Sex and The Southern Belle

"It's been a long time..I shouldn't have left you..without a dope beat to step to...." I know! I know! I haven't done a "Thursday Tunes" in forever and a day! But  life gets in the way... But I got two words for you: Tamar BRaxton! The younger sister of diva songstress Toni Braxton is holding her own with her release "Love and War". And I am so here for it. So are my gay homies who love Tamar and find her to be so over the top! Like a drag queen without the man parts! LMAO! But enough of her dramatics..the girl can SING! Period. No denying that...even if you hate her drama her voice is undeniable! I loved her new album. I ran out and pre-ordered it..... and I INSTANTLY fell in love with the opening track, her second single "The one". She samples Mtume/Biggie's versions of "Juicy"...and it works SO WELL here! It is a FUN song...and I LOVE IT. The video for it is super cute as a very pregnant Tamar is show fro...

AKA: Thursday Tunes.... Today is my birthday!! *does a twirl* This year has been utterly amazing. I am sorry I haven't been blogging as often but real life is calling me in the worst way. I will say I am thankful for family, friends and most of all sanity. I am 34...knocking on 35...and peeking at 40! (LOL) I never thought almost 5 years post-divorce that I would be here.....in a different place: whole, happy, sane, in love.... I take that back...yes I did. I did because I had faith in God and I knew God doesn't fail people who believe in a better place. God doesn't leave his children to perish...not even during the storm. My pastor/Uncle said on Palm Sunday the following: "Your Second Half will be better than your First Half" Indeed...the second act of my life is getting better and better. Ducks are lining all up in a row for me....and I am blessed and I am grateful. I do not take it lightly at all. I knew my "latter would be greater...

I've been a Faith fan since her days back at  Bad Boy. Most know her for her marriage to Biggie.. But I was a fan of Faith in her own right. She was the first lady of Bad Boy that's for sure..   I was championing her to be Etta James in "Cadillac Records" (cause it made sense! Lol) but we see how that worked out lmao. But I think I played her first albums out to the point where the CD skipped.. "Soon as I get Home" still is on that slow jam CD we all have to make babies (or practice making). She returned back to the scene last year with a reality show but I wanna forget that. What I do want to remember is the songs produced from that collaborative effort . "Tears of Joy" took me back to classic Faith Evans. I think I put that on repeat for a minute when it first dropped. The R&B Divas album wasn't commercially successful but this song is just everything :)

Avant and Keke make MAGIC together. Some of us may recently know Keke for her antics on the reality show R&B Divas..but before she was painted as a looney-toon...she was and STILL is a beautiful singer, who had hits with Avant such as the Rene and Angela remake of "My First Love" as well as "Nothing in the World". And yes...Avant is more than the poor man's R. Kelly...(LOL)...since signing way back when with the now defunct Magic Johnson record label...he's turned out quite a few hits..... Their most recent effort is prob gonna be the wedding song of 2013. It makes me so warm and fuzzy, and dare I say, a bit misty eyed. Keke is so beautiful vocally...and Avant kills it too... And the Lyrics!! OMG...*sigh* My fav lyrics... Oh baby, funny how things have changed in my life now Whether near or far, I wanna be where you are and you’re like a rose that blooms in my garden Innocent and sweet my love you are But one thing I know girl Lovin’, l...

Blue-eyed British soul is BACK and in full-effect. Carrying the torch of Simply Red and George Michael, Daley teams up with fellow Britt Marsha Ambrosius (of solo and "Floetry Fame")  for a silky, smooth soulful treat called "Alone Together". Hailed as the "future of throwback soul" (guess thats the new term for NEO-soul...LOL), much of who Daley is is a mistery. I don't care. Dude is the TRUTH! Daley released this entire album as a FREE mixtape, bucking the traditional record industry machine (although I'd like to say mixed tapes are getting to be kinda prevalent and mainstream).... but I really love the album. This is the lead single..and boy is it amazing.... get you some!

