Since releasing his solo debut twenty two years ago, the king of independent soul music, Eric Roberson, has built a dedicated fan base and continued to release quality music, all while staying true to himself.
Amid the pandemic, though, Roberson saw an unparalleled success as his newest single, “Lessons,” took on a life of its own with nine simple words “God has a funny way of showing you lessons.” Roberson created a great cross-promotional platform by utilizing social media to display classic moments of black love from cinema and television with his “Lessons” as the soundtrack.
Roberson followed up “Lessons” with an acoustic remix featuring vocalists Anthony Hamilton, Kevin Ross, and Raheem DeVaughn that is becoming just as popular. Now we finally have the album that continues Roberson’s trend of delivering grown & sexy R&B that has a message in the music.
Roberson opens the project with “Start All Over Again.” Roberson’s strength as a songwriter is that he can always invoke sensuality without becoming corny or vulgar. “High on You” is up next, and it’s another winner. Anyone who has ever experienced a love jones, a.k.a. An Attraction for someone; you are feigning for them physically and mentally.
Following 2014’s lovely collaboration on “Do the Same for Me” from The Box album, Eric reunites with Pop Roberson for a strong album track with the next song, “Good Loving.” While Hip Hop vibes carry “Don’t Run From It Baby.” One of the most surprising guests on the album is Unsung 90’s R&B trio Intro, who joins Erro on “All I Want,” which effectively recalls nineties R&B.
Roberson keeps the album short at eleven songs while effectively teaching the listener about all the facets of love.
Final Grade: A
Lessons is available on all streaming platforms
This past Friday marked the 40th anniversary of “The Voice,” a.k.a. Whiney Houston’s self-titled debut album hitting stores. So, in that regard, it was only right to give Nippy her flowers for this week’s Second Listen Sunday.
For this weekend’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to take a trip to Motor City and show some love to soul singer Dwele. It was 2005, and I was living in the UK as part of my Air Force enlistment. Dwele had just released his second album, “Some Kinda,” enjoying some chart success with the lead single “I Think I Love U,” by Mike City.
The remainder of the album maintains a classic R&B vibe, showcasing the group’s signature sound. One of the standout tracks is “Maybe Tomorrow,” featuring the iconic Phyllis Hyman. It transforms difficult circumstances into positive outcomes—essentially making lemonade from lemons.