Music & Me

Last post I ended my rant with the (good) advice to get Lupe Fiasco's new album. You should also, if you have yet to do it, get his last two (Food&Liquor and It Was Written). I got a chance to listen to his newest album "The Cool" in its entirety this week, and it really is spectacular. This rant I wanted to talk about an album I almost bought as well last week and the way I tend to feel about past favorites.

Everyone has their favorite artists of any sort. Goodie MOB, for example, is my hands-down favorite rap group. But what happened to Goodie MOB happens to a lot of music artists to some extent or the other. After Goodie's sophomore album "Still Standing" (which is a CLASSIC, ya dig?) I was too excited to get their third album. I doubt I've been that excited about an album ever, with the exception of Jay-Z's "In My Lifetime Vol III" and Nas' "It Was Written". Goodie's CD was a phenomenal disappointment; to this day I can't listen to it. I can't think of one song I like or can remember the words to on that album. This led Cee-Lo to leave the group and put the group on the Wall of Shame in my mind for many years.

Now, there have been other major upsets in the industry, in my opinion, and other upsets that didn't include horrible CDs. The astist whose album I almost bought last week is getting similar in terms of being personally upsetting to me. The artist is Alicia Keys. I am not arguing her talent; I want(ed?) to buy her album because of her single "No One" and her awesome performance on the MTV awards last year. What I am upset about is her new "sexy" image. I don't understand it really, she just didn't need a "sexy makeover" at all! But there she is on magazine covers, get more and more naked.

I have to assume this is due to pressure from her label or handlers who want to up the sex appeal since people have said she seemed a bit "butchy", while ensuring album sales. How sad is that? I always loved her style; she had a swagger about herself that, to me, was sexy in its confidence. It also played against the complexion beautifully; she wasn't the fragile, light-skinned chick people expected her to be.

I felt somewhat similar with Jill Scott on her last album; those "tig ol' bitties" were up to her chin on every cover. I could understand it on a more personal level, probably because I assume that after going through a divorce you start to think of such things more. Flimsy perhaps, but that's the way I feel about Jill (maybe I'm biased; Jill is my girl!). Though Jill's last album wasn't my favorite from her (too many sex songs), she still had some gems.

I have no idea how good Alicia's album is, but the history of the industry tells me I may not lover her album. I have her first two, but honestly there are only one or two songs I love on them. She's always been a little more Pop than I'm into, in all honesty. To be fair, I was upset when I realized Erykah Badu's locks were fake, but she's never disappointed me. In my opinion, she can't make a bad album, so she's allowed to do whatever she wants in my book.

It took me a while to get into India.Arie too. She was a bit Pop, though I bought her first album for younger females I knew because I liked her message. Eventually I got it for myself, but I was more into selected songs on her album, a la Alicia Keys, than the whole thing. I don't listen to either of her albums all the way through, but those I listen to, I listen to regularly.

So maybe my expectations for Alicia Keys were too high anyway. It wasn't like her music changed my life, in all honesty. I am still undecided as to whether I will ever get her album, but I'm clearer on why I believe.

To wrap up this rant, go get Lupe's album, go get "Still Standing" if you haven't heard it, get any of Erykah's albums, but whatever you do, don't download illegally! You probably will anyway, but since Bilal's second CD still hasn't been released because it was leaked and downloaded illegally, the CD I have been waiting for for three years, I get pissed at illegal downloads. Bilal deserves his own post, so I'm not even going to get started on that!

Take good care.

PS-There will probably be another post tomorrow about news (my own and in the world at large) because I have to get a story typed up tomorrow.