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Buy Now	Baduizm (more) »rank: 1234 by: Erykah Badu :Album Details:BONUS DVD (PAL) :Badu and her large turban appeared out of nowhere in early 1997, on a murmuring, romantic album that trod the median between old-school soul and contemporary electronic R&B. Badu's songs, especially the hit 'On & On' and the catchy 'Certainly,' recall Sade in their polished, subtle sexiness. Badu almost never raises her voice--save the occasional 'ooh-wee!' exultation--but she skillfully uses repetition and chanting to empower her words. Later portraying a beautiful swamp queen, she was one of the only good things about the movie Blues ...	Buy Now	Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (more) »rank: 2876 by: Maxwell : :Handsome in his designer clothes and angelic, nappy dreads, Maxwell styles himself a modern-day urban love prophet in the tradition of Marvin Gaye. He concocts a conceptual music suite that purports to tell a fully rounded tale of meaningful love set in the tough but misunderstood inner city. What he delivers, however, contains only the faintest hints of what he promises. Instead we get a whole lot of the same tired R&B elevator slush and lyrics like 'Gonna take you in the room suga'/ Lock you up and love ...
Buy Now	Mama's Gun (more) »rank: 4434 by: Erykah Badu, Erykah Badu : :A true tour de force, Mama's Gun is that rare sophomore album that shows a maturing artist at her best. Erykah Badu's voice was always her main attraction--its unique sound has been compared to Billie Holiday and Chaka Khan. Here, it's her skill with that voice that shines. Badu shapes her instrument to suit her material (all of it written or cowritten by her). A full range is represented: On faster, danceable tracks like 'Penitentiary Philosophy' and 'Booty,' she sounds gritty and funky. On softer, more introspective tracks, like ...	Buy Now	Now (more) »rank: 3164 by: Maxwell : 's Best of 2001:Three years after the scattered Embrya, new-soul prodigy Maxwell returns with Now, his most fully realized disc yet. While not as ambitious as D'Angelo or just plain flippin'-off-the-wall as Macy Gray, the singer-songwriter does claim a stance: acoustic-guitar-based, near-tone poems ('Sympton Unknown') and Kate Bush covers ('This Woman's Work') are hardly the stuff of your average pop-R&B love man. Maxwell's lush thickets of overdubbed vocals could stand as a fine listen on their own; the varied textures of the instrumental tracks make the flow that much ...
Buy Now	Live (more) »rank: 8664 by: Erykah Badu : :There is always cause for concern when a promising new artist follows up a solid debut with a live album rehashing all the same material. After seeing Erykah Badu steal the 'Smokin Grooves Tour' summer of 1996, however, it only makes sense that her record company decided to release Live as a stopgap between her next studio recording. To put it mildly, the Badu live experience is anything but typical. There is a kindred bond between the singer and her audiences which translates wonderfully onto the disc. It's in ...	Buy Now	Floetic (more) »rank: 2556 by: Floetry : :It's hard to imagine two more talented hipsters than Floetry singer Marsha Ambrosius and emcee Natalie Stewart, a.k.a. the Songstress and Floacist. The U.K. duo's Floetic debut has it all--smooth R&B, soulful jazz, hip-hop, spoken word, supple ballads and a warmth that cradles the listener from beginning to end. In short, it's exquisitely, decidedly feminine. The pair occasional raise the roof with sizzling rhymes and beats, but they clearly place a premium on vibe, evident in Floetic's mostly chilled, after-dark feel. Jill Scott and Michael Jackson have already benefited ...
Buy Now	Brown Sugar (more) »rank: 3808 by: D'Angelo : :D'Angelo is obviously inspired by the progressive soul of the early '70s, but he has also borrowed carefully from the hip-hop of his own generation. Like many of his contemporaries, he has recorded a tribute to marijuana--the album's title--but it's far wittier than most. It takes the form of a conventional love song ('Brown sugar babe, I gets high off your love ... that's why my eyes are a shade blood burgundy') and mimics intoxication in its throbbing bass lines and reverb-heavy organ. Another song, with a title too ...	Buy Now	Voodoo (more) »rank: 3759 by: D'Angelo : 's Best of 2000:Like Robin Hood working on a tip from Chuck D, D'Angelo has stolen back the soul that was missing from the just-add-water R&B scene. Voodoo is a simmering cauldron of sound, a magical collection. Stained with sweat, longing, and rage, this is an album with trouble on the brain. But it also includes sacred sweet nothings and rapturous raw rhythms to get you through the night. --Lizz Mendez Berry Amazon.com:Halfway through the languid midtempo ballad 'Send It On' from D'Angelo's new sophomore effort, Voodoo, the young ...
Buy Now	Embrya (more) »rank: 2858 by: Maxwell : :The bass line of the opening track is the first sign, and the smooth funk of the second track confirms it: On Embrya, Maxwell has done it again. Sophomore efforts don't always fare well, especially when an artist is still riding high on the accolades of a debut, but Maxwell has managed to take the exquisite soul of 1996's Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite and, without sacrificing any of its verve, turn it into something far more sophisticated. Not only is Embrya a sublime summer soundtrack, it's a groove masterpiece ...	Buy Now	Worldwide Underground (more) »rank: 34088 by: Erykah Badu : :The bass line of the opening track is the first sign, and the smooth funk of the second track confirms it: On Embrya, Maxwell has done it again. Sophomore efforts don't always fare well, especially when an artist is still riding high on the accolades of a debut, but Maxwell has managed to take the exquisite soul of 1996's Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite and, without sacrificing any of its verve, turn it into something far more sophisticated. Not only is Embrya a sublime summer soundtrack, it's a groove masterpiece ...