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.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit 2004 and highlight Romeo’s debut solo album, formerly of Immature. Titled “Food for Thought” and released on June 22nd, this project marked the singer’s change of name to Young Rome in an effort to distance himself from the youthful sound of his group, much like his bandmate Marques Houston had done a year earlier.
In the nineties, Hip-Hop reigned supreme, and every label CEO wanted a share of the lucrative R&B market. One strategy was to keep singers on their roster who could deliver catchy hooks, keeping everything in-house and saving money. Bad Boy had Carl Thomas, Death Row had Danny Boy, and Roc-A-Fella had Rell, our featured artist for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday
Growing up in the eighties, I was surrounded by incredibly talented male R&B singers who could deliver unforgettable love songs. Artists like Luther Vandross, Jeffrey Osborne, and Peabo Bryson dominated the airwaves, but Freddie Jackson was another voice that truly deserved recognition.