In 1997 he said it was "So Fine". Then it 1999 he said it had progressed to "So Right". After a 5 year hiatus he turned up the heat in 2004 because he stated it was "So Hot". However I do declare that Rahsaan Patterson has hit the nail on the head in 2007 by simply saying it "Feels Good". Joked of amongst his fans as the love child of Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder, or perhaps the long lost brother of Shuggie Otis, Rahsaan’s new album is truly divine. You can’t pigeon hole this album into a particular category, because there is something on it for all serious music fans. If you like it funky the opening track "Cloud 9" will get your butt moving and have you trying new moves on the dance floor as Rahsaan’s vocals rise and fall over the dirty bass line. If you like your music slightly edgy then "Pitch Black" with its guitar led and quietly sung vocals, which is about the fast approaching end will make you happy. For those enthralled with love and having that special someone in their life "Feels Good" is one of the most transcendent and sublime songs that I have heard in a long time. Rahsaan knows the right buttons to press with his vocals, and within 30 seconds you have a warm fuzzy feeling of being in love, happy and spending hours and hours in each others company. For simple and pure hedonistic fun "No Danger" and "Delirium (Comes and Goes)" will put a smile on your face. However if after all that lovin’, fun and hedonism you need to hear some soaring gospel then "Deliver Me" will revive your soul and put you back on the right track. With the album going in so many places, some may ask how does it work? Or what was Rahsaan thinking? My answer would be that is s pure reflection of Rahsaan and the various creative elements that lie behind the sly grin and knowing eyes that you see on stage or on his album cover. For followers of his music over the years you will hear familiar licks and harmonies, but Rahsaan makes sure it is never stale but rather builds upon past success and makes it sound even better. What I like about this album is that its fun, it’s definitely funky, it’s daring where it needs to be, and also so emotionally vulnerable in parts that it can move you. Rahsaan is no stranger to this music game, and in comparison to his contemporaries like Terrence Trent D’Arby, D’Angelo, Maxwell, Tony Rich Project, Montell Jordan and others, who like him were all major music labels, he has shown how it is possible to stay in the game well into the 21st century. Rahsaan is looking and sounding better, and has ticked the right the boxes for me with this his 4th studio album- the Sure Boy has done it again.

Richard "Ricardito" Ashie [Just Soul]

In the current vegetative state of soul music it is always refreshing to hear from a male singer than can sing and has more to say than simply talking about the various parts of a woman’s body or how great sex will be. Uné (pronounced You – Nay) is an exciting soulful singer from Detroit who started singing in clubs and churches around Detroit, and his self titled new album is currently available to appreciators of good soul music. His 11 track album is quite laid back with a combination of mid tempo tracks and ballads that on the whole celebrate love and its virtues. The acapella introduction lets listeners hear Uné’s powerful range as he “takes it to church” his in praise to God for what he has done for him in his life. If that does not convince you that Uné is a singer then the next track should tick the box. "I Can Remember" is a nice mid tempo track in which Uné reminisces about the first things he did for his woman. His vocals sound and musical style is a cross between Freddie Jackson and Jeffery Osborne, so you immediately know this going to be a quality adult album. On One More Time he asks an ex if they could get back together one more time because they were so good together. In "Lady You Are" he praises his woman for all her qualities and what she does for him, and this is not only song in which he does this. It is revitalizing to hear this, and he does something similar in "I Really Love U Love", which was one of my favourite tracks. Any woman hearing this from her partner should feel blessed, appreciated, empowered and feel like she is walking on air. On "5th September" Uné sings about how his relationship broke down, and how he cried and cried over his woman trying to find out where it went wrong. For people that want a break from all the overflowing love on this album Uné also adds "Hit Da Shaw", which is a nice laid back track to put on as you get ready to go out at the weekend. It’s all about everyone looking great and feeling happy as he cruises down Crenshaw Blvd. He follows that with "Stop Frontin’" where he tells the woman he likes to stop pretending that she is in a good relationship when it is obvious that she is not, and he can provide her with a better one. Overall for people that appreciate male vocalists like Will Downing, Peabo Bryson and other quality vocalists of that elk, then this young man could well be one that the baton is passed to.

Richard "Ricardito" Ashie [Just Soul]

Kirk Whalum isn't just any contemporary jazz saxophonist. Kirk Whalum has recorded a vast number of albums and soundtracks over his 20-year career. For years, he has opened for Whitney Houston and is an accomplished songwriter who has had several Grammy nominations. With all of these accomplishments it is evident that Kirk Whalum has done a lot. His long expertise and devotion to his music can also explain why his recent eleven-track album "Roundtrip" emits and radiates such smooth, flawless and relaxing music to his listeners. Some listeners might sense this contemporary jazz album has a similar ambience to Kenny G or Dave Coz however Kirk Whalum creates his own inimitable smooth style that one cannot compare. Kirk Whalum experiments with different types of music in this album. He gets into his southern blues style with the track "Glow." He crafts a nice R&B vibe with "The Wave". He builds on the inspirational track "Inside" featuring song stress Shanice Wilson and goes into a soulful spoken word track with "In A Whisper" featuring Kim 'Blondielocks' Fields. Even adding some hip-hop flavour with his track "Back In The Day" feat. Caleb Tha Bridge that cleverly samples Frankie Beverley and the Maze's “Before I let you go.” Kirk Whalum makes an attempt to reach out to his listeners and does an admirable job however, the album is a bit short making it quite odd for an artist who has accomplished so much and has released fifteen albums in his twenty year career period. Furthermore Kirk Whalum creates such charisma with tracks such as "In A Whisper," "Inside" and Back In The Day" that when he interjects this with his typical contemporary jazz songs like "Courtney" the charisma gets somewhat displaced. Nevertheless Kirk Whalum's "Roundtrip" is an album that many contemporary jazz listeners will enjoy.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]

