None Of That R&B: Rap And BullS**t

Advantages: Straight bangers throughout
Disadvantages: Little variation

...a significant track as it sees for the first time all of the MCs (and Cappadonna) performing together on one track. The hook-less single is a straight banger and it sees them coming with something hardcore to really show what they are about and do so with great flow to make all the transitions seamless in order to make something of the unity they have. **Five Stars** 3. ?Impossible? Off the last one, you see that things have to move on somewhat to recover from what came just before it, and you see that here they do an unorthodox one with RZA taking control with the first rhyme (and handing on the production to 4th Disciple) with some off-beat, spoken work flows which show just how far he wants to distance himself from the sounds of mainstream Hip Hop (which he refers to as R&B: Rap and Bulls**t). **Four Stars** 4. ?Little Ghetto Boys? Here...

XICripZ 31.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Wu Tang Forever - Wu Tang Clan

60s Soul seeks 00s R&B

Advantages: Cross-appeal
Disadvantages: Does she HAVE to profit from my love of music?

...list for all of the wrong reasons. It is for this reason that I was deeply unhappy to part with good cash for an album, the proceeds of which would go to someone I felt so undeserving of both the profit and the fame. As a fellow musician and, in particular, one who works regularly with impressionable youngsters, I think that there is a duty to be a positive role model and, no matter how talented, profit should not be made from bad behaviour. That's rock n roll though! So, to the album. Amy's style is rather hard to categorise. It's probably best described as soul but not of the Aretha Franklin sort. There's more than a hint of loose R&B in there too. It has a cross-genre appeal and her work with artists from Jay-Z through to Jools Holland, Sugarbabes to Babyshambles shows just how versatile and artist she could be. If there...

CareBear 19.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of Back To Black - Amy Winehouse

R&B Collection 2009 - all the hits!

Advantages: Comprehensive round up of the big tunes of 2008
Disadvantages: No beyonce! shock, and some horrible non-R&B on CD2

...As another year draws to a close and the Christmas madness begins as sure as sure can be you know you the music store shelves will be packed full of compilations. Restrospective compilations are still the flavor de jour, and R&B Collection 2009 (As it is oddly entitled) features a round up of all the tracks that did the business in yes, 2008. What we have is a nicely packaged, although the cover is a little bog standard, 2 CD set with a bonus DVD featuring 15 music videos. This will undoubtedly set this one apart from a lot of the field. But more importantly on a compilation such as this one, how does the track listing measure up! I will now take you on a whirl wind tour of the 40 tracks featured on the album commenting on some of the more stand out efforts. It is also important to note for those of you who will be interested to know...

josef_wardle 14.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of R&B Collection (+DVD) - Various Artists

R&B Yearbook 2006

Advantages: Songs for all moods, happy, sad, angry etc.
Disadvantages: A couple of dud songs on there to watch out for

...Ok, so I bought the previous R&B yearbook in 2005 and thought it was alright, but listening to this one really lifted my impressions of R&B music. I saw the CD from a Tesco store near me for about £15 and decided to give it a shot, little did I know until I got to the checkout till that it was their last one in stock (just shows how popular it must have been). It contains mainly R&B music with some Hip-Hop, some Rap and even a little bit of Reggae in there as well! The first CD begins with a few of the biggest uplifting hits of the year in my opinion (Deja Vu, by Beyonce, and the wonderful Hips Don't Lie, by Shakira). Not to mention "Beep" by the Pussycat dolls ft. Will.I.Am (from the Black Eyed Peas). "Beep" is a nice number in a minor key, great to listen to at any time of day. Then the mood is taken down a notch with Ne...

Mattjc91 10.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of R&B Yearbook 2006, The - Various Artists

Essential R&B? Is it?

Advantages: Light, easy listening, well known tunes
Disadvantages: Some dodgy songs on there

...Essential R&B.... let's see shall we... The first song on this album is Eamon's F*** it. Pretty good way to start the album, admittedly its an old tune now but it probably was the most popular and most played (well one of the) of 2004. Who didn't hear that song? It includes a lot of the most popular chart songs of 2004 and before, such as 50 Cent's In Da Club, R Kelly's Ignition Remix, another classic, and Usher's You got it Bad. The songs on the album are varied - there's a couple of hip hop type songs, a few slower songs that are more love songs than anything, and of course, a lot of R&B. The second disk starts with Outkast's Hey Ya, which gets the disk off to a good start! No Scrubs and Hot in Herre are also present, as well as, strangely, Natasha Bedingfield's Single? I found that pretty strange. I believe this...

ice_pink 07.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Essential R&B - The Very Best Of R&B Summer 2004 - Various Artists

