R&B foursome Jagged Edge returns to the music scene with their latest single “Inseparable” from their upcoming 11th studio album, All Original Parts. As my readers know I wasn’t particularly kind to the group with my reviews of their last two projects The Layover and A Jagged Love Story.
I hit play on JE’S latest single and instantly the song caught my attention with its production choice for sampling Silk’s 1992 hit “Lose Control”. The group has success in the past sampling a nineties hit when the sampled hits from Ralph Tresvant and Al B Sure on their vastly underrated JE Heartbreak II albumin 2016. Per the norm group mates Brian and Brandon Casey pen while co-producing with the legendary Bryan-Michael Cox.
“Inseparable” is a typical JE ballad about showing love to your significant other who completes you. One of the five love language is words of affirmation .While my personal love language is a mixture of physical touch and quality time, I’ve always been a fan of words of affirmation which is why I think I’ve always had an affiliation for R&B ballads and slow jams. With “Inseparable” the pen game of the Casey brothers easily validates the definition of words of affirmation.
And that is Words of Affirmation is typically the language of someone who gets off knowing their partner is paying attention to them, notices what makes them tick, and appreciates what makes them special, JE’s latest single could’ve easily been a song about the group’s brotherhood and longevity. When we look at the facts the only eighties/nineties R&B group to have a thicker discography than JE is Boyz II Men. I don’t agree with the auto tuning and trap R&B flavors that make its way into “Inseparable”, However, there are enough bright moments in the song to build anticipation for the next album.
In addition, kudos to the group who celebrates the 25th anniversary of their debut album A Jagged Era on Friday, October 21st.
Final Grade: B-
“Inseparable” is available on all streaming platforms
I’ve always been a fan of Eric Bellinger. My admiration stems not only from the records he has released under his own name but also from the impressive career he built behind the scenes. Long before casual R&B listeners recognized his face, they were already familiar with his songwriting through tracks he penned for artists like Chris Brown, Usher, Justin Bieber, and Wale.
As many of you know, I had the opportunity to visit Paisley Park earlier this week while vacationing in Minnesota. During the tour, our guide shared that an expanded edition of Prince’s album “Parade” is expected to be released to celebrate its 40th anniversary. After spending the day exploring the Twin Cities, it felt like the perfect excuse to revisit one of the most fascinating and underrated albums in Prince’s legendary catalog.
One of the reasons I’ve always considered Prince to have the edge over Michael Jackson is his remarkable collection of ballads and