Planet Earth by Prince
Prince is among the most easily recognized artists in the world. Born Prince Rogers Nelson, his first studio album was released in Spring 1978 and since then he’s released 24 studio albums. Among those albums he’s had five Number 1 singles, a litter of Top 10 singles, and four #1 albums along with some Grammy awards sprinkled in. He’s also produced for other top-selling artists like Whitney Houston, Sheila E., Alicia Keys, Tevin Campbell, Madonna, and The Time. He was named #28 on Rolling Stones Top 100 Artists of All-Time in 2004 and #5 on the Top 25 Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years. Having gone through several name changes, writing “slave” on his face over a dispute with his former label Warner Bros., and some interesting love relationships Prince remains an icon of pop culture. Planet Earth is his 24th LP.
Like most people I know I enjoy and appreciate Prince’s music but I’m not a “Prince freak”, excuse the pun. Certainly, his hits rival the catalog of almost any artist you can name. Part of his appeal is also that he appears timeless having turned 49 years old last month. Still, with Planet Earth I honestly didn’t quite know what to expect other than at least two singles that would likely be listenable. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong.
The album starts off with a solemn lead-in to the title track Planet Earth. Here Prince does his socially conscious thing by using his instrument to speak on earth-friendliness, race relations, and war. I would expect nothing less from Prince. Whether you agree with his commentary or not, the track is a good R&B/rock mix that picks up nicely as you get into the song. Even if some may see the track as “preachy” it doesn’t weight itself down. Very nice guitar riffs at the end as well.
“Somewhere Here On Earth” is another track of note that has a well-infused R&B/jazz sound. Great muted trumpet solo at the beginning that has a very “Miles Davis”-like quality. The track itself will remind jazz listeners of a Billie Holiday sound. The track is very smooth, soft, and sexy but not in a pornagraphic way many of us tend to characterize Prince’s music as.
The next track “The One U Wanna C” is hard to pigeon-hole. Maybe a little Counting Crows meets Fishbone? Whatever, it’s still uniquely Prince. Possibly what Prince does the best on this album is rock and this is a song that maybe displays it best. If you liked his Superbowl halftime performance last year you’ll like this track.
***Star Track***
You may disagree after listening to the album, but my favorite track was “Mr. Goodnight”. CLASSIC Prince with a modern feel. Ya’ll they got Prince rapping and he did a good job! The beat and the mood of the song reminds me of “Big Poppa”, but again, it’s uniquely Prince. A strong headbobber that will draw in the younger listener who probably doesn’t remember “Rasberry Berret”.
I realize most people won’t consider this to be among Prince’s classics, but it has to go among his better releases. Prince manages to craft an album that simultaneously bridges the gap between younger listeners and his core base and brings in non-traditional Prince listeners by keeping the album PG. He also caters to the mainstream rock audience with tracks like “Lion of Judah” and “Guitar”. Prince again displays himself as a technician at production and pines out an album without any throwaway tracks.
I give Planet Earth an A rating.
The Daily News by Donnie
Donnie is a soul/R&B artist hailing originally from Lexington, KY. Having honed his craft in Atlanta, GA, his Southern gospel influences are as prevalent as his socio-political commentary. His first album, The Colored Section, would go on to receive critical acclaim after an inauspicious debut. He claims Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Donnie Hathaway as his musical influences as he helps keep their legends alive through his music. The Daily News is Donnie’s second LP.
Though I love Donnie’s music, I’ve always felt that I wouldn’t be able to do his art justice in a review format. Therefore, I handed over the reigns to my wife, Shaunta Holmes-Reese for the review below since she was better suited to dissect what Donnie does best on his newest album. His music is as complex as it is enjoyable and I thank my wife for taking her time out to help a brother out. Her review is below.
Once again, people should open their ears and minds to what Donnie has to say on his newest LP The Daily News.. The album starts off strong with two of America’s biggest tragedies; the too soon forgotten 2005 Hurricane Katrina is represented by the song, “Impatient People” and the unforgettable per media events of 9/11 that are deeply embedded in the song titled “911.” Donnie gets his message across to listeners immediately saying, “I’ll trade the World Trade to spend some time with you baby, I’ll trade my racism, my sexism, my homophobia, trade all my funny ways, my financial center, gonna be a cold and lonely winter without you.”
After Donnie releases his emotions about unforeseen events, he let’s loose on the pharmaceutical industry with a full fledged band on “Over the Counter Culture” featuring Phonte of Little Brother. The song blasts the legality of chemicals and drugs used to “fix” the diseases of people, emphasizing that America supplies the drugs and the pharmaceutical companies “don’t never be breaking no laws” as they provide over priced ways to kill people who are already dying financially.
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Double Up by R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly is a Grammy Award-winning R&B artist/producer from Chicago, Illinois. He originally broke into the music scene nationally with his former group The Public Announcement. After leaving his group a year after their album release, R Kelly would go on to achieve immense career success including 3 Grammy’s for his single from the Space Jam soundtrack, “I Believe I Can Fly”. That same song would also be voted #406 in the Top 500 Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. He has also produced tracks for several platinum recording artists such as Janet and Michael Jackson, The Isley Brothers, Nas, Celine Dion, and Jay-Z along with helping to spawn several artists’ careers such as Aaliyah, Changing Faces, and Sparkle. It’s estimated he’s sold over 50 million albums worldwide. His latest LP is titled Double Up and it is his 12th LP to date.
