Music Reviews

While Thomas has a capable voice, a few of these could’ve made soundtrack or mixtape appearances. Nevertheless, Emotional is still an impressive debut.

Faith Evans, Never Gonna Let You Go

Arriving in stores on January 25, 1994, Face the Music was led by the single “If You Go Away,” which initially appeared on the group’s 1991 greatest hits album. John Bettis, Trey Lorenz, and Walter Afanasieff, with Afanasieff also serving as producer, wrote the song, which is a lush ballad.

“Re-Write the Memories” from One Love is available on all streaming platforms.
While the first half of the album focuses on up-tempo radio-friendly material, New Edition gets their grown man on in the album’s second half. NE reunited with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for track number fourteen, “Re-Write the Memories.”

Since 2012, PJ Morton has served as one of the keyboardists for pop/rock band Maroon 5. However, he also has a successful solo discography that includes seven solo albums, four live albums, two EP’S, and one mixtape. Morton is currently working hard on his eighth solo album and recently released the first single, “Please Don’t Walk Away.”

In early 2005, former B2K front man Omarion enjoyed a US Billboard number one debut and eventually a gold-selling album with his first solo album, O. Omarion’s debut featured three hit singles, and he could have easily gone on tour for the album for at least another year. Chris Brown was still months away from breaking into the industry, so the lane was there for Omarion.

Earlier this week, Tommy DeBarge of R&B Band Switch, and the famous musical family, DeBarge, was laid to rest. I wanted to look back at Tommy’s Motown debut with his group Switch. The group was not a stranger to the industry, having previously recorded as White Heat and Hot Ice. Switch arrived in record stores on June 17th, 1978.

R&B music suffered another loss earlier this week when Ronnie Wilson, a founding member of The GAP Band, passed away. While mainstream music listeners know Charlie Wilson’s name, I wanted to highlight Ronnie and his pen game.

Following a successful two-year stint on the sitcom Moesha, R&B singer Ray J resumed his recording career. The singer’s sophomore disc, This Ain’t a Game, arrived in stores on June 19th, 2001. In the summer of 2001, The Neptunes sound was everywhere, so it was a no-brainer to work with them on the first single, “Wait a Minute.”

A year before releasing her sixth solo album, The Velvet Rope, in 1997, Janet Jackson gifted her fans with her first greatest hits album, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996. I remember the initial criticisms about the title since the bulk of the songs were from her third (Control) and fourth (Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814) albums.