Monday’s Mood: Johnny P – The Next (1998)

Some artists never achieve the success they really deserve. Chicago crooner Johnny P is among them. Remembered by most for his extra terrestrial hook-work on songs such as Do Or Die’s Po‘ Pimp or Scarface’s Smile, featuring the late 2Pac, he is most unknown for his solo-works, which is more than tragic, since it’s, well – awesome!

His sophomore-release (we’ll come to his debut sometime later) is his magnum opus. The Next features slow jams as the contagious Bed Time Story, sporting Jodeci-esque swag and vocal timbre somewhere in between Michael Jackson and fellow Chicagoan R. Kelly or Don’t Deserve It, a self depicting song, full of shame and realization, assisted by Do Or Die-chopper A.K..

But there’s even more than your average compilation of baby making music. There’s hella funk, too!

Munchies For Ya makes you wanna get freaky with, well – basically every girl next to you (better never bump that one next to your wife AND some unknown females). Deep bass groves, hard snare drums and sparse melody let Johnny’s voice take over and the rhythm hit’em – with force!
Talking about force – it’s all over the release, with features by Do Or Die, Scarface and Low Ride, vicious double time flows and smooth player antics are guaranteed. The Next came in a period, when Rap-A-Lot was making a big transition from their classic days with artists like Geto Boys, Seagram, Big Mello, Too Much Trouble and Ganksta NIP, to the shiny era with a more No Limit Records-approach. This is what the album probably suffered from – a lack of promotion and a somewhat unclear identity. RAL had never released an R&B-album before and the mistakes were obvious.

While being hell of a cool song, Take It Like A Playa, featuring sinister Dirty South-beats and explicit raps in corporation with a Mob Style-video, might not’ve been the best way to break a sensitive R&B-vocalist like Johnny P.
That’s where it all goes wrong: the album’s quality is unquestionable. P’s trademark adlibs and superb singing, the state of the art-production and overall-aesthetic – it’s top knotch. But you’re not gonna create a classic record without letting everybody know you DID.

That’s why The Next stays a gem among those that deeply love R&B and/or the Rap-A-Lot-catalogue. Either way – it’s a pick well worth owning and just what one of the album’s song states: Not 4 The Radio!

Monday’s Mood: Anthony Hamilton – Comin‘ from where I’m from (2003)

Let me kick it off like that: this is – hands down – the best Soul-album of the 2000s. No doubt. Anthony Hamilton just brought what it took to take the prize, LIKE THAT! The gutter, the pain, the struggle, the fuck – THE SOUL. Comin‘ from where I’m from is way more than a piece of music. It’s a mood piece. It’s a chapter in somebody’s diary. And it will become a chapter in yours, as soon as you’ve heard it for the first time.

Listen to the title track. Tell me this AIN’T what gangster rap is supposed to be! Tell me it ain’t what Blues used to sound like, back in the days. Tell me you DON’T feel reminded of a Spiritual. This one right here is pure. It’s some of the most honest music ever released. Ironically, this soulful and un-blingish masterpiece was published by Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def-label. Now who said, JD only knows how to handle kids and females?!

12 Tracks take you places. They take you to stations in the life of Anthony Hamilton. To the gumbo kitchen of the South. To the depths of Charlotte, North Carolina where Anthony resides from. This one funky – check Cornbread, Fish & Collard Greens. This does to R&B/Neo-Soul, what Goodie Mob’s Soul Food did to Rap!
It takes you to Anthony’s heartbreaks, as in I’m a mess. „I can’t eat can’t sleep. Bills are piling high ain’t worked in three weeks…“ – we’ve all been there. Yet, it feels so special, whenever this man raises his voices. Whenever he tells his painful tales of love and loss. Seldom have I heard a cover-version of a song, as good as Lucille. When Kenny Rogers did GREAT, Anthony goes fabolous.

This album won’t only make you cry – even though it will! Float is super-sexy, Better Days is an unbelievably heartfelt lovesong and Chyna Black is one of the most epic road tracks ever. But they all bond because of the incredbile production of Mark Batson, Jermaine Dupri, James Poyser and Mr. Hamilton himself. Hammond organs, acoustic guitars and this extra portion of analogue sound in a world of digital music make you feel like home.

You’re not convince yet? Well, listen to the best Neo-Soul song past 1999:

Charlene. You know that song. Don’t you?! If you didn’t, you do now. And I KNOW you’re gonna love it. You’ll find yourself replaying it every now and then. Whenever you‘ feel low, this will be your jam. This will be your sanctuary where you’ll just draw back to and let your soul breathe. I know it will be. It’s been mine. Time and time again.

Anthony Hamilton – best Soul singer since Marvin Gaye. And that you can qoute.

Monday’s Mood: Sparkle – Sparkle (1997)

Monday’s Mood is all about R&B. I’m talkin‘ that REAL R&B, we make babies and feel good to! With that bein‘ said – let’s jump right into the first installment. Sparkle’s self titled debut might have been a sure shot. How could you go wrong, having Mr. R. Kelly on the boards, the book of rhymes and the executive producer spot?! Well, by being a horrible singer. Sparkle ain’t. She’s awesome. Let’s be straight: lady can’t compete with Mariah Carey’s range or Mary J.’s rasp. But what she did on this album is lovely.