Michel'le - Michel'le album review
Michel'le - Michel'le was an international breakout hit and mega success for singer Michel'le Toussaint in 1989. The reason her debut album was a mega success was due to her Minnie Mouse-like squeaky voice and Mary J. Blige-esue singing vocals. The contemporary sound of New Jack Swing met sultry soul and upbeat pop on her debut album. Her Minnie Mouse-like squeaky voice can be heard on songs such as 100% Woman, No More Lies, and Nicety. Ruthless Records was a powerhouse with talent in the late 80s and Michel’le was an example of that.
Nicety is an uptempo song with that late 80s New Jack Swing style and sultry soul. The percussion was super heavy since Dr. Dre did most of the production.
The song is about how Michel’le is not like every other girl. She tells men to not get their hopes too high and don't be like other guys assuming that every girl is just like that type. The way she appears to you may not be true to you. Michel’le is not like your girl. She wants to be treated right. Michel’le says men will try anything just to take women home. She gets snide, sardonic, and sarcastic on various parts of the song. Michel'le flipped the script on Dr. Dre here.
The hook clearly explains what type of girl Michel’le is which sums it all up.
[Hook]
Some people think I'm nice
Some people think I'm nasty
But if you really want to know
Just ask me...
And I'll say I'm nicety
Hooooo-hoooo-hoooo say I'm nicety
Jazz meets R&B/soul on Something in My Heart. Her beautiful R&B voice prospers through out the song. Percussion, a saxophone, and woodwinds are make this song of her stand out. This song has slightly different sound as it is not an uptempo song but rather a slow jam that has a slow tempo.
The song was basically about the feelings she had towards Dr. Dre. Michel'le was truly in love with Dre. She had no limit to the love for him. Her love for him during that time was unconditional. Dr. Dre knew that he had all of her love. That feeling is reserved for him of course.
No More Lies is a song aimed at men who are abusive and unfaithful to their lovers. However this song is aimed more at unfaithful men then it is abusive men it seems. Men exaggerate, lie, and are unfaithful at times. Michel’le states there's a little exaggeration in almost every man. She gets snide, sardonic, and sarcastic on various parts of the song.
The song No More Lies has a bit of that old school late 80s New Jack Swing sound with a slight touch of hard rock. R&B/soul meets rock music on this song. Her unique Minnie Mouse voice can be heard on this song. Her then-boyfriend Dr. Dre produced No More Lies in 1989. That is why you can hear his vocals all over the song. He produced the beats and not the other instruments.
Michel’le lets men know that she is “100% percent woman” and not the type of girl you want gone on the song 100% Woman. 100% Woman has that upbeat funky New Jack Swing style and vibe due to the upbeat tempo. Now this song had that dance sound due to the upbeat tempo. Ruthless dropped the ball by not promoting 100% Woman properly as a single because the song was just as good as Nicety and No More Lies.
5/5*****!!
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The Steal Vybe – The Morning Comes EP EP review
The Steal Vybe – The Morning Comes EP utilizes a mixture of deep house music, electronic, and Latin music. This Steal Vybe EP is much different from the other EP’s due to the usage of Latin Music mixed with electronic music. That’s pretty good and clever for an EP from 2005.
Azuza uses a rhythm over several layers of instrumentation hence the instruments you hear. This song uses more techno oriented sounds and beats. Azuza follows the electronic soundscape over a Latin rhythm. This song is one of their more techno oriented songs.
Gloria follows a Latin rhythm over several layers of instrumentation. Notice the shakers and percussion for example. The live flute follows the rhythm used on this song. Damon 'Dizzy Fingers' Bennett is the one playing the live flute. Those crispy thin beats you hear are accompanied by smooth and soothing vocal harmonies. Latin music meets the sounds of deep house music on Gloria.
5/5*****!!
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DJ Sneak - Bounce Back EP EP review
Bounce Back EP is one of DJ Sneak’s lesser known EPs which has that late 2000s electronic sound that is processed by a keyboard filter. Much of the production on this electronic is filtered and processed as the beats along with synths are not as loud or lively. Filters, processors, and amplifiers were used more on this EP than any of his others. DJ Sneak chose to go a different route musically while staying in tune with the same genre. He leaned more towards progressive electronic and progressive trance than hard house or just regular house music as he normally would. DJ Sneak - Bounce Back EP was released as a digital download in mp3 format and on vinyl as a “12 single in the year of 2008.
Stick Sheit has a warm electronic melody with an eclectic upbeat vibe. The beats are much softer and more processed on this song than any of his other songs. This song uses a mixture of lounge and house music while following an electronic progressive trance melody. The song uses a 6-track mixdown.
