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Music Review:

Fantasia

(3.32 out of 5.0)

12-18-06. Fantasia, Fantasia, Fantasia (shaking my head). What happened? I was a die-hard Fantasia Barrino fan until the "sophomore jinx" struck her latest, self-titled CD, Fantasia.

After suffering through two full listens of the tracks (trying to be fair because some records take repetition to warm up to), I have to say it's a hot mess.

When you have been blessed with a voice, why waste it on useless tracks? We need new Pattis, Whitneys, and Mariahs to take us into the next generation of music. Who's going to make music that is timeless, instead of easily disposable non-sense?

I don't even want to know what Simon Cowell is thinking (and saying sarcastically, no doubt). I can't even find one GEM out of 14 songs. The first single, "Hood Boy," holds the most promise; however, that's the fad right now for artists, wanting to be "hood," "ghetto,"and "street."

I am totally at a loss why she would put out a record that does not showcase her vocals? There's nothing wrong with uptempo music; however, Fantasia has a voice that can give you goosebumps.

'Tasia, get started on your next CD with a quickness. Dig deep. Sound real. Where's the emotion?

In the meantime, I'll just keep your debut CD in rotation.

Next . . .

An alum from Fantasia's "American Idol" class of 2004, Jennifer Hudson is all the buzz right now . . .[For more Fantasia]

Fantasia's Track List for "Fantasia"

Hood Boy 5.0

When I See U 3.75

I Nominate U 3.75

Baby Makin Hips 3.75

Not the Way That I Do 3.0

Only One U 4.0

I Feel Beautiful 4.0

I'm Not That Type 3.75

Uneligible 3.5

Two Weeks Notice 3.0

Surround U 2.0

Bore Me (Yawn) 1.0

Sunshine 1.0

Bump What Ya Friends Say - 5.0

Drumbeats African American Music Review Rating System

	5 CDs=Excellent	Bangin' - Definitely heavy rotation from beginning to end over and over again. An instant hit.

	4 CDs=Above Average	Good solid music. May take a few rotations before you can truly vibe but worth the jam session.

	3 CDs= Average	Besides two or three joints that stand out, will make a great paperweight.

	2 CDs=Below Average	Go back to the studio ASAP and try again! Makes the "She Bang" guy from American Idol sound like Luther Vandross.

	1 CD=Poor	Makes you wanna support downloading music. Otherwise, you could kick yourself for dishing out money for this.

Scoring for DrumBeats African American Music Reviews

Each track is scored on its own merit on a scale of 1 to 5 based on overall production, vocal skills and ability, and musical arrangement. Then, we take the average of all the songs and come up with the score. All CDs reviewed are EDITED VERSIONS minus profanity and explicit lyrics. So parents if you want to buy your kid a CD but are leery of the explicitness, go to Walmart! They only sell edited versions. NOTE: Janet Jackson's latest CD has an advisory on it as well as most hip-hop.

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Usher's Confessions Music Review

Congratulations, Usher! 1.1 million sold the first week

(Score 3.98). Usher's latest release, Confessions, is worth the rush to go out and buy it because "Yeah!" drove you to it. Usher, 25, lives up to his word that this album is straight R&B, that is definitely missing in today's mass market conformity to hip-hop. He sounds like the late '80s brothas that crooned to us across the air waves. His voice reminds me of somebody, I just can't put my finger on it. I'll have to dust off my old albums (lol). You know. Ready for the World. Surface. I know, you young'ns are clueless, right? Who are they?) And of course there are joints that can't help but be Prince, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson-inspired.

Confessions, expansive and experimental, is his evolution as an artist and a man. Usher's all-grown up this time around, abandoning his squeaky-clean, boy next door image. He tries out new flows and high notes. Despite admitting that Confessions is somewhat personal, Usher hedges that it is a theme (Pandora's Box, skeletons in the closet) and should not be taken as an autobiography of his life.