The Soul Legend Stars With R&B Sensation Brandy

Advantages: The Excellent Diana Ross and Brandy
Disadvantages: Some of its predictable

.... R&B singer, Brandy, puts in a likeable performance and the two stars enjoy a number of dramatically moving and impressivley powerful scenes together. The film is a tear-jerker and though the ending is predictable, is still so heart-warming and encapsulates a genuine feel-good factor. The film closes with the two stars singing the sparkling, vibrant ballad, Love Is All That Matters (a solo version can be found on Diana Ross' 1999 studio entry, Everyday Is A New Day on which many tracks that she sings in this film are also featured). A personal highlight of the film for me is her endearing performance of the gospel-flavoured, He Lives In You which she sings with style, conviction and verve, where she is backed by an extradionary South African choir and orchestra. Diana also proves she still hasn't lost any of that fire and sassiness...

IanPhillips 04.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of Double Platinum (DVD)

Show me your Soul . . . Hip-Hop AND R&B!!!

Advantages: full of catchy tunes, some of the best names in urban music
Disadvantages: a little TOO much hip hop

...I've never seen the movie Bad Boys 2 but I love the soundtrack!!! I bought it initially based on the strength of the first single taken from it, "Shake Ya Tailfeather" by Nelly and friends. I had heard very good things about the album and, since there was songs included from Beyonce, AND justin Timberlake, among others, I decided it would be a worthwhile investment. The album concentrates on urban music, from the dancey Destiny's Child- type r & b (by this, obviously, I mean the Beyonce track!), through to hip-hop, and soul. The majority of the tracks are hip-hop but they are varied and different and you could "shake ya tailfeather" to just about all of the tracks!!! So allow me to highlight the most worthwhile tracks . . . SHOW ME YOUR SOUL - this features P. Diddy, Pharrell Williams, Loon, and . . .LENNY KRAVITZ? Surely not...

Pmshack99 01.12.2004 · Read review
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Review of Bad Boys II [PA] - Original Soundtrack

The Princes Of Swingin' Soul

Advantages: Bangers throughout
Disadvantages: Nothing specific

..."Sons of Soul" was the third album from the R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!., it came out in 1993, in the latter days of the R&B/Hip Hop hybrid that was New Jack Swing and so you can hear that it is being watered-down fairly significantly by this point. Amongst the Oakland group you have Raphael Saadiq in lead vocals, Timothy Christian Riley and D'Wayne Wiggins. Aside from these you have other people who go on to make up the band who compose the music, as well as a personal production group. 1. "If I Had No Loot" This one opens up the album and has them go straight tin with some freaky New Jack Swing to liven it all up. It is a killer song on the thing, and ironically it samples a rap from Ice Cube which ridiculed the whole New Jack swing movement, but it seems to have been used effectively in this case on the energetic production...

XICripZ 12.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Sons Of Soul - Tony Toni Tone

Plain (C)Rap

Advantages: Some strong prodcution
Disadvantages: Lost creativity

...?Plain Rap? was the return album from The West Coast Hip Hop crew The Pharcyde. Imani, Bootie Brown, Slimkid3 and Fatlip came back with this 2000 album a good five years after their last and eight years after breaking through with an album containing hit alternative Hip hop tunes such as ?Ya Mama?, ?4 Better Or 4 Worse? and ?Passin? Me By?. 1. ?Trust? Getting things going to show how they have progressed their material in the half decade in which many significant changes occurred in the Hip Hop world, and so as you here what sounds to be essentially the same kind of stuff coming through here as before, it does have fans excited, but I didn?t think it did anything all that exciting. **Three Stars** 2. ?Network? With The Roots? Black Thought supporting them you see that here you get one which has them group laying down a tune...

XICripZ 05.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Plain Rap - Pharcyde (The)

Got soul?

Advantages: Complex, aromatic and reasonably priced fragrance
Disadvantages: None that I can think of

...*Hugo Boss have me impressed* A recent convert to the world of men's fragrances any stronger smelling than a basic anti-perspirant, the warm, woody and very masculine scents of Hugo Boss Soul won me over from the moment I smelled them on a visit to our local Boots. Visiting the aftershave section seems to be something of a tradition for my girlfriend and I when Christmas or a Birthday is approaching, as she likes to pick up a nice smelly for me and no doubt a healthy chunk of Boots points for herself. *Stylish packaging for a cool product* The first thing that I noticed was the interesting distorted bottle that the product comes in. It's made from oddly curved glass that darkens from an almost colourless base up to a smoky purple-grey, with a similarly designed lid that looks something like an optical illusion depending on which...

edinburgher 11.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hugo Boss Boss Soul Eau De Toilette Spray