Music Reviews

There was a singer who shall remain nameless set the tone for the nineties slow jams. However as nineties R&B fans know there were tons of singers who provided quality albums and tracks when it came to making a playlist via audiocassette. Lincoln Browder, better known as Link, was one of the singers.

R&B group New Edition was at crossroads in the summer of 1987. The group’s fourth album, Under the Blue Moon, and their only one as a quartet, had only achieved gold sales. Those numbers were very different from the platinum sales of their previous two albums.

No matter what the musical genre is when it comes to groups, there is always a clamoring for a member to pursue solo endeavors. Kci Hailey of Jodeci is a singer in this category ever since Jodeci made its debut. Like most R&B fans, when Kci delivered his first solo record (a cover of Bobby Womack’s “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” on Jason’s Lyric soundtrack in 1994, I thought a solo debut was right around the corner.

Chico DeBarge made a fantastic comeback to the music scene in the late nineties with two solid solo albums in the form of Long Time No See and The Game. Around late summer 2000, Chico seemingly stopped promoting his recent release.

Ron Isley’s name is synonymous with legendary music. Even before I entered the world in 1981, Mr. Isley’s group, The Isley Brothers, had already released nineteen albums. Serving as the signature voice of the group, Ron never officially released a solo project until 2010’s Mr. I.

Despite releasing a strong southern soul-influenced debut in the form of 1999’s Country Boy, North Carolina bred singer wouldn’t break through until his sophomore album 2:35 PM four years later, which featured the hit single “More Than A Woman.” While that is a great song, I wanted to highlight my favorite track from the album, “Not Like This.”

Comedy legend Eddie Murphy was fresh off the success of a starring role in the highest-grossing movie of 1984 when he went to the studio to record his first musical album. Carrying the title How Could It Be, the album arrived in stores on July 20, 1985. Famous actors dabbling in music was nothing new.

Over a decade-long career, crossover jazz artist Kim Waters had built a comfortable, quiet storm and R&B covers niche when his thirteenth album From the Heart hit stores on April 10, 2011.

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.

Two days before headlining The Super Bowl LII Halftime Show, Justin Timberlake gifted fans his new album, Man of The Woods, on February 2nd, 2018, via RCA Records. For his fifth solo album, Timberlake decided to venture away from the R&B influences, which were the dominant force of his previous releases, opting instead for a country sound this go around.