Now notice the drop at the 1:07 mark. Guitar notes follow an electronic piano keyboard synths which follow a warm melody. Now these electronic piano notes are sustained and have a reverb from an amplifier. Now at the 2:08 mark, listen closely and you’ll hear upright bass notes following the electronic piano keyboard synths over processed beats.
The Flow is a calm mellow progressive electronic song with soothing synths and vibes. The Flow is similar to a progressive trance song.
Things start to pick up as DJ Sneaks himself decides to switch the pace up by going at an extremely fast tempo on the song Pick It Up. This house song uses a progressive electronic sound over dance styled beats. Not exactly as tribal house as his songs Throw Your Hands or Dancin. This song leans more towards the house sound.
4/5****
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Po Broke Souls album review
Po Broke Souls album was a hip hop album that got lost in the rise of East Coast rap as that sub-genre of hip hop/rap was becoming mainstream and marketable in 1992. Po Broke Souls album unfortunately was lost in the shuffle of East Coast rap and gangsta rap. You can expect songs filled with 100% hip hop, urban sounds, loudness, and songs that rely heavily on samples. So don’t be surprised if you hear samples on these songs. There is no wack shit here.
The socially conscious Rappin' Black In A White World explains how black people see a white world. The socially conscious Three Dimensions Of Racism tackles issues of racism. One song on this album that stands out is Down On The Corner due to the heavy reliance Clearwater Creedence Revival sample. Cut Out The Wack Shit aggressively calls out radio stations for playing music that is wack. Ain't Shit Up! is a straight up lyrical freestyle which is also a posse cut laced with heavy boom bap beats.
Not too many people know but Po Broke Souls was part of the DFC family circle with MC Breed. So it makes sense that Po Broke Souls followed in MC Breed’s footsteps. Breed even makes an appearance on one of the songs.
We In Here is the opener for this album which explains how Po Broke Souls had to pay a lot of dues to make a lot of move and get respect in their hometown. Po Broke Souls performed shows with the greats such as Maad Circle, Geto Boys, 2nd II None, DJ Quik, MC Breed, and DFC just to name a few. They were constantly touring. That was before they even had an album out. Their touring and performances are what got them respect in their hometown. We In Here samples Prince - If I Was Your Girlfriend with double layers of tambourines used of a thin layer of beats.
Playing For Keeps was the Flint version of Jackin 4 Beats before DOA - Runnin Scared was recorded. The song uses several samples. Playing For Keeps uses more samples than any of the other songs on this album. In fact this song uses several layers of Which is why this song stands out.
Riff to this song primarily relies on the sample of James & Bobby Purify - I'm Your Puppet. Mainly during the hook is when the riff from James & Bobby Purify - I'm Your Puppet is used. This sample is also used during breaks.
Playing For Keeps uses these samples: James & Bobby Purify - I'm Your Puppet, Sly & the Family Stone - Sing a Simple Song, Kool & the Gang - Love the Life You Live, Curtis Mayfield - Superfly, N.W.A -Real Niggaz, Low Profile - Aladdin's on a Rampage, The Staple Singers - I’ll Take You There, Ice Cube - What They Hittin' Foe?, James Brown - Funky Drummer, Ice Cube - Endangered Species (Tales From the Darkside), Wilson Pickett - Get Me Back on Time, Engine #9, and Trouble Funk - Pump Me Up.
No "Wack Shit" Radio serves as a radio stager for the song Cut Out The Wack Shit. No "Wack Shit" Radio only plays the best of music. One thing I can say is that this beat is sick.
Cut Out The Wack Shit aggressively calls out radio stations for playing wack music. Po Broke Souls takes a stance against pop rap as they call out wack rappers on the song. Wack rappers and groups that get played on the radio lack chivalry and calvary. This Flint shit goes hard especially against any song currently played on the radio.
Not only did the city of Calgary, Alberta in Canada get mentioned in the first verse. That is because the city of Calgary showed love and gave positive reception to Po Broke Souls when they did a show in Canada. American hip hop/rap had a huge market in Canada at that time. That is what the lyrics “chivalry in Calgary” is referring to.
PM Dawn got dissed in the first verse too. Not surprising since PM Dawn was getting dissed by everyone back in the early 90’s. One can say PM Dawn got dissed again.
Make Dat Move is about a young man who falls in love with a lady. This lady plays hard to get and ignores him. So the man decides to step and make that move to persuade her to fall in love with him. He steps up his game by going the intellectual route. This man has integrity. His pretending days are over.
Make Dat Move uses a subtle delicate piano sample over heavy hip hop beats and vocalism. The subtle delicate piano sample is what makes this song stand out and memorable.