It is not often that you get to listen to a group that really knows what passion and soul music is. Furthermore it is not often one will have the opportunity to hear a number of legendary singers from different groups sharing the same microphone and bringing back the soul of the good ol’ days. Well with this album, you can’t get any more soulful than this. Consisting of Philly’s finest falsetto lead singers Russell Thompkins Jr. from the Stylistics, William Hart from the Delfonics and Ted Mills from Blue Magic, together they present their debut album “The Three Tenors Of Soul” all the way from Philadelphia. Described as an ‘historic event’ these original lead singers perform together for the first time singing R&B classics from the yesteryears. This album is quite phenomenal in that all three of these singers sing together for the first time, yet the listener would assume because of their perfect harmony, they had sung together previously. Furthermore their voices still sound the same as they did when they first graced audiences with their high soulful falsetto voices in the late 60’s and 70’s. A number of special guests on this album facilitate this soulful project such as blue-eyed soul duo Hall and Oates in which the Three Tenors sing their never released song “All the way from Philadelphia,” neo soul singer Bilal on the track “Where Are All My Friends” and the Average White Band “A Love Of Your Own.” There is only one draw back with this album which seems to be the ‘norm’ these days when an old skool soul artist releases an album after twenty years; the album consist of cover songs. This formula of using cover songs is probably a way of older singers returning to the music scene so that their listeners are familiar with the songs without scaring them with brand new material that they might appreciate or reject totally. Unfortunately however, doing cover songs can either entice the listener to keep on listening to the track or it might force them to skip tracks or even stop listening to the album together. Fortunately for the three tenors this is not the case and hearing their voices will do nothing but bring back memories The Isley brothers “Caravan Of Love” which seems to perfect the theme of this album is the first track on the CD. Other tracks that they cover include Hall and Oates “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” “Too Much Heaven” and the last track, which again seems to fit well with the theme of the CD “That’s What Friends Are For.” If the three tenors decide to continue with this dream project and produce another album it would be very exhilarating to hear some new material. What would be an even bigger legend is if all the singers from the Stylistics, The Delfonics and Blue Magic re-united and sang together. That would be a musical bliss that no one could ignore. Maybe it will happen one day, but for the meantime this album will do just fine - bring back the soul.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]

To sum it briefly... Jill Scott has changed, changed in many different ways that are illustrated explicitly in this album. Some of her listeners might be off taken from her change but her true fans will adore this change and still love support and cherish her. Jill Scott comes forth with her third volume (though her fifth album) Words and Sounds Vol. 3, "The Real thing" and simply this album is the real thing. A number of changes have occurred in Jill Scott's life that compel her to spill out her mind, thoughts and soul into this album that at times seems to overflow. For one, she is now single after divorcing her husband Lyzel whom she based her infamous ballad song, He loves me (Lyzel in E Flat) in her debut album "Who is Jill Scott" Words and Sounds Vol. 1 Secondly, she tries to adjust the now "single" life yet her feelings of loneliness linger through. Thirdly she lashes back to everyone who for no concrete reason dislikes her. Listeners can easily sense Jill Scott's pain, thirst, hunger at the same time her pleasure, zeal and gratification. Jill Scott delivers her lyrics in each of her 15 tracks like a bittersweet poem. A number of songs on this album assist in the intensity, rawness and authenticity that Jill Scott has held incarcerated in her mind. She addresses all to those who have hated on her on her track "Hate On Me" (which is the first single from the album.) She gets explicit in her interlude track "Crown Royal" following with the track "Epiphany". Epiphany however has a nice twist at the end where after she describes her intimate physical encounter she ends it abruptly by saying: "But why do I feel so empty?" Other tracks that are potent in this album include "My Love" which is featured in the Tyler Perry's film "Why Did I Get Married?" (Which Jill Scott stars in,) "Insomnia" and "Whenever you around." Like her previous volumes, Jill Scott showcases a theme and a storyline. In Words and Sounds Volume 1, Jill Scott first meets with a friend she has not seen in years, then she moves into having a relationship with her lover who "loves me, so special" they fall in love but then she finds out that she needs "slowly surely" walk away from what she thought was love but wasn't. In Words and Sounds Volume 2, Jill Scott now talks about being in her loving relationship, married, having family reunions and enjoying her life as being married woman. She even address her pass fling reflecting their hot times together but firmly says, "You were not good enough for me and I was not good enough for you". Now in Words and Sounds Volume 3, we now find Jill Scott in a different frame of mind; she is single again, talks about her intimate rendezvous that she often regrets while still lusting after her previous lover. What makes this album and Jill Scott's previous albums phenomenal is that every time when you listen to it you will always grasp new meanings and thoughts that any listeners easily can relate to. And that is the real thing.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]