Eric Roberson, the talent affectionately known as the king of independent soul music, returns with his latest single titled “Lessons.” The song’s background is as follows: Around 3 am, the morning of his 13th wedding anniversary, Eric Roberson was sitting in his studio feeling rather creative. Reflecting over his life, he started working on an idea that would soon become the song “Lessons.”
He posted 60 seconds of the song online and went to bed. What Eric woke up to was the most significant reaction he has received from his music in years. From the moment Eric sings the opening lyric, “God has a funny way of showing you lessons,” I immediately connected with the song. The strength of “Lessons” is the layers to the song.
On the one hand, the song is a ballad of a man singing about his love for a significant other. However, after numerous listens, personally, the song took on another meaning. In the early spring of 2021, I was diagnosed with a mild case of COVID. Prayerfully I only had a mild case. But I took my bout with COVID as a lesson from GOD that I was approaching age 40; I needed to strengthen every angle of my life. These angles included weight loss and ensuring that my house is in order. I also loved that the song brings back the art of the bridge, which is missing in R&B these days.
Eric Roberson has been in the music industry for over two decades and has my support no matter what he does. Contrarily though, with “Lessons,” Roberson has crafted a masterful R&B tune with a Gospel influence that I could easily see being played in a Tyler Perry play or an episode on Insecure. I look forward to whatever Mr. Roberson is cooking up next.
Final Grade: A+
“Lessons” is available to stream on all platforms.
For more on Eric Roberson, please check out:
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.
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One Response
Absolutely amazing! Good music is well appreciated these days.