One member of Po Broke Souls decided to go the intellectual route by using advanced vocabulary. Here is an example of intellectual lyrics that are used in this song. “I fired intellectual missiles/And swept the lady of her feet/By the way she was conversing, I was figuring she was older”
Gettin' Blew Out is another posse cut on the album. This song is dedicated to bud. The crew is getting blew out and tore up. Gettin' Blew Out had potential to have been a full song but wasn’t for whatever reason.
Rappin' Black In A White World explains how black people see a white world. The song also tackles issues about racism. They also call the government out for their crooked behavior and actions. Po Broke Souls takes a stance against racism.
Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut relies heavily on James Brown samples. That is where the James Brown influence came from. Many Po Broke Souls songs were inspired by music from James Brown. They seemed to have loved his music and style.
Given the title and subject matter, Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut is a song about sex. The song has finesse and uses much prowess. The song title of Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut comes from lyrics to Onyx - Da New Niguz from their 1993 album Bacdafucup!.
Flint City is about how rough the streets of Flint, Michigan really are. Flint City samples Roger - So Ruff, So Tuff, Zapp - Playin’ Kind Of Ruff, and Zapp - Dance Floor.
Don't Mess Around deals with the dangers of unprotected sex. Sexually transmitted diseases come from having unprotected sex. Don't Mess Around samples EPMD - Who's Booty and Brand Nubian - Slow Down.
Murder Rehearsal is Flint hip hop at its finest. The sounds coming from this song are dope. The song is laced with heavy toms, claps, and hi-hats. The heavy toms, claps, and hi-hats are what make the sounds from this song definitely dope.
Three Dimensions Of Racism tackles issues of racism. Po Broke Souls takes an anti-racist stance against racism by saying, “Fuck racism!”. Don’t make racist comments unless you’re ready for backlash. Racism is hidden in our system of government which is why we have systematic racism. For example a white employee being hired over a black employee.
Here the intro to this song borrows a sample from Don Lemon’s speech Am I Nigger?. Don Lemon’s speech reflects on respectability in politics and diversity of Black self conception. His speech mainly deals with Black self conception. Here is what is said at the very beginning of this song.: “Am I A Nigger? And if the answer is yes? Don’t be afraid to show it! Cause it’s the Nigger in you that makes you BLACK! Once you learn to hate it…”
Three Dimensions Of Racism another posse cut on the album that has some wild sounds. That makes sense because this song samples Zapp - Playin’ Kind Of Ruff. That is not a coincidence that Po Broke Souls used this Zapp sample in many of their other songs.
Ain't Shit Up! is a straight up lyrical freestyle which is also a posse cut laced with heavy boom bap beats. That is not a coincidence most songs on this album are posse cuts. This song uses an interpolation of Zapp - Playin’ Kind Of Ruff.
Down On The Corner stands out to the heavy reliance on the Clearwater Creedence Revival sample. You can hear vocals from Clearwater Creedence Revival - Down On The Corner that use lyrics from the chorus which are “down on the corner”. Now these dudes out of Flint were spitting some of the hardest shit out at that time. This is true hip hop in pure unfiltered form.
Hurricane Dewaun spit some of the hardest shit out at that time on this song as well. He took control of most of this song.
Down On The Corner samples Clearwater Creedence Revival - Down On The Corner, Kurtis Blow - The Breaks, Geto Boys - Life In The Fast Lane, and Boogie Down Productions - Material Love. Other samples and vocal clips are thrown into the production for this song.
The Eulogy serves as the closer and features Prison City Posse (PCP) out of Jackson, Michigan. The Eulogy serves as yet another posse cut and dedication song. Samples used on The Eulogy are Bloodstone - Natural High and Rick James - Mary Jane.
The reason why Prison City Posse made an appearance on The Eulogy is because Hurricane Dewaun rapped on the song Bxtches Love A Ganxta on the 1992 album Prison City Posse - Thru The Eyes Of A Nigga. Po Broke Souls invited Prison City Posse to be on The Eulogy.
4/5****!
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Divine Art – Deep Thrust Telescopic Probe EP review
Divine Art – Deep Thrust Telescopic Probe is a hi-NRG powered freestyle electronic EP laced with those wonderful synth-pop sounds. The Bay Area produces some of the best electronic music in music history. The sound is divine and fine. This whole freestyle electronic EP is a fusion of synth-pop and high powered hi-NRG sounds.
Deep Thrust Telescopic Probe uses those progressive electronic sounds mixed with hi-NRG powered beats and synth-pop sounds. The sound is divine and fine of course.
