Brandy - Luz Millar

Afrodisiac

May 30th, 2010 | Author: aviaindireta

Property Developers Paralimni Cyprus

Afrodisiac one my favorite R&B cd’s – Lindsey – PA USA
This cd is really underated. It has some of my favorite songs on it and hardly anyone knows about them.
One of the “new” albums I enjoyed in my late teens had to be Never Say Never for sure. After all these years I rediscovered this album just recently and wished I’d picked it up as soon as it came out. Well it’s apparent a lot had gone down in Brandy’s personal life from the turn of the millenium and her previous CD Full Moon and this album is a document on a child star’s journey into adulthood. Lyrically Brandy concentrates on being in and out of marriage as well as being a mother and a grown woman. Not only that but she collaborates with Timberland as a producer. From the beginning Brandy was deep into the modern hip-hop/R&B thing but at the same time she always was learning a lot from the musicians and singers that came before her. In this case she and Timberland embrace a flavor of modern R&B that in a huge chunk of the album utilizes the sounds and textures of afrocentric percussion,fender rhodes and chunky guitars. Luckily to compensate for the naturalness trend in recent neo-soul music Brandy and her producers use the programming or whatever on this record to enhance the grooves and messages here. On “Who I Am”,the title track,”Who Is She 2 U”,”I Tried”,”Focus”,”Sadiddy” as well as “Talk About Our Love” and “Where You Wanna Be”,with Kayne West and TI respectively really showcase the funkiest possible side of hip-hop which,considering that was the genre that funk planted the resulting musical flora that developes here is a pure jamming delight. On “Turn It Up”..well that results are pretty much STRAIGHT UP FUNK-all the way with the horns,polyrhythms:the whole shabang,even as Brandy sings most assertively about looking for “hits and no filler” in her listening and musical experience. If there is an intention irony presented there…she’s definately getting the point of the grooves she’s embracing. The last five songs have a somewhat more modern feel with that heavier hip-hop influence but the final tune is very telling.
“Should I Go” focuses on the many roads that present themselves to a mature artist and person,looking at all the possibilities for the future but uncertain which one will present the most even course. It’s an excellent conclusion to the themes of growing up Brandy made a trademark earlier in her career and leaves the door as open as possible for the future. For anyone who left Brandy behind in the late 90′s and/or someone looking to discover how funk can manage to survive within the modern hip-hop/R&B ideom successfully this is just the album that you might want to hear. : Afrodisiac is sensuous, soulful, even a little gritty, an album that showcases Brandy’s passionate voice and announces in no uncertain terms that she’s all grown up and knows what she wants. The hot first single, “Talk About Our Love,” was produced by and features Kanye West. After a breakup, childbirth, and a reality show, the one-time teen star finds herself growing up a little more on Afrodisiac. While this isn’t a concept album–the songs aren’t ordered as such–it’s filled with the frustrations and pleasures of Brandy’s past few years. At the same time, her vocals are richer than ever, reaching a Blige-like level of expression on “I Tried” and “Who is She 2 U.” Timbaland’s production on nine cuts anchors the disc; he even makes the title track’s sampled baby, a link to his classic work on Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody,” belong. The biggest triumph, though, is “Talk About Our Love,” pop-soul from Kanye West that could come straight from the summer of ’74, even including his rap. Further release comes with Timba’s “Sadiddy,” an anthemic celebration of being out on the town with a carload of friends. The girl may be older, but she still knows how to have fun. –Rickey Wright Afrodisiac

Luz Millar

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Afrodisiac