mixtape maestro (2.0)

Mariah’s twelfth album, the recently leaked Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, may house much of the twinkly keyboards, echoed syllable hooks and silly lyrical turns that have lingered in her previous work with dominant Angel songwriting/ production team Chris “Tricky” Stewart and Terius “The-Dream” Nash (not to mention, the stuff they’ve crafted for themselves and others), but having those quirks on hand don’t at all prevent this collection from ranking as one of her most maturest albums to date.

Having little interest in the sample-based, cookie-cutter R&B-pop thrills of her past, Angel looms heavy with a mostly mid-tempo tracklisting that more often than not finds her dwelling in the depression of post-break-up heartache or selling a sassy kiss-off to a no-good boyfriend. Even the small number of relatively upbeat, “happy” numbers carry a denser musical tone beneath them, causing one to think that Mariah spent some time dipping back into her own catalogue, re-realized what a gem 1998′s under-appreciated Bone Thugs N Harmony collabo/ single “Breakdown” was, and then opted to record an entire album based around the track’s nocturnal-soul vibe.

If we had to pick one as an immediate favorite it would have to be mid-album cut “Ribbon”, a molasses-flowing bump & grinder that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Dream or R. Kelly album. It’s one of the few instances on the disc in which she’s celebrating love, capturing her completely lost in the charms of her lover and on the verge of a near-breakdown when she’s forced to be separated from his touch for the smallest bit of time (“It’s been about twenty good minutes since I kissed you/ Come back boo/ I miss you/ Wish I had twenty million hours to caress you/ And undress you/ To be continued…”).

It’s a puppy love sentiment we’ve heard her wax on plenty times over in the past, but here, when supported by a boudoir-ready groove and a chopped-and-screwed-styled hook that awesomely co-signs her ecstasy with demonic chants of being like a “ribbon with a bow on it”, sounding a bit more grown-up when giddy in love goes a long way.

Hear it below (you didn’t think we would have THE MAN catch us giving out a Mariah MP3 now, did you?), followed by a clip of Miss Carey-Cannon (looking all “Vision of Love”-ly) performing her surprisingly moving cover of Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is” on Oprah.

Memoirs drops September 29th.

“Ribbon”:

“I Want To Know What Love Is (Oprah Performance)”: