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whudat
Chrisette Michele
Chrisette Michele - I Am
 (Def Jam Records)

- reviewed by Chris G.

If it's not American Idol, the next best place to get 'a break' is through guest spots on premium rapper's albums. Chrisette Michele is evidence of this. Known by few outside of industry circles just a year ago, anchoring songs on both Nas and Jay-Z's albums helped give her that "who is that?" factor. Lucky for Chrisette Michele, the time between chorus duty and debut album was short and sweet.

I Am is an expertly crafted album, though you have to push past the surface to feel the core of her artistry.

With a drive-by listen she comes off as a Jill Scott clone, almost annoying.

In fact, the same thing that made her voice so appealing on Nas's "Can't Forget About You" is the same thing that caused me to frown after hearing sneak previews of the album. The jazz singer inflections are instant friction to less familiar ears. It's a technique best used sparingly. The first song on her album "Like A Dream" would have you believe that you're in for a disc full of this stuff. My advice, take a breath or just hit skip, by the time she hits the chorus of the very next song "Work It Out" and you do a rewind to soak in "Like A Dream" with warmer ears, you'll discover a voice that's both mellow and soothing with a hint of your finest cognac. more..

- reviewed by Chris G.

If it's not American Idol, the next best place to get 'a break' is through guest spots on premium rapper's albums. Chrisette Michele is evidence of this. Known by few outside of industry circles just a year ago, anchoring songs on both Nas and Jay-Z's albums helped give her that "who is that?" factor. Lucky for Chrisette Michele, the time between chorus duty and debut album was short and sweet.

I Am is an expertly crafted album, though you have to push past the surface to feel the core of her artistry.

With a drive-by listen she comes off as a Jill Scott clone, almost annoying.

In fact, the same thing that made her voice so appealing on Nas's "Can't Forget About You" is the same thing that caused me to frown after hearing sneak previews of the album. The jazz singer inflections are instant friction to less familiar ears. It's a technique best used sparingly. The first song on her album "Like A Dream" would have you believe that you're in for a disc full of this stuff. My advice, take a breath or just hit skip, by the time she hits the chorus of the very next song "Work It Out" and you do a rewind to soak in "Like A Dream" with warmer ears, you'll discover a voice that's both mellow and soothing with a hint of your finest cognac.

She's definitely a trained and talented singer, with abilities you only get a hint of on the 13 tracks.

Sounds like I'm hyping her up, but when you get to the last song and find yourself thinking, "Damn, that's it?" Then you know it's been a good listen.

"Your Joy" is a guitar-backed acoustic love note to her man.. actually it isn't that literal. She describes all those things that make a woman feel special being with and around a man. She calls him something I couldn't make out.. favored? Don't quote me. All I know is it rhymes. She's his joy.

"Be OK" produced by will.i.am starts off with a lurking, reworking of Bob Marley's "Could This Be Love" bassline that explodes into brassy (sassy) horns that accentuate Chrisette's declaration to get past a man she just broke it off with. We'll presume it's not the same man of "Your Joy" - these are songs. "Mr. Radio" is both a thank you note to radio DJs supplying the layered background music to love and a slight indictment of artists that write songs that dial into the physical aspects of women over deeper characteristics..

"talk about a woman's lips, talk about a woman's breasts, talk about a woman's thighs. Those are things so beautiful, is there more than physical? Isn't love much deeper? Write a song that's spiritual, write about a lover's soul's much sweeter."

A criticism echoed by many, but the song strays from finger pointing analysis, it simply rides a bed of soul, asks the question, and thanks those that do deliver.

As stated, a relaxed mellow vibe reverberates throughout the disc. So when songs like "Good Girl" pop up, with its recycled Allen Toussaint/Fat Joe sample, I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe it's because I remember Fat Joe used it and know where it originally comes from, and you'd think the change of pace would be welcome, but ironically that's when the yawning commences. Little need for the hip-hop touch here. Watch it be a single.

"Let's Rock" is another song that doesn't work for me. The dated reference to the disco would stop anyone in their tracks, "Is Saturday Night Fever on cable?" Nieces and nephews asking, "What's a disco?"

It's the specific reference that tanks in that instance.

A better grab at the past is displayed on "Is This The Way Love Feels", it's so true to old school soul it could be on side A of a Chaka Khan album. Not to say she sounds like Chaka Khan, but the quality of the song is 70's vinyl material. Now I'm dating myself, "Who's Chaka Khan?".. trust.. that's a good thing. Four minutes into the song, there's a stillness, a quiet in the room that flutters into an instrumental for the next 2 1/2 minutes. Something so rarely done, letting the music speak, letting the band get some, it's a testament to the artist in this artist.

A worthy debut. Not sure how it'll be promoted, but here we have it, different and good music lives.

back to the ratings..

Track By Track
-- Degrees --102030405060708090100
1.  Like A Dream
2.  Work It Out
3.  Best Of Me
4.  Your Joy
5.  Good Girl
6.  Be OK
7.  If I Have My Way
8.  Mr. Radio
9.  Golden
10. Let's Rock
11. Love Is You
12. In This For You
13. Is This The Way..
Heard Around The Net

About.com - 3 stars "Despite being signed to a label that's synonymous with hip-hop, Chrisette has defied expectations and delivered a very old-fashioned R&B album that carries a heavy jazz influence. Some songs like the opening track, "Like a Dream," sound more like they belong on a Blue Note release, rather than a Def Jam one, and other songs are unabashed odes to bygone era."


Toya's World - - "After listening to Chrisette Michele's latest new album I Am, I've come to the realisation that superlative old-skool music is not out of sync as I had imagined. With her rich jazzy vocals reminiscent to that of Billy Holiday, I Am is a unified blend of soul, R&B, jazz and blues. Chrisette is really refreshing because not only is she a superb singer, but she writes her own music and plays the piano."




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