Usher’s crusade to restore R&B is off to a head-start. With too many artists piggy-backing off of hip-hop, the state of rhythm and blues was looking dismal before Confessions. On his albums you will hear the influence of Marvin Gaye, Prince, Stevie Wonder . . . and of course, the gloved one . . Michael Jackson. He says R&B is soul, experience, and emotion. The drenching, crying kind. Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Sam Cooke. The funk. James Brown.

Other R&B artists keeping it real, minus the “cars, clothes, hoes, money and wheels spinning”: R.Kelly and Beyonce’.

The best production are the tracks by Jermaine Dupri, Lil' John, and Just Blaze. Distributed by Arista Records. Executive Producers: Usher Raymond and Antonio "L.A." Reid.

Play by Play:

*Yeah! featuring Lil' John and Ludacris - 5 (like you didn't know!)

"Futuristic R&B." Massive radio airplay and video coverage. His hip-hop collaboration, “crunk R&B,” wasn’t intended to be a first single. It was supposed to be teaser for street DJs and mixtapes. Ludacris predicts that “Yeah!” will be the song of the year. Since November 2003, it has had massive exposure on mixtapes, in the clubs, and on the airwaves. Ironically, it was not on the original album Usher submitted to his record label. The video, directed by Usher and Mr. X (formerly Little X) hyped the song out of this stratosphere with a dance smorgasbord reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s Rock With You video in front of laser lights. Produced by Lil' John. Sample lyric: "Cause on a scale of 1 to a 10 she's a certified 20"

*Throwback - 5

"Soulful Rock and Roll." About missing a good thing after it's gone. The "I wish, if only if" jam. Featuring samples from the Dionne Warwick recording "You're Gonna Need Me." Produced by Just Blaze. Sample lyric: "If I could rewind the time and get inside your mind, I would take back all my words."

Confessions Part II - 4

With the rumor mill swirling about the reasons for his make-up to break-up relationship with Chili, Burn feeds the controversy. It’s juicy, about a cheating heart and fathering a love child with “the other woman.” Is he somebody's baby daddy? He says no, it's just art. Produced by Jermaine Dupri. Sample lyric: "My chick on the side said she got one on the way."

*Burn -5

This is a signature Usher track about breakups and letting a relationship "flame out." Produced by Jermaine Dupri. Sample lyric: "I'm twisted 'cause one side of me, Is tellin' me that I need to move on, On the other side I wanna break down and cry."

*Caught Up - 5

"Can you feel it" -- that's what this cut reminds me of. The Jacksons during their Victory tour days and MJ's Off the Wall. Produced by Andre Harris and Vidal Davis. Sample lyric: "And every lover, y'all, In and out my life, I've hit, loved, and left in tears, without a care, until I met this girl who turned the tables around."

Superstar - 4.5

Late '80s feel with a Ready for the World vibe. Contains samples from "Mack's Stroll/The Getaway (Chase Scene). Produced by Andre Harris and Vidal Davis. Sample lyric: "I been your groupie, baby, 'cause you are my superstar, I'm your number one fan, give me your autograph, sign it right here on my heart."

Truth Hurts - 3.5

Produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Sample lyric: "Punch me in my face, pull the hot grits out . . a guilty conscience is the real reason I wrote this song."

Simple Things - 3.75

Produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Sample lyric: "Why do you make something so easy so complicated, searchin' for what's right in front of your face."

Bad Girl - 3.5

Produced by Destro Music/Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Sample lyric: "Ooh, work me baby, shakin' it the way I like, I'm ready to be bad, I need a bad girl."

That's What It's Made For - 3

Produced Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Can U Handle It? - 4.5

Prince-ish. Produced by Thicke and Pro J.

*Do It To Me - 5

Rick James/Prince Purple Rain vibe. Produced by Jermaine Dupri. Sample lyric: "and you put that ooh wee on me."

Take Your Hand - 1

This had to be a thrown on song. They should have left it on the editing floor. Produced by Rich Harrison.

Follow Me - 3

Produced by Andre Harris and Vidal Davis. Sample lyric: "Ooh, I can't believe it, you came just in time with what I needed."