Call The King is a song laced with electro synths over hi-NRG powered dance beats. Some of the distorted synths use a bit of modulation thus having an echo.
Count On Me is much louder than Call The King volume wise. The producer(s) seemed to have switched up the volume on the song. The soundscape is lace with hi-NRG electro synths and thin dance beats. The killer violin drop at 2:26 is what makes this song great. Now the part of the song where the violin drop kicks in lasts for 17 seconds from 2:26 to 2:43. That is the best part of the song.
N Your Heart uses a futuristic soundscape of electro synths and thick hi-NRG dance beats. The angelic electro synths are what make this song relaxing and calming.
4/5****
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Luis Vega - Hip Hop Jazz EP EP review
New York hip-hop producer Luis Vega released a much overlooked yet under appreciated jazz hop EP called Luis Vega - Hip Hop Jazz EP where the sounds of hip hop meet jazz music. The EP is a fusion of jazz, funk, deep house, and hip hop. This entire EP is downtempo instrumental hip hop and instrumental jazz. However most of this EP is just breaks. The sound from this EP is similar to those jazz hop singles from the New Breed label out of New York City, New York. You can never go wrong with 90s jazz hop.
(Luis Vega is not to be confused with Louie Vega of Masters at Work. This person is obviously mistaken for Louie Vega from Masters at Work because of the name of course.)
Saxy Nine serves at the opening track where a lovely jazzy saxophone solo is played over a funky beat. The beats are extremely loud and thick. Now the beats have set on an equal level as they are evenly adjusted through a pan filter.
Bass Liner is a short but downtempo jazz instrumental with looped upright bass playing behind the layers of instrumentation used in this song. Upright bass is accompanied by 2 piano keys played in E minor flat followed by a single drum kit. One thing that is noticeably different is that the beats are thinner than usual as that is not the case with all other songs on this EP.
Sadly the song is less than a minute long. Luis Vega dropped the ball on this song because he could have extended the duration and made this song much longer than it already is.
East Side Joint uses a fusion of jazz rock sound where an electric guitar is played over upright bass and saxophones. You can also hear a faint piano playing gently in the background for a short period of time right after the beginning. The beats are as extremely loud as beats of the opening track were. Some of the kick drums and toms seemed to have been distorted. The saxophone notes are thick, jazzy, and extremely sultry to ones ears. East Side Joint uses a filter which muffled the song. Treble seems to have been reduced significantly.
East Side Joint is one of the longest songs of this EP which is about 6 minutes and 20 seconds long (6:20). Whenever Luis Vega composes and produces a song longer than 5 minutes, he creates a timeless masterpiece. That is why East Side Joint is one of the best songs off his jazz hop EP.
Sax On Friday is another jazz instrumental which is backed by a saxophone and thick beats. The song uses a jazz fusion.
Hungry Bass another downtempo jazz instrumental with looped upright bass playing behind the layers of instrumentation used. Upright bass makes this song monotonous thus creating a monotone vibe. The beats are as thick as on East Side Joint, Sax On Friday, and Saxy Nine.
Keyboard Joe is the concluding track which is backed by a grand piano on stage, upright bass, shakers, and the obligatory beats. However this song uses electronic synths from a keyboard rather than actual live instrumentation as is the case with all the other songs on this EP.
5/5*****!!
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Adam X - Going Back To Belgium single review
Adam X - Going Back To Belgium is the new breathtaking techno digital single and EP from Berlin based techno/industrial record producer Adam X. Going Back To Belgium is a tribute to the early 90's sound of Belgian techno, Eurodance and Europop. He fell in love with the sound of Europop from the country of Belgium while he first moved to Germany.
The song Going Back To Belgium is a tribute to the early 90's sound of Belgian techno. It is also a tribute to Eurodance and Europop. Going Back To Belgium uses an array of synths, arrays, stingers, and keyboard textures. The keyboard textures are quite aggressive and dark which fit in perfectly with the upbeat tempo. The keyboard textures make the song infectious and groovy. This song is perfect to include in a hard or difficult level in a video game. The keyboard textures make the song infectious and groovy. Going Back To Belgium is the higlight song for this EP.
Galactoid is an upbeat high energy powered song backed with a techno soundscape. You can feel the tensity and pressure building up within this song. The song uses a multitude of electronic filters and amps. The synths are extremely loud and belligerent. These dark loud synths stand out. Adam X decided to give tribute to early Eurodance on this song. Galactoid is a tribute to early Eurodance and is a tribute to the early 90's sound of Belgian techno.
Steel Sky uses synths, notes, and keyboard textures from a steel pedal keyboard which is filtered through an amp. The keyboard textures make the song infectious and groovy.
5/5*****!!
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