mixtape maestro (2.0)

It’s obvious that what Ne-Yo was attempting on new single “Beautiful Monster” was a sort-of “to the next level” take on “Closer”, his 2008 dip into Euro-house-meets-R&B sonic templates and obsessions with mysteriously sexy/ spooky seductresses, but wheras “Closer” can come on the radio today and immediately get us all pumped and excited for the near-four minutes of clubby euphoria about to envelop our ears, “Monster” just makes us angry every time we happen to catch it.

Why? Well, for starters, it’s just not all that catchy, with verses that just seem to meander on and on forever, lacking the specific lyrical finesse and melodic hookiness Ne-Yo usually employs so well. Then when the beat FINALLY drops on the chorus we’ve waited eons for, we’re subjected to anti-climactic, and quite awkward, repeatings of this woman being a “beautiful monster” (with nary a wink to GaGa, no less).

All that being said, there is a certain attraction in the hook’s driving dance thump and Ne-Yo’s cycling whines of “I don’t mind/ I don’t-I don’t mind” (which remind us of the similar repetitive aural pleasantness of his #1 mentor Michael Jackson on those otherworldly rounds of “eh-eh-eh-eh” at the tail-end of The Jacksons’ “Show You The Way To Go”), as well as the accompanying video’s Inception-meets-Mortal Kombat visuals, but a few seconds of goodness and a slick, big budget music video does not a great song make.

On the other hand, we can’t get enough of “Champagne Life”, the other single Ne-Yo has chosen to lead off his next album Libra Scale.

Another one of those Ne-Yo tunes seemingly tailor-made for the MJ album he sadly never got to helm (sigh), “Life”‘s ultra-smoove, solo-Pharrell-esque R&B flutterings fit his high-pitched tenor and the lyric’s cheery detailing of “good-life living” (“We don’t even clap the same when we living that champagne life”) like a glove.

Check out the videos for both, as well as a Rick Ross-laced remix of “Champagne” below.

Libra Scale drops September 21st.

DL: Ne-Yo featuring Rick Ross “Champagne Life (Remix)” (alt)

Despite Janet Jackson’s Discipline single (and pseudo-MJ shoutout) “Rock With U” never quite becoming the ubiquitous dance jam it deserved to be, we still couldn’t imagine ever liking the under-appreciated tune with a voice attached that wasn’t JJ’s eternally-sexy sing-whispers.

So color us surprised that after coming across co-writer Ne-Yo’s leaked demo recording, we were left wishing that he could’ve somehow stripped it onto his last LP and dropped it as a single himself.

In hearing his shimmery tenor calling out the eroticism of strobe lights over the track’s pulsing Euro-R&B throb, it’s like finally having the sibling record to “Closer” we were never officially gifted with.

DL: “Rock With U (Demo)” (alt)

After spending a large part of 2009 having to deal with the embarrassment of having everyone know (and freely share their opinions and concerns) about a certain Grammy night ordeal, you would think that Rihanna, one of the decade’s top singles artist, would deliver an upbeat fourth album lead-off single that was all shades of game-changing kick-ass to succinctly remind the masses of how she really became a household name in the first place.

Instead, as the first taste of the November-set Rated R, Ri-Ri has oddly chosen to give us a Ne-Yo co-penned ballad that utilizes the title “Russian Roulette” as a metaphor for taking a chance on love over a backing track that’s all intense and menacing, with rolled dice (or is that the crackle of a barrel turning?) and gun shot sound effects thrown in to add more oomph to it’s darkened moodiness.

We’ll give “Roulette” a few points for effectively illustrating the tense stand-off between the song’s two lovers, with a relentless heartbeat-like drum stomp and the occasionally haunting lyric (“…And then I get a scary thought/ That he’s here means he’s never lost”) doing enough to bring about a couple of arm goosebumps. But following the first few curious listens, it’s spooky intrigue fades, exposing it for the largely lackluster “comeback” it is.

Put simply, if we wanted noir-ish ambiance from Rihanna right now, we’d revisit her and Ne-Yo’s previous single collaboration “Unfaithful”; for goth-toned pop, we’d rather give “Disturbia” a re-spin (and if we wanted gun shot-accented R&B, Lloyd’s “Pusha” would be the ticket).

“Russian Roulette” is okay (in a third or fourth single kind of way), but as the first solo thing to emerge from the singer following all that Chris Brown drama, releasing an eardrum-rupturing club-pop confection (possibly about how much angry lil’ ex-boyfriends suck) would have been far more appreciated.

Rated R arrives November 23rd.