Cody Chestnutt is sort of an elusive dude. Most people know him for his vocals and impressive guitar playing on The Roots' hit " The Seed ".  He's also from Atlanta...so they def makes him dope in my eyes. He had a few moderate hits. His 2002 double cd release "Headphone Masterpiece" was so dope and included the catchy tune "Look God In Leather" (it also included an early release of "The Seed" but for me..his collab w/ The Roots tops that). Someone sent me this song last week. I had almost forgotten how much I LOVED this song. So sexy and simple...and his voice is real thick like cane syrup on top of scratchy vinyl. Retro and delicious... My fav lyrics: Well, maybe I'm insane But don't you hold it against me girl I'm a lunatic with conviction I'd said no one will, no one will, no one will Appreciate everything you are Nurture you and your open heart Check it out...the song is all kinds of sexy dopeness...

I remember watching the BET Honors awards last year and they presented their "Next Generation" (or whatever it's called) artist...and there stood this fine, chocolate, delicious thing on stage...singing his little heart out. I was all in as soon as I heard him..... I sat and rewound the DVR over and over...like "Yo..WHO IS this dude!!" He's soulful. He's fresh. He's Luke James. And his first single "I Want You" didn't disappoint I love this song. I truly do. I think I play it once a week. I just....it's the sentiment behind the song. The passion. I love the lyrics. When he sings ...it just tears me up a little inside.... his falsetto is KILLER. The lyrics are so damn simple....but I LOVE the song. Just a man confessing his love for a girl.... and hey...he wants her! My fav part: Before I met you girl I never knew my heart could dance, hey, hey Yeah, listen I was just a broken record of one night stands   Until you...

For a minute..this song might have been the wedding song of the 06-08 wedding season. I prob heard it at least once at every wedding I attended or on some wedding CD............ But it's so timeless.......... Amel Larrieux...the stunning half of the 90s R&B Duo Groove Theory (w. that FIONE Bryce Wilson .but I digress...)  and had  hit with "Tell Me" and "Keep Tryin"... She. has airy vocals and stunning songwriting abilities. She is sort of a fusion of jazz, soul, R&B and def old standard sounds.  The biracial beauty from NYC grew up in a super artistic household (Her mother is a dance critic and her father is an artist) and  broke out on her own when she did a guest appearance on Sweetback's album w/ the song "You will Rise". After her solo album "Infinite Possibilities", she left  Epic records and became an independent artist and along with her husband Laru, started her own label called BlissLife Records. She released 3 al...

Hey Ya'll! I'm on Vacation..and that being said...no "real blogs" this week. But I did want to leave you with a song that I love right now. Miguel's "Adorn" Very sexy song... Not much I wanna say on it. Indeed...I am on vacation :) See you all soon !  *smooches*

One of the most underrated r&b singers of our generation, Charlene "Tweet" Keys, from Rochester, NY,  is a powerhouse vocalist and talented songwriter. She burst onto the scene with her debut album "Southern Hummingbird  (2002) and to this day, it's one of few albums I can play all the way through w/ o skipping a track. It was lead by the sexually charged missy Elliott produced ode to masturbation "Ooops, oh my". While that was definitely a banger, the ballads on the album were the selling point for me. " Always Wil l" is my absolute favorite from the album. About an undying love and a self-assured woman who KNOWS that this man will love her forever, Tweet sings it so effortlessly. (I believe she also played guitar on this track too..audiophiles can correct me if I am wrong) My Favorite Lyrics: We're inseparable Cause your soul's with mine And you've, you've been loving me so long And I bet you always will We cou...

 Frank Ocean is dope. Period. What a brave soul...as an instrumental person in the fusion of R&B and Hip-Hop with a dash of pop, lending his pipes and writing to Jay Z, Kanye and a host of other people. He was featured on a few songs on "Watch the Throne" ....but his internet release mixtape  " Nostaliga, Ultra " is what really made me fall in love with him.. A Native of New Orleans, his voice just paralyzes me.... Singer, Songwriter and part of the hip-hop alternative collective of "Odd Future" ...he is a force to be reckoned with. He reminds me of a new-age Stevie Wonder or something.....his voice..his passion. I last featured him on the blog with the song "Thinkin Bout You"...but now he has his first major label release, just a week after he "came out" (or rather, explained.....) that he had been previously in a homosexual relationship. Who cares, right?  Apprently some in the hip-hop community and some narrow mnde...