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Mario Winans Movie Review

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(5/1/04) What is all the hype surrounding Mario Winans! The first single "I Don't Wanna Know" is da bomb! But is that because we're reminiscing about the Fugee's "Ready or Not" or should we say Enya's song, "Boadicea," that both songs sample? That is the only hit off the whole album!

He sounds like a bad version of Brian McKnight. His low, whiney voice is nerve racking, I just wanna slap some energy into him. I need a lyric book just to make out what he is saying, he sings so low like Janet Jackson on her latest release Damita Jo. This is his sophomore release, after 1997's Story of My Heart on Motown, which sold only 15,500 copies. Scrap the vocals and turn the CD into an instrumental and it would go over better with me.

Naturally, with him being a Winans, the son of Vicky Winans and stepson of Marvin Winans (brother of platinum-selling gospel artists CeCe and BeBe). I was curious why he wasn't singing gospel. After, listening to the album, I understand! He can't sing. You have to SANG to rep for the Lord.

At the age of 14, Winans was a gospel music producer. Self-taught on every machine., he produced a gospel album for one local group. He plays the piano, drums, and keyboard. After graduating from Walled Lake Western High School, he started producing for Dallas Austin in Atlanta, GA. In R&B and hip-hop he has produced for P.Diddy and R.Kelly. Despite his disappointing solo effort, it showcased his talent as a producer. He has worked with Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Biggie Smalls, 702, Brian McKnight, Janet Jackson, David Bowie, the Winans family, Lil' Kim, Ice Cube, J.Lo, Faith Evans, Tasha Scott, and Tamia. In the future, he is set to work with Toni Braxton, Omarion, and Marvin Winans, Jr., his brother. He is is in the process of building up his own label, Yellowcity Entertainment.

His discography includes Beyonce's "Summertime" from the Fighting Temptations soundtrack, Queen Latifah's "Do Your Thing" from the Bringin' Down the House soundtrack, Brian McKnight's "How I Do" from his Greatest Hits, and Tamia's "Mr. Cool" and "Be Alright" from More.

Winans, age 29, was born in South Carolina, but raised in Detroit, Michigan. In a Detroit Free Press interview Winans says, "I was exposed to a lot of musical things at an early age. There's music all over Detroit. And growing up in the Winans family was good for me. God gave me the gift and talent that I have. I've pretty much just done what I know and what I've learned to do coming up."

Winans has been a member of P. Diddy's production team, the Hitmen, for the past six years. P. Diddy's "I Need a Girl, Pt. II" introduced the world to his vocals.

Hurt No More is executively produced by Sean "P.Diddy" Combs for Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc. It entered the Billboard 200 Album Charts at No.2 and was the "Hot Shot Debut." It has sold more than 222,000 in less than week.

Note to Puffy: while making "Da Band" you should have been makin' "Da Man" or insisted that your protege' stick to being a Hitman--that's where Mario Winans' talent lies--production.

Play by Play:

Ready for Love (Interlude)

Produced by Mario Winans, the Hitmen, and Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc. All Instruments by Mario Winans.

Never Really Was - 3

Produced by Mario Winans, the Hitmen, and Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc. All instruments by Mario Winans. Contains excerpts from the composition "Papa Don't Preach" and samples from the Madonna recording "Papa Don't Preach."

*I Don't Wanna Know feat. Enya and P.Diddy - 5

Haunting plea for deception. Produced by Mario Winans, the Hitmen, and Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc. Inspired by Enya's original song "Story of Boadicea." All instruments by Mario Winans. Sample from Enya's "Boadicea."

You Knew feat. Slim - 3

Produced by Mario Winans, the Hitmen, and Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc. All instruments by Mario Winans. Contains excerpts from the composition "Love Me in a Special Way" and sample from "Love Me in a Special Way" by DeBarge.

How I Made It feat. Loon - 4

Upbeat, inspirational. Produced by Mario Winans, the Hitmen, and Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc. All instruments by Mario Winans. Contains excerpts from the composition "Celebrate" and sample from "Celebrate" by the Commodores.