“Russian Roulette”:

Summer vacations/ distractions have brought things around here to a near-standstill, but in an effort to play a bit of catch-up, check out some of these noteworthy tunes below pulled from the ever-packed in-box and various other sites we’ve been digging lately from around the Inter-Webs:

JDP featuring Chester French “She Loves Everybody (Part Deux)”

This up-and-coming Chicago indie-hopper latches onto CF’s most well-known track, the shoulda-been-bigger slut ode “She Loves Everybody”, using it to support his own adventure with a promiscous groupie who has foolishly mistaken him for being a more high profile rap star (“I suppose someone told her we rich,” he sing-song quips at one point).

A bit Flo-Rida-ish, which-at least in this case-isn’t at all a bad thing.

From his new mixtape Air Raid.

DL: “She Loves Everybody (Part Deux)”

The Honey Brothers “Demonstration”

The Honey Brothers are a quintet from New York who call their sound “new wave folk”, and while most talk of them will surely be centered on their superstar drummer (Entourage lead Adrian Grenier), the music found on their recently released Demonstration EP definitely deserves it’s own hype as it’s some of the most feel-good stuff to touch our ears in recent weeks.

Check out the title track, a groovy lil’ indie-rock number that’ll likely have you tapping your toes to it’s summer-ready shuffle within seconds of it hitting the speakers.

DL: “Demonstration”

?uestlove, The Foreign Exchange, Zo! and Carlitta Durand “Purple Flip”

Don’t let the title confuse you, this is essentially a cover of Prince’s “Take Me With You”, and boy does it hit the soul in all the right ways.

Too bad SPIN Magazine couldn’t have employed THIS crew to handle the entirety of that mostly disappointing Purple Rain tribute cover album they had to nerve to drop last month.

DL: “Purple Flip”

Golau Glau “Summer Games”

On first listen to the output from this mysterious UK-born collective, you’ll probably end up with your head cocked to the side and a confused look pasted across your face.

But give these songs some time, as repeated doses of the spell-binding ambiance of “Summer Games”, “Soft Silver Young” and the rest of the band’s uniquely weaved creations reveal a trippy charm that’s quite the soothing aural experience.

DL: “Summer Games”

Keri Hilson featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo “Knock You Down (Chew Fu GhettoClub Fix)”

Even after hearing this billions of times (*thanks radio*), we still find this hit single oddly put together (anybody else left cold by the fact that the three headliners barely seem to recognize the efforts of one another?), but the Chew Fu crew help calm that sense of underwhelmingness a bit with this dancefloor-targeting rehaul which nicely gives a repeated spotlighting to Kanye’s “Michael Jackson” line.

DL: “Knock You Down (Chew Fu GhettoClub Fix)”

Beyonce “Ego (DJ Unique’s I Love Her Remix)”

Sasha Fierce’s newest single given a smoother R&B treatment courtesy of YouTube mash-up king DJ Unique. Kanye-free sadly, but we can still dig it.

DL: “Ego (DJ Unique’s I Love Her Remix)”

The Tapemasters crew recently unleashed the twenty-sixth installment of their The Future In R&B mixtape series, and as usual, it’s jampacked with the hottest in today’s urban/ soul. But amongst the usual suspects found within it’s tracklisting, the two that stand out the most at face value come from a couple of 90′s R&B stars who’ve saw their respective commercial footholds slip a couple notches in recent years. Might Ginuwine and Brandy have the fire necessary to re-claim their positions in the higher reaches of the singles charts?

First up, we have Ginuwine’s “Get Involved”. Set to be the second single off his forthcoming sixth album, A Man’s Thoughts, the track finally delivers what fans have been waiting for for years: a reunion between the stage-sliding, hip hop-soul Lothario and the “dynamic duo” who helped put him on the map way back when, Timbaland and Missy Elliott.

And from the instant it hits the speaker, the track burns, rocking a sweaty disco groove that peaks into an ecstactic delirium for the chorus as Gin, Tim and Missy all threaten to release their inner-freaks on the public. Yeah, it’s a bit sad to hear Ginuwine barely registering on a track in which he’s credited as lead, but who’s really concerned about minor gripes like that when we are gifted with Missy treating us with yet another one of her silly, but always in-demand, gabbledygook-filled verses (“Yeah you know I’m a freak-a-deek-leek/ Heavy D, tweet-a-deet-didda-a-deet-dee…”) and get to hear one of the best R&B forces of the late ’90′s side-by-side again.

DL: “Get Involved” (alt)

For Brandy and her cut “Decisions”, a slow-burning duet with the Midas-touched Ne-Yo, the results are equally as pleasant.

Despite receiving critical kudos, Brandy’s last album, the mature and pop ballad heavy Human ended up being a major under-performer, it’s overt distancing from the day’s R&B trends perhaps a major factor in it’s lack of mainstream success. But if “Decisions” is to be looked as a precursor to her next project, she shouldn’t have any problems winning some of her old masses back.

