R&B singer Chris Brown is somewhat of an enigma when it comes to music. Now and then, he will release a song that harks back to the promise he showed when his career first started.
More often than not, though, he chooses to do what’s popular instead of tapping into his full talent. As Brown prepares to headline the “One Of Them Ones Tour” and release his tenth album, Breezy, I wanted to spotlight one of the singles from that album, “Warm Embrace.”
Linking up with producer Don City, Chris samples one of the all-time great slow jams, Guy’s “Let’s Chill.” One of the most surprising things about the song is that Chris avoids auto-tune and reverts to his tenor. When Brown sings the lyrics, “I can see your mind is overworked, boo/Tension in your body when I touch you/Girl, you deserve it I’m gon’ make every second of this worth it/Love how you do everything you do with a purpose, babe,” they come across more convincing.
While I like the track, I won’t pretend it’s anything groundbreaking or falling into the song of the year category. Only Chris knows what direction he’s taking with Breezy arriving on June 24th. Per a tweet the singer sent out on June 7th, his tenth album will have twenty-four songs.
Final Grade: B
“Warm Embrace” is available on all streaming platforms.
This weekend is about celebrating the King of Pop, Mr. Michael Jackson, and his legacy. For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to highlight his debut solo album, “Got To Be There,” which was released on January 24th, 1972.
Fifteen years after his untimely passing, the King of Pop’s music continues to resonate with us, a testament to its timeless appeal. As we honor his heavenly birthday this past Thursday, I wanted to pay tribute to him with ‘Loving You’ for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday.
When we reminisce about the potential of lead singers who could have been iconic solo acts, the name Sisqó immediately springs to mind. The front man for R&B quartet Dru Hill, Sisqó, stormed onto the scene in 1999 with his solo debut ‘Unleash the Dragon.’ The success of the singles ‘Incomplete’ and ‘Thong Song’ propelled Sisqó’s solo debut to sell a staggering five million copies in the US alone, leaving an indelible mark on the music industry.