Archives 
Revolutions Archives for May 2005
Beanie Sigel - The B.Coming (Damon Dash Music Group)
Once a self-described “ignorant bastard,” Beanie Sigel allows his brute aggression to take a back seat to introspection with his third release. Sigel’s engaging selfawareness dominates “I Can’t Go On This Way,” a remorseful hustler’s anthem that brings Freeway and Young Chris along for the ride. At times, he overreaches, as on “Don’t Stop,” a painful collabo with Snoop Dogg and the Neptunes. But Beans captivates with the paranoid “Feel It in the Air” and “Change,” a cinematic ’hood narrative told from multiple perspectives. Tales like these make B.Coming a true coming-of-age story.... (read more)
Amerie - Touch (Sony Urban)
Amerie is a hopeless romantic. And after listening to her 2002 debut, All I Have, it was almost impossible not to fall in love with the idea of love. The danger is even graver on the cohesive and musically mesmerizing Touch. The strikingly beautiful Korean–African American chanteuse doesn’t have a flawless voice; like Mary J. Blige, Amerie often strains to reach those higher notes. But also like Mary—and few others today—Amerie sings from the gut.... (read more)
ODB - A Son Unique (Damon Dash)
On his posthumous release, Ol’ Dirty does it like no other. Ol’ Dirty Bastard was nothing if not entertaining. His antics outside of music, no matter how bizarre, never failed to amuse. But on A Son Unique, Dirty brings his headline-grabbing energy back to wax and reminds us what truly made him one of a kind.... (read more)
Common - BE (G.O.O.D. Music)
"Huh?” That’s the reaction a lot of fans had upon listening to Common’s last album, 2002’s Electric Circus.Sure, Circus’s spacey instrumentals and rock influences pushed the boundaries of hip hop. But at what cost? Gone were the tight, vivid verses from 1994’s instant classic Resurrection.Good-bye to the jazzy beats from ’97’s One Day It’ll All Make Senseand 2000’s Like Water for Chocolate. Such albums solidified Common—alongside peers Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and the Roots—as a linchpin to the unofficial second coming of the Native Tongues movement. Moreover, with recent records like Mos’s The New Dangerand Kweli’s Beautiful Strugglefalling somewhat short of expectations, one can only wonder: Has hip hop’s conscience, its nourishing soul food for thought, started to lose its flavor?... (read more)
Bobby Valentino - Bobby Valentino (Disturbing Tha Peace)
Bobby Valentino’s self-titled R&B debut is on Ludacris’s Disturbing tha Peace label, which may cause some to pencil him in as crunk&B’s next rebel rouser. Fortunately, the Southern-bred high tenor fails to live up to those expectations. By choosing to keep the album’s guest appearances to a minimum (namely, just Luda), Valentino attempts to cast his own cool shadow. But even with the whole album imitating the light and airy first single, “Slow Down,” Valentino gives a glimpse into his heart’s desire.... (read more)
Faith Evans - The First Lady (Capitol)
The lady still sings the blues after all this time.... (read more)
Junior M.A.F.I.A. - Riot Musik (Mega Media)
Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s Lil’ Cease, Banger, and Klept struggle to emerge from a Biggie-sized shadow on Riot Musik.The album’s best cut, “Guap,” features a reinvigorated Cease pledging allegiance to cash money over a pimped-out guitar loop. Unfortunately, Cease strikes out on “Do da Damn Thing,” and things take a turn for the worse “Highest Title,” where a mushmouthed Klept clumsily rattles off verses composed of hip hop song titles. Overall, the M.A.F.I.A. has shown some improvement, but it’ll take more than that to foment an uprising.... (read more)
From the Blogs
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Speak Easy
I have to say I'm very excited to see what the good folks at Black Entertainment Television have in store for us with this year's BET Awards. With the (read more) -
RapidShare
7:51: We are coming to you live from an upper middle class neighborhood in South Brooklyn, ready to report on this momentous night. 106 & Park's pre-s (read more) -
Invite Only
Sunday, June 7th--SUMMER JAM. After Jay-Z's "D.O.A" song dropped on Hot 97 on Saturday I became a bit more excited about my attendance. Great weathe (read more) -
RapidShare
Jay-Z: "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" (Produced by No I.D. & Kanye West) from the forthcoming Blueprint 3 (Props to LowKey) It's hot, but it's bad (read more)
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