I just so happened to catch the latest episode of Unsung and it featured the Afro-Cuban beauty which was/is Angela Bofill. Born in the Bronx to a Cuban father and Afro-Puerto Rican mother, she  was one of the first Latina singers to find success in the R&B world in the 1970s.  My mother used to play this song all the time. No doubt, I think she gravitated toward the sad and tragic singers for reasons deeper than I could ever know... and she passed the musical gene on to me I guess :) Sadly, Angela Bofill has experienced two strokes and no longer can sing like she used to. But that deep, melodic contralto voice is quite haunting.  She had many hits like "This time I'll be Sweeter" and "I'm on your Side"..but "I Try" is most definitely my favorite. She said she wrote it when she was 17 and experienced her first heartbreak..but this song is timeless. Every girl (and guy) can relate to it. My fav lyrics...hell...it's the entire song: I...

To some..Sade's smooth adult sound epitomizes the 80s. While "Sade" itself is the band (also consisting of Stuart Matthewman who was instrumental in defining the sound of Maxwel and also formed Sweetbackl)...Sade would be nothing without it's namesake... Helen Folashade Adu, the biracial British/Nigerian who stormed the scene in the 80s with her smooth sound and gorgeous contralto voice. I liked Sade...but...It wasn't until I went to my first Sade concert last year...that I was enamored with her. She was beautiful and regal and everything and more...and at 53 year sold...was SLAYING chicks half her age! Seriously..she was great in person. She had that one single ponytail, signature red lips..then let her hair loose in one set...and had on all white..and rose out the ground...I was in awe in Phillips Arena.... It's hard to pick out one single solitary Sade song that I like. But...inspired by my reading of Fifty Shades of Gray (I pormise...a review to...

The Queen LaBelle. . Patti Labelle still in her 70s...is kicking off her heels...making delicious recipes from her cookbooks.  Born Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards and for Philly and def part of the "Philly Soul scene"....She started out as a lead singer of Patti Labelle and her Blue Belles...and then in the conceptual R&B/Funk group "LaBelle" (known for their hit Lady Marmalde). But as a solo Artist, is where she has reigned supreme. I like a lot of Patti Labelle songs which totally defined the 80s for me.. (New Attitude, On my Own, When You've Been Blessed, You are my Friend, Over the Rainbow..etc..)  My mother even took me to a concert when I was 10.... But my fav has to be her only #1 to date .. "If Only you Knew". She soulfully laments to a guy that she likes..who has no CLUE that she is so into him that way.... kbooks...and giving us diva fierceness...    My favorite lyrics from that song: I dream of moments we shar...

I first heard Teena Marie when my uncle, who was a teenager at the time and lived with us, used to blast "Square Biz" and try and break dance in the living room floor. LMAO! That used to tickle me so much...and I honestly had no idea she was white until I got old enough to look at music videos. Teena  Marie, born Mary Christine Brockert, in Santa Monica , CA, is better known for her association with Rick James (their hit Fire and Desire is still that jam!) and her "vibrato" (SN: My friend Tee says Teena sounds like a bleating goat...nah..that's Rhianna...LOL) and her vibrato and her exceptional FUNK on bass guitar kept her above the rest.. She def was the queen of "Blue Eyed Soul" before it was fashionable to call it that. She died of a brain aneurysm the day after Christmas 2010. It was so sad and shocking. I like a lot of her danceable tunes. But to pick a "ballad" was hard. It was toss up between this song..and "Portuguese Lov...

