July 3 saw the release of two high-profile releases. On the hip-hop side we had T.I.'s give it a little time to make an impression new album, T.I. vs. T.I.P. and on the R&B side we had the aren't you happy it's finally out in the streets sophmore release from Kelly Rowland, Ms. Kelly.
Now as of late I have been refraining from downloading albums before they come out and hoping for the best, and/or giving my favorite artists the benefit of the doubt when I step inside the record shop on new release Tuesdays. That, or I listen to clips of an album, hoping that 30 second snippets will give me more than enough of a reason to get my hands on a new album.
Now I love me some Destiny's Child as much as the next man. [Destiny Fulfilled included] And we all know how I feel about Beyonce's solo output. But I still wasn't ready to just go out and purchase Kelly's latest and hope for the best, no matter how much I love lead single Like This feat Eve. [And trust me, I love that damn song. One of the best singles of the year, hands down] The sound clips didn't grab me on Itunes and when it came to Kelly Rowland and solo outputs, all I could think about was that song with that video where she sat in a classroom looking all sad, and after school special like. In other words, her first go round with this whole solo thang left a bad taste in my mouth.
And then I hung out with Brandon.
Him and his damn affinity for moving, grooving R&B and slow jams.
Get in the car. Hit the road. Press play on the car stereo and Like This begins.
Hell yeah.
That's what I 'm talking about.
As the car ride went on, and we made our way to our movie, I found myself sitting up straight and clearing out my ears, enjoying what was coming through the speakers. Ms. Kelly is a light and pleasant little album. Smoothly paced, subtle and restrained when it needs to be, as well as vibrant and colorful when the time calls for it. Been playing it every so often round these parts, start to finish with no skipping, and enjoying it. So my bad Ms. Kelly. I aplogize for blocking you out and literally picking up your album that Tuesday, two weeks ago, scanning the back and cover artwork before saying "nah", and putting it back on the shelf. I should have known better.
And of course, I can't leave without posting this jam for the masses:
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