Music Reviews

There’s no question that Canadian singer Tamia is unsung. While she has six Grammys nominations and numerous other awards, mainstream success has yet to be in the cards. I was a month into my first overseas assignment in England when she released her third album, More.

As a music enthusiast, I will never forget June 25, 2009. That day, a fellow passenger on the shuttle bus informed me of Michael Jackson’s passing. For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I revisited Jackson’s tenth and final studio album, Invincible. It’s common knowledge that Jackson faced legal issues in 1993, which affected his career.

This weekend is about celebrating The King Of Pop, Mr. Michael Jackson, and his legacy. For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I initially had plans to do a write-up on “The Lady In My Life” from Thriller. However, in honor of Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary, I decided to go with one of my favorite Hip Hop ballads, “Hey Lover,” which samples the song.

Today is Father’s Day, so I wanted to highlight a legendary father and son duo for Second Listen Sunday. Arriving in stores on Sept 26, 1995, Father and Son was the first full-length collaboration between the late great Gerald LeVert and his dad Eddie LeVert.

Next to New Edition, one performer who I always make time to see any time they are in my city is Eric Roberson. I’ve lost count of times I’ve witnessed Erro wreck shop on stage. One performance that sticks out was in 2016 at The Birchmere in Alexandria. During a “Do The Same For Me” performance, Eric brought his dad on stage to sing the song with him.

Lead singers going solo from their group is nothing new. Sometimes the solo venture happens when they are still with the group; other times, they wait until the group is on hiatus. Jordan Knight was the primary lead vocalist in the massively successful New Kids On The Block pop group. With a falsetto style modeled after the legendary Russell Thompkins Jr of The Stylistics, Knight led his group to numerous top-ten hits.

DeBarge, Motown’s eighties answer to The Jackson 5, was introduced to a whole new era of fans when one of Hip Hop goats, The Notorious B.I.G., sampled their 1983 classic “Stay With Me” for the remix to “One More Chance.” “Stay With Me” appeared on the group’s third album, In a Special Way.

Industry giant Clive Davis shook numerous heads when he announced his new label J Records after he was ousted from Arista Records in 2000.

There’s no doubt that the Jackson Family is a musical dynasty. You can go anywhere in the world, and there’s a good chance you will hear a song by Michael or Janet on the radio. In the past, I’ve given some flowers to solo releases from Jermaine and Jackie, but for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to shout out 3T.

Luther Vandross, Tank, Gwen Stefani, and Whitney Houston are just some of the names who got their start singing background vocals for more successful singers who would later find success on their own. One name who often gets lost in the shuffle is Trey Lorenz.

Songtress Lil Mo hit the scene in 1998 with her debut single “5 Minutes” from the soundtrack to Why Do Fools Fall In Love under the tutelage of icon Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott. While the song was received well by urban audiences wasn’t until Mo’s appearance on Missy Elliott’s record-breaking single “Hot Boyz” that the industry began to take note. Mo would follow that song with two successful Ja Rule collaborations in “Put It On Me” and “I Cry,” which set the stage for her debut album Based on a True Story.

R&B trio Bell, Biv, Devoe just wrapped up a successful tour with their parent group New Edition and I’m sure they are already cooking up some dates for Summer 2023 as BBD.