I feel like I grew up with Monica Arnold (now Brown...as she married B-Baller Shannon Brown of the LA Lakers). Hailing from my hometown of ATL, Monica was a sassy 14 year old when she dropped on the scene with her debut album Miss Than g. She has had lots of hit, including a Grammy for her duet with Brandy "The Boy Is Mine" (which I wore out). Her vocal range is immense..from gospel rifts..to bluesy tracks...to duets with Usher....and a few others.  She had mature vocals even then...and I've loved (almost) every album she put out. She's endured a lot..including witnessing her boyfriend's suicide..leaving her kids' father after a 10 year relationship and now, finally finding love. Monica is awesomeness..(not to mention..how FLY is her hair all the time? Jeesh...) If I had ONE complaint (which is rare)..is that Monica needs to do more of these mid-tempo joints and DEF more ballads. She is a singer..not some hip-hop diva  wanna be singer. She can SANG...I mea...

It's hard to narrow down ONE single, solitary Bob Marley song that I love. Ever since I was 8 years old, and stumbled across my father's old, dusty copy of " Legend " ....I was hooked. I would clean my room to Bob Marley ,shaking my 2 little curly ponytails and dancing..... I've always loved reggae.. Robert Nesta Marley may be more famous for his brood of children as well as his massive body of influential work. Born in St. Anne Parish Feb 6 1945, to a white plantation owner and an 18 year old Jamaican girl (Cedella Booker). he recognized his "double consciousness" and duality as a biracial Jamaican but was most influenced by Rastafarian movements and Marcus Garvey. Later in life, he joined Bunny Wailer, Joe Higgs, and the Peter Tosh ( also one of my fav artist btw.... ) as The Wailers. I could go on and on about the history of Bob Marley, the influence of his music, all his concubines and kids(lol)...but most audiophiles already know..... Bob Marley ...

I am a child that had her musical teeth cut on old soul, blues, and R&B. There wasn't a Saturday that went by growing up that the house wasn't filled with oldies on the weekend...and Al Green was on heavy rotation.  I have so many fond memories of Rev Al. He was my late aunt Madonna's favorite male singer...Normally loud and boisterous...if she heard some Al Green....she would hit the proverbial "Owwwwww", snap her fingers,  and sway to the beat of his music....I think she liked the ballads the most. Albert Green, born April 13, 1946 in Arkansas, is a Gospel and R&B sensation, whose peak was in the 1970s.  Green's debut album with Hi Records was  Green Is Blues , a slow, horn-driven album that allowed Green to show off his powerful and expressive voice, with Mitchell  arranging , engineering  and  producing . The album was a moderate success. The next LP,  Al Green Gets Next to You  (1970), included a hit remake of the Temptations c...

So who is Goapele??? The former dread locked (*weeps*) vocalist from Oakland, CA, is a unique soul singer with a unique story.  Borne Goapele Mohlabane,Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled political activist who struggled against the Apartheid System. Goapele's New York-born Israeli Jewish mother Noa[5] had been attending protests since the age of 12. Noa attended Friends World College and was studying in Nairobi, Kenya, where she met and married Douglas. Goapele and her older brother DJ Namane Mohlabane were raised in a California South African exile community. (Wikipedia, "Goapele")  Her first album, Even Closer, was on heavy rotation on my CD player (yes..this was before I had an Ipod). Her song was "Closer", a song that really motivated me. Her follow up, "Change it All", feature some nice tracks like First Love".  She is just a positive spirit..in the same vein as India.Arie.  But this song?? WHEW! Goape...

I've been a fan of Alanis since I was a brooding teenager, locked away in my room listening to grunge, hip-hop, and Jazz (I was weird...yeah). But anyway, Alanis' "Jagged Little Pill" was the album that defined a major love and break up of my teenage years.  I really liked my HS boyfriend...we broke up and made up probably 100 times during the course of 9th through 12th grades (LOL). This year, it was VERY bad, as I found out he tried to holler at a girl who rode my school bus....(alas....she didn't make the cut and I did...BOOM..maybe cause I scared the sh*t outta him...anyway...LOL) Released in 1995, Jagged Little pill went on to sale over 30 million copies and earned Alanis a sh*t load of Grammys, sealing her dopeness and influence on a ton of other pop=rockers to come: Fiona, Pink, Avril to name a few. The Canadian singer-songwriter is a little folk, a lot of rock, and a lot of indie pop. Some may know her for her time on "You Cant Do That on Televisi...