Over a backing track that will cause more than a few people to have flashbacks of Ciara’s slinky “Promise”, Brandy and Ne-Yo rely on the old angel on one shoulder/ devil on the other gimmick to express whether or not they should hook up with one another, despite already being in relationships with other people. “You got a good man on your side and you know that he don’t deserve it,” the (still-)enchantingly smoky-voiced Brandy internalizes, only to completely change her stance a breath later: “How can a man get hurt when he don’t even know that it happened?”.

It’s difficult to think of the teenybopper that once trilled about “sittin’ up in her room” now having grown-up infidelity thoughts (we know, we know, it’s been over ten years…), but throwback “Moesha”-era fondness aside, we’re completely digging this (and privately hoping that Ne-Yo will be employed further on the next album).

DL: “Decisions” (alt)

Though Chrisette Michele is signed to Def Jam, her distinctive jazzy singing style and penchant for recording the types of R&B/ soul records usually found in the vinyl bins made her more of an instant hit with the adult R&B crowd. One critically-acclaimed, Gold-selling debut album (and Grammy win) later, the twenty-five year old is yearning to act more her age, deciding on a more “upbeat and youthful” vibe for the next project.

Thankfully, the first taste of this venture, current single “Epiphany” (from her May-set album of the same name), doesn’t see her awkwardly committing to some disastrous female R&B version of “Stanky Legg”, but teaming up with hit songwriter Ne-Yo for a track that achieves it’s contemporary goals without forcing her to trade away her much-appreciated classiness.

As it’s piano-knocking groove lays out a hypnotizing, midtempo melody, Michelle offers a peak inside an increasingly lop-sided romance. After spending too many nights at home anticipating a ring that never arrives, while waiting on a boyfriend who doesn’t make his way through the door until the sun is peeking over the horizon, Chris has decided she’s had it up to here with him and his heartbreaking ways.

“So I think I’m just about over being your girlfriend/ I’m leaving,” she informs him, matter-of-factly. And that’s that. No revenge-seeking plots of busting up his car or crazed tantrums filled with cuss words and flung dishes. She just casually packs up her belongings, greets him with a smile and a kiss after his return from another one of those mysterious all-nighters (“like nothing ever happened”) and then, without any deviation from her ever-pleasant disposition, breaks off the bad news.

How refreshing to hear a female R&B break-up song delivered without the typical daytime-TV-inspired theatrics. Fingers crossed that it succeeds in establishing her with the young’un set.

Watch the video below, then peep the remix, featuring Rick Ross and Juelz Santana begging for a second chance, afterward.

DL: “Epiphany (Remix)” (alt)

The Game & Ne-Yo had a decent enough single already in their pocket with L.A.X. album track, “Gentleman’s Affair” (sure the very colorful lyrics would have needed to be cleaned up, but still…); so why is the set’s fourth release instead falling on “Camera Phone”, a “bonus cut” that was only found on the album’s more expensive “Deluxe Edition”? Siiiiigh, Reason No. 5,067 why today’s music industry is in such bad shape.

Nevertheless, the cheek-inked West Coast rhymer and Grammy’s new favorite R&B nice guy show off more of their solid “opposites attract” chemistry on this unfortunately-titled, but still favorable, cut, bobbing and weaving throughout the beat’s uzi-fire drum rattle and liquidy soul noise as they cavort through the night in their respective expensive rides, gleefully stealing other men’s women while agreeing to pose for pics for the ladies’ cells.

“If I’m on her screen saver/ That mean later we gone,” Ne-Yo devilishly warn-croons to the beaus-at-home (That’s not very gentleman-ly, Mr. Yo); meanwhile, just when you thought Game had grown past littering his lyrics with those numerous name-drops, he somewhat sours a slick, rapid-fire flow (amusingly reminiscent of 50 Cent’s “AYO Technology” vocal pattern) by ripping through a listing of his ideal R&B pin-ups (“She so Ciara, so Eve/ So Mariah, so Be…”).

Industry and Game vents aside, this smooth collabo, like the aforementioned “Affair”, kills, while also triggering the gut feeling that an announcement for yet another “Best of Both World”-styled duet LP (that’ll probably never ever actually reach fruition, like all the others) is just around the corner.

Snatch up the equally hot Urban Noize remix below:

DL: “Camera Phone (Urban Noize Remix)” (alt)

Kanye’s hilarious verse on “Because of You”‘s bootlegged remix aside, Ne-Yo didn’t completely rock the house on his last single. Something about it’s glittery homage to Off The Wall’s R&B/ disco thump and that lame love-as-drug metaphor made it sound way too easy for the noteworthy singer-songwriter. Thankfully, follow-up release “Do You” rights those wrongs, wooing you in with another dose of his tender melodicism and original twisting of staid R&B themes.

