Better Luck Next Time: Rihanna's Rated R

We’ve all been told, “If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all.” Well, I’m sorry Mom, I have to say something. I don’t know what has happened to Rihanna, but I believe that she has completely lost it. Some people say that she can’t and never has been able to sing. I completely disagree with that sentiment. The girl can sing. That was proven by her first two albums, “Music from the Sun,” and “A Girl Like Me.” My concern has nothing to do with the mixture of Rock and R&B. Although, it appears that she has abandoned the Reggae element that she works so well, there has always been a dash of Rock in her music. My issue is this subpar new album.

I don’t know who to blame. You could make a case to hold her, Chris Brown, or her label responsible, but someone has taken the sweet girl dancing on the beach in a sundress, abducted her, and replaced her with this scary chick, whose music will make you either want to kill yourself or someone else. I don’t know who did what but I want you to take it back. "Take it back, now!" If I could, I would take “Rated R” and reduce the album to the following songs: “Wait Your Turn,” “Stupid in Love,” “Rockstar 101,” “Rude Boy,” and “Te Amo.” I don’t care what you do with the other 8.

Rihanna, I love you, but I don’t know if I can say that “Rated R” is worth buying. Better luck next CD. On a better note, her 3-CD Collector’s Set came out earlier this year.

Dondria b.k.a. Phatfffat is in the building

Go to YouTube, search for “Phatfffat,” and you’ll find the only reason that I’m registered on the site. She’s a fine specimen named Dondria, who sounds even better than she looks. With an effortless talent that enables her to eat hotdogs and slices of pizza, immediately before making the ABC song sound like a purchasable single, it is no wonder that Jermaine Dupri took notice and signed her. Even more fortunate than Dondria being signed is her being signed to a label that’s not going to just have her sit around and her goods spoil. Global 14 has released a mixtape, “Dondria Duets” (hosted by DJ Envy).






1. I Invented Sex – Trey Songz
2. Sweat It Out – The Dream
3. Break Up – Mario
4. Lovers & Friends – Usher
5. Pretty Wings – Maxwell
6. Sex Therapy – Robin Thicke
7. So Beautiful – Musiq
8. Last Chance – Genuwine
9. Under – Pleasure P
10. Fear – Drake


What do all of the above songs have in common, besides being 10 of the hottest songs released, recently? They have been remixed to include Dondria, and the remixes are on her mixtape. You can download it at www.global14.com/dondria/ (did I mention that it's free?). Save it in your pictures folder, first. Then you can unzip the files and transfer them to whatever music player you use. After you get that free taste, you can go to Amazon.com, today, and download her recent single, “You’re the One.” The new single will be available on iTunes, beginning Tuesday, November 24th. As far as new releases are concerned, her single may be the only music worth investing in, this week.

Mario's D.N.A.

Every artist has to find his or her niche and ride it. While I can’t say that everything on Mario’s album “D.N.A.” is of a style that best suits him, there are definitely a few. They are as follows:
· Breakup
· Been Thinking About You
· Get Out
· Ooh Baby
I’m a Mario fan, with all of his albums. However, these are four of the hardest songs that he has released. “Breakup” had me thinking about buying the album, but “Been Thinking About You” actually moved my checkcard. These tracks are full of trunk-rattling bass. I love the content of “Been Thinking About You” and “Get Out.” “Get Out” is one of those raw, breakup hits, the perfect Ringback or Ringtone for that not-so-special someone. These songs are the anchors that hold the album down, but if you’re a Michael Jackson fan, there are several MJ-esque tunes scattered in between.

Cornbread, Fish, and Collard Greens

Ledisi’s new album, entitled “Turn Me Loose,” stirs something up in a brother. I didn’t care too much for the crust, the first track or the last, but the meat of it was on point. “Everything Changes” is like an R&B version of Common’s “I Used to Love Her.” It personifies music and the instrumental is thick with all of the elements of good music to help further accentuate the idea that something has been lost in music that needs to be recovered. I only wish that the brass section was real, instead of that synthesized stuff, but I still dig the concept. From there, Ledisi goes straight to the Delta, with that upbeat bluesy sound that’ll remind you of Bobby Rush (the musician, not the politician)--if you don’t know who he is, YouTube him and diversify your portfolio. I actually had to check her bio to confirm her roots because “Turn Me Loose” sounded like it was on a diet of Mississippi farm-raised catfish. Switching gears, she sprinkles in some of the sexiest and feminine tracks that I’ve heard in minute with “Alone” and “Please Stay.” “Love Never Changes” is wonderful. It has that bouncy bass line that you could easily imagine Tina Turner shrugging her shoulders and tapping her feet to. It falls into that category that I call “Porch Music,” that stuff that old people, in rural towns, sit on the porch and nod to. The album is like a soul food buffet. I couldn’t get jiggy with every track, but the ones that I could had me licking my fingers.

Chico Debarge's Addiction

His name may be Chico, but there is nothing boyish or juvenile about his music. Debarge is always on his grown-man game, when it comes to creating, and his recent album stays true to form. It nearly epitomizes smoothness, from the upright bass in “Nefertiti” and “Slick” (my favorite) to the funkiness of “Oh No.” Debarge has put together a gem, in which the only flaw that I saw was “Math.” It may grow on me, though. And as if Joe hasn’t done enough with that masterpiece of an album, “Signature,” and his rendition of “Can’t Get over You” on the All-Star Tribute to Frankie Beverly and Maze, he wrote what I feel could be every old player’s anthem, “Tell Ur Man,” and Debarge serves it up nicely. “Addiction,” for the most part, is like a glass of Jacques Cardin, after a rough day, it’ll smooth the wrinkles out of any moment and set a mellow kind of mood.

Ryan Leslie: There's a New "R" in the Game

There is a new “R” in the game. Well, he’s not exactly new. He’s been making a contribution to the industry for a few years now. From producing Cassie’s “Me and You,” to co-producing Brittney Spear’s albums and rubbing elbows with the likes of Puffy and Tommy Mottola, it’s safe to assume that he’ll be around for some time to come.

The self-entitled debut album was an instant classic, with bangers like “Diamond Girl” and my personal favorite, "Gibberish." It was a cleverly crafted party album, with just the right amount of energy to make you want to move and enough smoothness to keep you from getting carried away.

Leslie’s sophomore album, “Transition,” is just as hot as his debut. I don’t think the energy is as high, but it’ll still make you want to step a little. “Never Gonna Break Up” will excite those Orange Juice Jones-“Walking in the Rain” fans. The two songs don’t share the same sad content but they both have that hip and bouncy, 80-esque cadence. If you’re a Musiq fan, “To the Top” may do the trick for you. So far, “I Choose You” is my favorite. It’s a softer than expected look from an artist that works the stage with LL Cool J-type energy.

If you have the first album, you won’t be disappointed with the second. If you have neither, you need to get them both. R Les is like that—real talk. With two hot albums in the same year, I just hope that he can keep up with the pace that he’s set for himself.

New Music from Melanie Fiona: Brace Yourself for Eargasm!

God is good, for he has spared us from female R&B that’s been run into the ground by a bunch of unworthy and self-proclaimed divas, and given us Melanie Fiona. This Guyanese-Canadian is the truth. Her album, “The Bridge” (released: 10/20/09), is suitably named because it bridges so many different musical flavors. It’s like Quantum Leap. You remember the show with the white guy that’s unexpectedly thrown between different time periods. “The Bridge” brings together various periods in music. There are cuts that will remind you of those Staple Singers’ classics that were carried by rich gospel-infused bass lines. There are tunes that’ll remind you of the Supremes or Vandellas, and make your parents or grandparents want to oil their joints and jerk a little bit. Fiona’s album offers a variety that incorporates multiple genres, including a little country, and reggae feel. The sound is so versatile that at least one of the songs is guaranteed to scratch even the most complicated ear’s itch—and I mean all the way to ear-gasm.