The First Lady. That’s a serious title to give yourself. However, after 10 years making music and being the only female R&B artist at Capitol Records, it’s a title that Faith Evans has earned.
The new album from the former "First Lady" of Bad Boy is the first time fans have heard the songbird’s signature blend of hip-hop and R&B in four years. While Faith manages to stay true to "Hip-Hop/Soul," a musical genre hybrid of sorts made famous by sometime friend Mary J Blige, The First Lady is also heavily influenced by ‘70s soul.
Faith lived through the murder of her husband The Notorious B.I.G. and an arrest just last year for drug possession. The events of her life, both positive and negative, are the fuel that feeds this intimate collection. The lead single "Again" is a retro, mid-tempo track that speaks directly to the critics that attempted to soil her image; "And the media tried to say/I had a habit I couldn't manage/And I'm throwing my life away." Faith shows no regret for past mistakes, instead embracing them because they "made me who I am."
Never one to fail on the dance tip, Faith delivers a party anthem for ladies to blaze in their cars on the way to the club. The Neptunes-produced "Going Out" is fast-paced in places, slightly slower in others, and always jazzed by an insistent drum beat mixed with a scratchy, high pitched sound that could be a high note on a keyboard or an extremely out of tune electric guitar.
Other tracks worth mentioning include "Ever Wonder," a classic R&B duet with Mario Winans, and "Jealous," a middle-of-the road cut that utilizes a simple piano chord laced over a more persistent drum and symbol beat. On the song, Faith admits to checking cell phones and pagers for numbers–a practice most women engage in but would never admit to.
Faith may not be able to claim Mary’s title as the "Queen of Hip Hop Soul," but her faith in herself and her "around the way girl" appeal has made Faith Evans a first lady– a lady who is often understated, but whose presence cannot be ignored.
-TA
No comments:
Post a Comment