Music Addikts

“The Love & War MasterPeace” begins with Raheem being deemed the greatest soul singer of his generation by Dr. Cornel West. Citing the absence of a message of political awareness in today’s music and praising Raheem for filling a void that artists like Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye and Nina Simone once occupied. The CD flows right into Raheem’s first single “Bulletproof” featuring Ludacris where the self proclaimed R&B Hippie Neo-Soul Rockstar confronts the issues of injustice on many minds, such as war and racial profiling. Boldly stating “The politicians can’t help you they just puppets and slaves trying to get paid…”

Like the 2008 hit “Woman”, “The Greatness” is another anthem to what seems to be one of Raheem Devaughn’s favorite subjects, women. Even with the Wale feature this track doesn’t speak to me quite like “Woman” from the “Love Behind the Melody” album. The subject matter of subsequent tracks, fall in line with that of the average R&B crooner. “I Don’t Care” is a catchy, your friends can hate if they want but they don’t know what we have, track while in “Black and Blue” he sings the ‘I can love you better’ tune to a woman who’s fallen victim to domestic violence.

“Fragile” has a Floetry type of vibe with Raheem singing about giving some T.L.C. to a delicate heart and Malik Yusef using his crafty spoken word skills to bring the point home. I think one of my favorite tracks on this album is B.O.B, in which Radio Raheem reminds women that there are certain things your “Battery Operated Boyfriend” just can’t do. No comment. My absolute favorite track hands down is “Nobody Wins A War”. The featuring list on this one is ridiculous, Jill Scott, Bilal, Algebra, Chrisette Michele, Anthony Hamilton, Ledisi, Dwele…and the list goes on. This track is reminiscent of “We Are The World” but with a less radio friendly message. Jill Scott all but rips the government a new one with her monologue protesting war, because after all, no one ever wins a war.

Although I don’t dislike this album, at this point I don’t love it either. It falls a little short in relation to his earlier work. “Love Behind The Melody” was a great album but still neither his sophomore or junior albums hold a candle to “The Love Experience”. I will always support Raheem especially in his live shows because I think he’s a great performer and artist. I just hope his best work is yet to come. If you don’t already have a copy, check out the album sampler and tell us what you think. You can grab a copy of “The Love & War MasterPeace” at your local retailer or online at Amazon or iTunes. Remember to support your local record stores, or as we like to call them treatment centers.

“The Love & War MasterPeace” Album Sampler

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Track Listing
1. Dr. Cornell West Intro
2. Bulletproof Featuring Ludacris
3. The Greatness featuring Wale
4. I Don’t Care
5. Black & Blue
6. Mr. Right
7. Dr. Cornell West Interlude
8. Fragile featuring Malik Yusef
9. My Wife
10. B.O.B.
11. Bedroom
12. Microphone
13. Garden Of Love
14. Dr. Cornell West P.S.A.
15. Nobody Wins A War featuring Jill Scott, Bilal, Anthony Hamilton, Algebra, Chrisette Michele, Shelby Johnson, Ledisi, Citizen Cope, Dwele, Chico DeBarge and Rudy Currence
16. Revelations 2010 featuring Damian Marley

With depth, complexity and ease Algebra’s music speaks to your heart as universally as the language of mathematics. A singer/songwriter who has the ability to draw you in first with her dynamic voice and then hold your attention with her storytelling. Since discovering Algebra on VH1 Soul back in 2006 I have been a huge fan. Although I was a little disappointed that it took two years from the premier of her video for “U Do It 4 Me” to the 2008 release of “Purpose”, I must say this album was worth the wait and will continue to bump through my speakers until her next release. Since moving to Atlanta, Algebra has been one of many artist whom I have lost count of the number of times I’ve seen them perform live. All I’m saying is…when you are singing along with the live performance ad libs word for word….you might have an ADDIKTION.

