Jewell’s self-titled album gives the music industry what it’s been definitely missing. Singing with real talent and actual lyrics along with sultry R&B sounds. This is definitely what R&B needs now. The Death Row sound needs to come back.
Black Diamond contains material recorded on Death Row during the mid-90’s. Some of these songs have never been released before. Some songs are brand new despite having been leaked online to the internet years ago. Jewell’s self-titled album is actually the Black Diamond album under a different name. Half of this album was produced by Demetrius “Meech” Shipp. She is a great vocalist regardless of who does production.
Jewell’s Black Diamond album was supposed to be released in mid-1995. But of course being that the album was recorded on Death Row Records, the label dropped the ball on songstress Jewell by not releasing her album that year but instead nearly 2 decades later in 2011 on the Canadian label WIDEawake Entertainment. It’s a shame Death Row didn't do more with artists like Jewell, the former first lady of Death Row Records.
Sadly many people did not support the release of her album because WIDEawake did not properly master the album with upgraded technology. Some songs on this album were not mixed and mastered properly. Many Death Row fans viewed this WIDEawake/Death Row release as a bootleg. A lack of proper mastering, leaks, and bad timing are what led to low album sales which was unfortunate for Jewell, Death Row, and WIDEawake. Former Death Row fans viewed WIDEawake as a joke. At least we are blessed with this album and are able to purchase it.
Death Row fans called the album cover an awful album cover. She’s standing there offering a view of her left leg. The photograph used on the front album cover is an old Death Row promo photograph. A few people have said the album cover looks like it was created using MS Paint in a timespan of 5 minute. Notice how the color scheme is grayscale. Many Death Row fans viewed this WIDEawake/Death Row release as a bootleg. This is because the cover does not even say the title of the album on it.
Recognize is a slow jam which is unsurprisingly another love song by Jewell. Recognize sounds very much similar to Devante Swing’s production style. One has to wonder if Devante Swing had his hands in producing this song for Jewell. She is a great vocalist regardless of who does production.
A love as sweet as this only comes once in a lifetime. There’s so much on her mind when it comes to love. It’s superficial. She wants her man to recognize how their love is. They don’t have to play games. She is not searching for fame.
Jewell is going to make everything feel better. She is better with love. She can stop the pain so it won’t come back again. Won’t you give her a try? She doesn’t give out empty promises. No need to push away from her. There is no need to push her away. Don’t push away her love. Love has to be her destiny. Jewell can make things better with love.
Only One is another smooth Death Row Records R&B cut by Jewell that was left in the vault for years. You will love her voice especially on this track! The bass and beats will rattle your speakers. Her angelic vocals give music a breath of fresh air. This is simply beautiful.
Betcha She Don't Love You is Jewell’s cover of Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King - Betcha She Don't Love You. Jewell did a beautiful job of covering this song herself with the Death Row in-house production team.
The mixing on Wantcha With Me is very low budget as hearing her vocals is difficult. The song seems to not have been mixed and mastered properly. Static noises can be heard in some places during the song.
Black Diamond is a song which compliments black men and women all over the world. It’s about black love. Black Diamond was supposed to be the first single off the Black Diamond album in 1995. However that single never saw light of day because Dr. Dre didn’t know how to produce her songs or fit her into the Death Row mold.
I rate this album 5/5*****!
No comments:
Post a Comment