Over a striking soundbed of swift drums and sparkly piano notes punctuated by wah-wah guitar effects, “Do You” finds production team The Heavyweights courting the same winning Stargate sounds that pillowed previous Ne-Yo projects “So Sick” and “Sexy Love”. The way the singer adhered to their child-like melodies felt magical and it always seemed to bring out some of his best pen work.

The single revolves around Ne-Yo nursing the idea of getting back in contact with an ex. It’s a risky move, she’s since moved on and gotten engaged to another man, but the “Irreplaceable” writer can’t deal with the way things were left off and is looking for some closure, most importantly finding out if she still thinks of him the same way he can’t shake her from his head. Ne-Yo’s words drip with a certain sincerity and hold an attention to emotional details glazed over in most R&B tunes. He always finds a personal way to dictate these tough relationship situations, making his writing feel like thoughts pouring straight from his heart. It’s so touching the way he casually compliments her daughter whom he hasn’t yet seen (“If she looks anything like her mother/ She’s the prettiest thing in the world”) or makes sure to make her understand that he doesn’t mean to start any trouble (“Tell your fiancee he can relax”). Even with the way he elongates and stresses certain words on the chorus (“I just wo-ooonder/ Do you e-eeever/ Think of me/ Any-more/ Doooo yoooou?”), you can tell that this has been continuously brewing in his soul for a long time.

“Because of You” saw Ne-Yo trying to challenge himself as a performer with lackluster results; on “Do You”, he’s back to where he shows his most strength: sculpting moving love songs ripped straight from his private diary.

For the even-more-breathtaking remix, Ne-Yo hires Mary J Blige to take on the role of his ex. Sounding as regal as always, the fine-voiced Mary J retains the same sense of wonderment as on the original, hiding her own inner feelings for Ne-Yo from her new man. Though she tears up a letter from Ne-Yo before her suspecting fiancee can see it, it’s clear that she’s also tied up in knots over the former coupling’s unresolved breaking up.

If “Do You (Part One)” got you all creamy inside, this solid sequel is sure to turn you into a puddle.

When Marvin Gaye had a need for some “sexual healing”, you could feel it in his wrenching delivery that he was suffering the worst case of blue balls known to man. It was one of those distinctive performances that no one could touch without sounding really karaoke. Apparently, German pop star (and former Wyclef Jean girlfriend) Sarah Connor wasn’t warned of this.

Taking on the yearning R&B anthem and bringing along Ne-Yo (who should know better!) for the ride, Connor’s reading does the typical pop tart thing by equating being whispery with sexiness. To her credit, Connor has shown a hint of soul in her vocals in the past, but here she feels lost, like she’s too afraid to try anything different with the record. Yeah, it’s a scary thought trying to re-create a classic and a trendy remix would have ended in her being burned at the stake, but if you’re not going to add some new spin to a familiar cut, why re-do it in the first place? Ne-Yo’s contribution keeps things from sounding too White, but he too should be fined for basically aping Gaye’s vocal and leaving out the personality. The whole damn ordeal is a pointless retread that never should of moved beyond the “I’ve got an idea” stage.

Fabolous promises that his new album will find him growing as an artist but knowing Loso it’ll be another collection of grandstanding wordplay with big-named R&B hooks and A-list producers in tow. Kind of like what we get on his new single “Make Me Better”, a molasses-flowing invert off of Beyonce’s conceited “Upgrade U” theme.

Fabolous can take any request like “make a song about loving your dog” and come up with an endless amount of clever couplets that everyone would be quoting for months, so when it comes to lyrics you’ll always expect something good from him. The trick here is making something as drowsy as Timbaland’s barely mid-tempo Bollywood atmospherics pop enough for the clubs. The track rocks such a comforting slowed pace that you could find yourself nodding off on the road if you’re not too careful. Deciding to work with the beat instead of against it, Fabo shortens his lines to few words, taking plenty of pauses as he goes on and on about the many ways his girl deserves big-ups. “You plus me/ It equals better math/ Your boy a good look/ But you my better half”, he spits in a Yung Joc-like flow that’s accented with breathy stutters he stole from his boss Hova. Some might be annoyed at his constant female-oriented focus, but the cryptic strings that swing back and forth don’t have the bright R&B colors that would instantly identify this as a cut for the ladies so dudes won’t feel so prissy for liking it.

Assisted by the unwavering high tenor of featured guest Ne-Yo whose reaching Akon-like heights of R&B ubiquity, “Make Me Better” emits a sleepy cool that makes it a solid, albeit different, kind of joint. The rapper feels like he’s holding back a bit, so we’re not getting the usual lyrical bumrush we’re used to from Fabolous but that may just be his version of being artistic and showing “growth”.

Download: Make Me Better