friends so they can lecture me again about
How reckless I have been
And I’m slowly running out of all the time that I invest in
Making all the same mistakes
And I’m just trying to correct it and I fall..."
This one will be found on Jamie's upcoming album Body, due out December 14th. Shouts out to @ovo40 on the beat, set it off real propa like. Don't be afraid to slow it down for a hot minute folks, there's no better way to set the mood than with a track this smooth...
Jamie Foxx feat Drake - Fall For Your Type (prod by Noah “40” Shebib)
Sort of an out of left field collaboration, but one that I was and still am really excited about. Tank is somewhat of an under-appreciated R&B artist, having dropped heat rocks like I Love Them Girls Part II, as well as offering us timeless love songs like Please Don't Go. Clearly, his bread and butter is the classic slow jam and the track below is no deviation from the mean.
Don't get it twisted, this has a lullaby sound to it and more than it's fair share of repeatable harmonies. Not only does @therealtank hit a few enviable high notes on the track, his hook on the track is addicting when he hits that high note on "It's like Fiiiirrrreeworks just light up the sky". I see Drizzy's verse as icing on the cake to an already great track. There is no other artist who crafts verses better over R&B tracks, which is why I'm looking forward to his upcoming Mixtape titled It's Never Enough, dropping sometime in Nov-Dec. Check the verse below:
How’d I do how’d I do, baby tell me how you feel
They say real girls ain’t never perfect, perfect girls ain’t real
I’d I agree, but I guess we’ll just wait and see
Cause I swear you act like perfect is the only way to be
Nothing matters ‘cept for you, don’t let no one out here blind you
Don’t remember why you love me, please allow me to remind you
And I know you left me once, but I came right back to find you
Even though I like being in your past you got a bright future behind you
Oh, damn, oh
Girl I must admit I look amazing next to you
Girl you crazy, sexy, cool and you stayed obsessed to school
But thats good, cause you know that them grades impress me too
And my free days are just for you, but I don’t get many
Its like every time we spend time, it feels like the first time
Cause we never spend enough time, you catch me at the worst time
It ain’t like your not worth time, just I don’t control it
But tonight I made it happen just to celebrate the moment
Give it up one time
If you're in the mood for a slow jam with a side of @drakkardnoir, this hits the spot...check it...
Having had this track for a good three days now and taking it on more than a few laps around the iPod, I've learned to accept it as one of my personal anthems (lyrically). As someone who covets and values an independent woman, I've run into my fair share of treacherous roadblocks along that independent woman path. Call it a double edged sword or wanting your cake and eating it to, nowadays they become a Great White Buffalo more often than a significant other.
Of course I can't explain the predicament as well as Mr Raymond as he paints the picture of a stubborn guy who refuses to give up his personal search for the Holy Grail...the woman he's got his eye on who is Damaged like Danity Kane from a past relationship, making it an uphill battle when it comes to earning trust. Usher puts it best when he says:
Yeah you're independent as hell and
Doin' it by yourself
But what you gon’ do when the night time get cold (when they get cold)
You told me (I know you told me)
You’d rather be lonely (lonely)
You don’t even know me
I ain’t moving out the way from nothin',
I'm stubborn,
Cause you said you'd never give away your heart again
Well I'll be knockin' til you let me in...
Therein lies the uphill battle, trying to convince an already independent woman to trust again after being hurt by one of your kind, with the endgame implying she's willing to confide in you, which goes against the very essence of what makes her self-reliant. Mind boggling when you over-analyze the shit out of it listen to the lyircs, but truth be told, patience is a necessity when attempting to get past the daunting obstacles en route to gaining the highly sought after, rarely given trust that a wounded self sustaining female possesses...patience, luck and a whole lotta faith. "Don't you wish there was a button we could reset and make it eeeeeaaaassayy"...if only life were that eeeeaaaasay.
The crux of why I love music, if you listen to enough of it you'll find some artist or songwriter that can personally relate...making you feel like you're not the only one who has gone down a one way road with no end in sight...with the end result making it easier to sort through the most unpredictable element of life, human emotion. A+ to Usher on the ballad, haven't heard one from him like this since Moving Mountains. Also, shouts out to Drumma Boy who is a great producer and more well known for tracks like Money To Blow by Birdman, Lil Wayne and Drake, as well as Ten Toes Down by Ball & G.
This one is more of a ballad (hence the slow jam) where Shontelle does her best Beyonce impression absolutely killin' the verses with her crazy melody and vocals. This one is sorta inspiring in a way lyrically, it'll give you a pick me up if you're in the car comin' home from work and need somethin' chill that you can vibe to and tilt the balance of your day to the good side. If you're in the mood for a little piano and some powerful lyrics give this one a listen...
Who in the world is One Call you ask? Well if you went with new boyband, you're right and even better they're formed with...yep you guessed it, ex members of boybands. I know, you can't even make something that crazy up right?...haha.
Anyways, this track is a picturesque lullaby that has Darkchild's hand prints allll over it. I'd argue you could have plugged in just about any R&B act here and the song would have been great, but I also don't want to take away from the powerful vocals provided by One Call. The do an excellent job of painting a picture of looking out for that girl that you know has lost perspective and just needs to take a deep breath, step back and relax, knowing that you're there for them and they're not alone in whatever they are going through. Guys you know what I'm talkin' bout, that feeling you get when you see a girl close to you get really overwhelmed by something in their life...almost to a point where you feel like saying, "yo slow down B, there's no good reason to stress, it'll all eventually work out, life's too short to waste it worryin' about what could happen especially when you'll always have me in your corner." Unfortunately that message oftentimes falls on deaf ears and a some continue to fear they're gonna crash and aren't willing to let you take a hold of the wheel because they don't want you to get hurt and be a part of collateral damage as a result of the crash ...
...but that's neither here nor there, either way don't sleep on this one, One Call does the slow jam justice by giving the track the emotional depth it needs to hit home with the audience.
It really doesn't get much better than this when it comes to creating a great ballad. Start off with a simple beat set off with a soft piano vibe and then Alicia comes in with that angelic voice of hers.
The energy draws you in, the sorrow is palpable and better yet anyone whose ever loved and lost can relate to it.
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