After releasing their fourth album, 2010’s InDRUpendence Day, R&B quartet Dru Hill gifted fans with its first-holiday album with 2017’s Christmas in Baltimore. The lineup of Sisqo, Jazz, Nokio, and Tao, who made an appearance on InDRUpendence Day, returned for this project. Dru Hill worked primarily with legendary producer Troy Taylor for this particular project.
Christmas in Baltimore opens with a soulful instrumental intro before transitioning into the lead single “Favorite Time of Year.” A sultry slow jam, “Favorite Time of Year” features the Midas production touch of Troy Taylor mixed with the classic Dru vocals. Sisqo opens up the song with pure showmanship while the rest of the group backs him up.
“This Christmas” is up, and while I initially thought the group was going to do an update of their cover of Donny Hathaway’s classic, the group goes the up-tempo route for a stepper’s vibe. I like this one because the group appeals to a younger crowd with Taylor’s production while avoiding the auto-tune route. The grown man vibes continue with “Get Away,” which finds the group actually breaking away from the holiday vibes. Instead, they make a successful dabble in the Dancehall genre. Sisqo straight bodies the song, and I could’ve easily seen this song as a lead single on a non-Christmas album.
Dru Hill’s signature harmony shows up on “No Holiday,” a mid-tempo ballad about a man missing his lady love. Jazz gets a chance to shine on “Fireplace” with his signature vocals and solidifies the need for a Jazz solo record ASAP. Nokio leads the next song, “T’is the Season.” This track is clearly for the clubs. Now, while I’m not a massive fan of auto-tune, given Nokia’s talents as a producer and Rock musician, I do understand the vibe he was going for. Quite honestly, “T’is the Season” would feel right at home on the soundtrack for an urban comedy flick.
The midtempo “Underneath the Mistletoe” and a cover of a Christmas classic close the album out. Tao glides through “Underneath the Mistletoe” like a bird in the wind with a strong solo. In comparison, Sisqo offers assistance on the bridge of the song. Dru finally goes back to ballads for the swan song, a cover of The Temptations “Silent Night.”
Originally appearing on The Tempt’s, 1980 Christmas album, Give Love at Christmas, “Silent Night” is a holiday staple in the Black community. The popular meme says, “It Ain’t Christmas until you hear Dennis Edward croon In My Mind.” So how does Dru Hill do with their version? Pretty decent, in my opinion, as the group never tries to outshine The Tempts and instead makes the song their own by utilizing their vocal strengths.
I hadn’t heard Christmas in Baltimore since the initial 2017 release, but I am glad I decided to revisit the project as I found some new songs to add to my Christmas playlist.
Final Grade: B+
Christmas in Baltimore is available on all streaming platforms.
There are some albums you revisit because of nostalgia, and then there are albums you return to because they remind you just how high the standard used to be. Anita Baker’s Rapture falls into that second category. Released in 1986, the album did more than make Baker a star. It helped define what sophisticated, grown R&B could sound like without losing any soul, sensuality, or personality.
Gwen Stefani had already established herself as a significant force with No Doubt when she released her debut solo album, *Love. Angel. Music. Baby* in 2004. This week, while my iPod was on shuffle, one of my favorite songs from that project, “The Real Thing,” came on. Although the original version has an upbeat new-wave feel, the Slow Jam Mix takes it to another level and is the perfect choice for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday.
Unless you’re a music purist, mentioning Randy Jackson from the famous family is likely to elicit a joke. However, any serious Jackson fan knows that Randy had musical achievements long before the punchlines. Before he was old enough to buy a drink, he had already co-written “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” and “Lovely One” with Michael Jackson.