Tawiah – Break Away

Super Smoky Soul – More ft. Muhsinah

Janelle Monae

The ArchAndroid

I was introduced to her by a friend and have been hooked to her ever since.

She is one artist ( not just artiste) who grabs you by the balls and squeezes at will; strange thing is, it feels oh so good(nothing sexual implied). I couldn’t stop listening to her and watching her bust a move even after the 10th time of watching her Many Moons video which was also shot in a short film format instead of the industry standard of roughly 3:50 mins. Big ups to her industrious creative team and also to P Diddy who appears to have given her total creative control.

In her latest album, The ArchAndroid , unlike many singers who follow up great first albums with complete duds, she has managed to outdo herself in every single song. From “Dance or Die” which features Saul Williams to “BaBopByeYa” she manages to weave a near-seamless album with each track easing you into the next. I was half way through the album, upon my first listen, before realizing I was listening to an album not a twenty something minute track; this is actually a good thing for this type of album.

This girl is the truest example of the term “fresh air” in this stale mess R&B is currently blowing up my nostrils. Hopefully her type of music (which is a fusion of funk, classic soul, and a big band sound) will receive the necessary radio airtime. Some people claim Diddy can turn a brick wall into a superstar let’s hope he does that with Ms Monae without affecting her style; not drastically at least.

Visit Amazon or iTunes store to get the full album (remember to support the artists you love if you can afford to do so;-)

-DuKe-