(Biography from www.myspace.com/algebrablessett)

Ironically there are no textbooks or classroom instructions that could help one balance the equations of Kedar Massenburg’s newest protg, ALGEBRA. The Atlanta native insists that one can only discover her sonically. As an R&B solo artist with such a simple solution, when mainstream success seems to be more about the right hair, nails and make -up, Algebra is the perfect curriculum for breathing life back in to a genre overwrought by factory made clones. No stranger to performing, Algebra has been lending her melodic voice to projects and live shows for years. However, singing for other artists was about as out of character for her as having someone write songs for her. “Even when someone else wrote a song specifically for me, I felt like I was still being a background singer for myself.” As the music scene in Atlanta became the hot bed of popular music, Algebra taught herself to play guitar and performed regularly at open mics. This pivotal point in her career afforded her the time to develop her writing and performance skills even further without the harness of a prescribed format. “Soon you learn not to care what others think, you learn to perform for you. I would come back week after week and I learned to perform for balance and for freedom. I was becoming alive.” This organic approach permeates her music. Algebra can easily be pop, rock, rap funk or crunk, yet she can breathe ballads effortlessly. Collaborating with award-winning songwriter and producer Brian Michael Cox on “What Happened” quickly proved to be a true showcase of her brilliance. This soulful ballad is delivered so honestly and with such vulnerability that it appears as an autobiography. Algebra’s definitive voice and identity is one of full disclosure. “I don’t want to be boxed,” she asserts. The litmus test of what she would create lies in being relatable and in offering complete truth in every word she sings. On the song “Nothing To Prove” she boldly introduces herself with no apologies. She places all of herself on display and invites listeners to look past her stunningly beautiful physical and into her prayerful, soulful mental. As the first artist to be released on the revamped Kedar Entertainment Group, Algebra enters the contemporary soul music landscape following legacies created by artists like D’Angelo, Erykah Badu and India.Arie all of whom developed under the watchful eye of Massenburg. However her sound is unique. Algebra at first is unassuming, but it takes mere moments for you to recognize that she is not just a tempest in a teapot but more like the catalyst of a paradigm shift. With there being only two universal languages in this world – Math and Music; fate would have it, southern songbird Algebra represents both!
“U Do It For Me”

“Run & Hide”

Not sure how many (if any) readers we have in Australia but if you’re out there this one’s for you. Anthony David A.K.A Acey Ducey A.K.A. AD A.K.A. Mr. International (Ok I threw that last one in there), is touring in Australia for the next couple weeks with stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Byron Bay and Brisbane. If you live in or are visiting any of those cities check him out. There are some artists that you can listen to their album and get a full scope of what they have to offer. Anthony David is not one of those artists. To say that his live show is a compliment to his music would be an understatement. Check out these videos of AD performing ‘Cold Turkey’ and ‘Part of My Life’ to see what I mean. The clip above is a view of Australia through the eyes of AD set to his unreleased track ‘As Above So Below’.

Anthony was also kind enough to share some of his tunes with us through Reverb Nation and offer us free downloads of ‘4EverMore’, ‘Every Trend’ (his parody of Drake’s ‘Every Girl’), ‘Military Mind’ feat. Eric Roberson, ‘Everything is Everything’ (That Girl Remix). Enjoy the tracks and stop by AD’s site rollingmojo.com for tour dates and to thank him.

Anyone who knows me and the rest of the Music Addikts, knows how crazy we are about Eric Roberson’s music.  Each of us were introduced to him at different times and different places in our lives.  Today, I was having a conversation with a new friend from London, soulBEAUTIFUL, and she and I had the “when-did-you-know-you-were-in-love-with-eric-roberson’s-music” conversation. Funny, our stories were quite similar.  We lavished about how much we appreciated the art he shares with us.  Most importantly, the sincerity in his lyrics that penetrate the heart(soul). 

I purchased two copies of the record, because I need one for the house and one for the car.   My iPhone(poor thing) also got some wear and tear because I listened to Eric Roberson’s new record, Music Fan First, on repeat non-stop at the nail salon, in line at the grocery store, walking down the block to work and the list goes on.  I wanted to be sure I could sing along by the time the show came around (yeah, it’s like that).  After giving the record a listen, I was like – wait. hollll’ up.DJ stop the track. Eric sounds all grown and stuff! This album definitely goes in the category of ‘edgy’, especially for him.  With tracks like ‘Borrow You’, ‘Weekend Getaway’, ‘Dealing’, and ‘The Hunger’, he definitely moved into another place musically.  I appreciate the differentiation.  Cheating. Sex. Lies. Rock n’ Roll. Well, alright! It also shows that he’s willing to take chances. This record really had me thinking.  And THAT is when I know a record has me! Read the rest of this entry »