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The Undisputed Truth by Brother Ali
Brother Ali is a hip hop artist hailing from the mecca of rhymes, Madison, WI. Having been birthed as an albino named Jason Newman, his striking appearance only accentuates his exceptional lyrical abilities. Though a rising artist, some of the notables under his belt include his well-received demo album, Rites of Passage, and a good run in the 2000 Scribble Jam Festival rap battle. Having gone from releasing a celebrated debut album to being homeless, Ali bounces back with his second LP titled The Undisputed Truth.
As an artist noted for his unapologetic and unabashed style, Ali starts off his album with no “intro” as a chaser. His first track “Whatcha’ Got” starts with only solemn organ music before Ali kicks the door in. This opening track is very aggressive with looping, background guitar riffs and BA’s 80′s-style delivery and flow. He even pays homage to that style with a mid-track bridge that is reminiscent of the BDP days of old. With his opening track, he sets the table for what type of meal is ahead and gives an idea of where he’s coming from even if you haven’t heard any of his previous music.
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From Rich House to Outhouse
Filed under: Blog Entries, Music Reviews, Society & Culture
OK…maybe Hip hop’s decline is THAT marked, but it is significant. According to www.futuremusic.com, rap sales declined from 2005 to 2006 at a clip of 21 percent. For the first time in 12 years, no hip hop album cracked the Top 10 for year. There are more theories on this decline than there are Too Short album releases. Thoughts range from the genre being in a rut to the idea that many of Hip Hop’s founding fathers are growing older and more mature and therefore more conscious of what type of music they produce. All those are great theories but my contention is for D) none of the above.
Fact is, I doubt many hip hoppers have suddenly had “come to Christ” experiences en masse. Also, though rap is suffering artistically from the record label machine pumping out “dough boy” hits, all music genres follow their marketing playbooks in hopes of putting out a winner. You don’t think Justin Timberlake sells so many albums because his falsetto, pale skin, and smooth dance moves are a first for the music industry do you?(See Michael Jackson)
When it all boils down to it, Caucasian youths have financially supported the Hip Hop Movement. Read more
The Return of the Magnificent by DJ Jazzy Jeff
Filed under: Blog Entries, Entertainment & Sports, Music Reviews
Here’s another CD review from Darrell. This is one of his most recent posts on theojohnson.net, so I thought I’d share here. Hope you enjoy.
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As a hip-hop fan, you have to sometime wish that there was some type of Rapper 401(k) or pension plan. There are some of our greatest pioneers out there who did it for the love before there was even money in it. Some even fell by the wayside b/c of convictions, drugs, poor money management, or even just being a one-hit wonder. Thankfully, Jeffrey Townes didn’t fall into that category…even if you didn’t know it. Despite being the lesser known half of the 90′s supergroup “DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince”, Jazzy Jeff has been doing quite well for himself. While Willie has been off becoming a movie icon, Jazz has been the musical force behind icons like Jill Scott and Musiq. He’s also produced for Little Brother, De La Soul, and he even dropped some birds for his boy Will. “The Return of the Magnificent” is Jazzy’s fif album, yo.
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After the Music Stops by Lecrae
I hate to see hip-hop get a bad name because of the media, so I thought I’d repost this music review from Darrell. This CD is part of my collection and it’s one I’d recommend to anyone interested in music with a message. If you want to keep it real, this CD is about as real as it gets. Check it out and let me know what you think.
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Lecrae is a Christian rapper based in Memphis, Tennessee. Signed to Reach Records, Lecrae has dedicated himself to flowing Christian-based lyrics and witnessing Christ to the world with his words. Lecrae notes that he gave his life to Christ at the age of 19 after living a life of “excessive sin”. He says that his aim is “to digest theology and spit it back out so the streets can digest it.”
Attention Hip-Hop! Your Chickens Have Come Home to Roost!
Well, it was good while it lasted.
We came, we saw, we partied, we laughed, we called a lotta women out their names… I’ll always cherish how amazingly fluid and smooth “beeoch!” rolls off the tongue at the end of most any of your favorite rapper’s title LP. Well, time to pack up your belongings and take the fast train to reality because for us(hip hop heads, young Black folks, African Americans, etc.) to think it’s ok to refer to women in such demeaning ways is gone. How can anyone in this day and age hope for TRUE racial equality while tolerating the disgusting amount of misogyny in mainstream hip hop? In your mind, attempt to conceive Malcolm X rolling down the streat with his wife Betty Shabazz at his side bumping “Nasty Bitch” full bore through his Alpines. As ridiculous as that may seem, many of us twenty-somethings-plus have lived in that oxymoron for well over 20 years now. Think about how that illegitimizes the valiance and honor of every single slave that ever dared to stand against the injustice they faced EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Top Notch Music Reviews
Filed under: Blog Entries, Entertainment & Sports, Music Reviews
Music is an important part of any culture. It can stir the soul and make us loosen up a little. That was quite evident at a press dinner where America witnessed the infamous Karl “MC” Rove dancing to a rap song. Now while this video may be ridiculous and potentially offensive, it just goes to show the influence music can have over us. This leads me to the main reason behind this post.
Top Notch Music Reviews will be moving to this part of my site. Darrell’s had some good reviews in the past and I admire the time he spends to put out quality work. I haven’t been able to blog much on entertainment when it comes out, so I’m hoping this will give some of you music buffs something to read. I’m always open to having guest writers on the blog, so if anyone else is interested in covering a specific topic, let me know. I’ll be posting some of his previous reviews, over the next couple of weeks.
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