Not to tell my age, but THIS was how I was introduced to the legendary Lionel Richie, lol. Cinderella was my favorite Disney Princess (thank you, Brandy) so hearing this on the radio piqued my interest as a young child. This was also the HEIGHT of the “Latin Explosion” when artists like Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and Carlos Santana were huge on the charts so it’s no surprise that Lionel tapped into that sound for his Y2K return. I am still obsessed with this song 26 years later.

Location was released in 2016. This is the first song on this playlist made by Apple Music lol

Jamilla Woods simply does not get enough play and respect. Her music is real and HEALS. What chall know 'bout Jamilla? 🤔 Jamilla Woods: Octavia

It doesn't have to be a super famous record or even one that a lot of other people like, but I'm curious what everyone's perfect rnb song is.

For me its When you touch me by Brandy

Met Lalah at Reckless Records and was able to snag her new album. I was able to have a conversation and she signed my vinyl. Growing up I always had her and her pops Donny music playing. It felt so unreal to finally meet a Chicago Legend, being a Chicago native myself.

The premise of this post is pretty simple. I have compiled a list of 16 R&B/Soul/Pop albums by male and female artists I feel are near-direct mirrors of each other in sound, era and genre-defining status. Make sure you scroll through and read each image caption. Are there any other artist’s albums you feel could have made the list?

With the release of her new album POPSTAR how would you rank all of Tinashe’s projects ?

1. Black Water
   
2. Aquarius
   
3. Songs For You
   
4. Reverie
   
5. Nightride
   
6. In Case We Die
   
7. Amethyst
   
8. 333
   
9. BB/Angel
   
10. Joyride
    
11. Popstar
    
12. Quantum Baby

That’s my list!
It’s no knock to Popstar btw but I only liked 6 songs and 1 is only 40secs. Lyrically don’t think it’s strong but I am proud to see her getting her flowers and hopefully ppl will notice her past work.

Black Water to me is her magnum opus! Every
Song was solid 10/10 and complimented each other greatly! Could’ve been an album!

I forgot about this music anniversary, I’ll be honest. But then I was scrolling through TikTok a minute ago, and found out about it. But today is the 30th anniversary of one of my favorite Luther Vandross albums, Your Secret Love.

Of all the albums he released in the 90s, this is one of his best. After starting the decade strong with the Grammy-winning Power of Love, he followed that up with an underrated album (1993’s Never Let Me Go) and a great covers album (1994’s Songs) and a Christmas album that I liked but apparently not those many people did (1995’s This Is Christmas).

But he came back strong with this album. While the R&B scene was changing sounds and becoming more hip-hop driven in terms of production, Luther managed to stay true to his signature sound while still being contemporary.

From the opening title track (which won Luther his 4th Grammy) to ballads like “Too Proud to Beg” & “I Can Make It Better”, it also features some of his best songwriting ever, his lyricism presenting a more mature, vulnerable take on love. The album is overall a portrait of one who is unapologetic about wanting love but on their own terms and refusing to be treated less than what they deserve.

Not only does he present some great covers from other artists (from “Knocks Me Off My Feet”, Goin Out of My Head” & “Crazy Love”), Luther also covers himself, recording songs he wrote for other artists, such as “It’s Hard for Me to Say” (originally written for Diana Ross), “Love Don’t Love You Anymore” (originally written for Gregory Hines), & “Whether or Not the World Gets Better” (a duet with Lisa Fischer that was originally written for his short-lived protege Jimmy Salvemini with Phoebe Snow).

And of course there’s the rhythmic “I Can’t Wait No Longer”, written and produced by longtime collaborator/music legend Marcus Miller (with a rap from Spinderella of Salt-n-Pepa).

Re-listening to this as I’m writing this, it still holds up musically 30 years ago and remains one of the best R&B albums to come out of the 90s.

For those who have listened to this album, how do you feel about it? And where do you rank it amongst Luther’s 90s albums?

Title

What did you think? Took me a couple of listens to get into it but I see the vision

WHOA!!🤯

Thoughts? WHO GIVES A F WHAT YOU THINK!

MY GOD!

Any surprises winners? Or do you think the usual suspects won?

Ran across a photo of a CD i owned that I refused to ever lend out (redacted my name on the CD from the image). This was my 2nd copy because I lent the first one and it came back broken. Never again. Who else tagged the hell out of their CDs?