R&B Chart Entries: June 7 and 14, 2008
June 16th, 2008 | 12:30 pm est |
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Robin Thicke, “Magic” (Star Trak/Interscope). If you have been skeptical about Thicke and this windows-down couples anthem does not click for you, there probably won’t be any point paying in any attention from here on out. Propelled by a swirling and punching ’70s arrangement injected with the correct amount of four-four thump, Thicke’s swagger is natural and unselfconscious. The reverence for his inspirations (Mayfield, Gaye, maybe even the Leroy Hutson of “All Because of You”) is evident but not overbearing and, most importantly, he is not trying too hard; his days of being prone to approximating an excitable version of Jamiroquai’s J.K. are evidently over. He may not be able to bend metal with his mind, as he claims, but the song does indicate that winning over the Oprah crowd was only the beginning.
Jennifer Hudson, “Spotlight” (Arista). Ne-Yo returns a favor — Hudson appeared on Because of You’s “Leaving Tonight” — by penning the first single from Jennifer Hudson, due in September. Thematically, the song is about a stifling relationship, not fame, and while Stargate-produced midtempo melodrama is nearing the brink of overabundance, the Norwegians’ backdrop here is ideal, a low-key but subtly powerful groove for Hudson to reintroduce herself without doing the expected. She almost goes all-out during the bridge, never quite belts it out, doing only what is necessary for the song. It’s all very Phyllis Hyman, and that’s a good thing — maybe the best thing possible (and it’s wholly appropriate that Hudson is on the same label that released some of Hyman’s best and most successful albums). If taking time to “get it right” entails this level of quality throughout the album, the long wait will be very much worth it.
Usher f/ Beyoncé and Lil Wayne, “Love in This Club, Pt. 2″ (LaFace). You could call it a remix, but it is more of an adjustment, even though the original continues to ride high(er). Beyoncé gets thrown into the mix, Jeezy is replaced with Weezy (who is hilarious, despite being a distraction), and the initial mix’s bleariness is transformed into a sugared glide; you can never go wrong with the gentle bass boom accented with a little synthetic cowbell. Nothing could make up for Confessions‘ “Throwback” not being released as a single, but this comes surprisingly close. It’s the first single this year to go straight to the Top 20 of the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. (Bizarrely, it has more or less stalled).
Lalah Hathaway, “Let Go” (Stax/Concord). Written with Rex Rideout (Roy Ayers, Will Downing, Angie Stone) and Rahsaan Patterson (Brandy, Ledisi, Rahsaan Patterson), “Let Go” is an uncomplicated but richly detailed breakup tune in the shape of a gently lapping midtempo groove. What is with the Auto-Tune, though? It’s not a deal-breaker; it’s used only as an accent at the opening and closing of the song, thankfully, but the Cher/T-Pain effect never adds anything to material featuring a voice that can sing in the technically proficient sense. Hathaway’s fourth album, Self Portrait, is due in June. 
Lloyd f/ Ludacris, “How We Do It” (The-Inc). It’s hard to get worked up about any of the R&B tracks that entered the April 5 and April 12 editions of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. This one, from Lloyd’s upcoming Lessons in Love (due in July and likely lacking in Level 42 covers), might be the best of the bunch, if only by a hair — Raheem DeVaughn’s uncharacteristically uptempo “Energy” is pretty close. “How We Do It” wins out for its grinding glam shuffle, but don’t expect to hear it spun at a club between Goldfrapp and Gary Glitter. 
Tiffany Evans f/ Bow Wow, “I’m Grown” (Columbia). Evans is 15 years old, a peculiar age at which to proclaim grown status, but maybe she is speaking in relative terms — she seems to be addressing a young gent who is accustomed to dating females who act more like freshmen than seniors. She does not really go into detail about what makes her grown; “You’re so stuck in the past, like stone-washed jeans” is the only line that could possibly trick someone into thinking she was born prior to the ’90s. There’s something appealingly Lil’ Klymaxx about her (more “Wild Girls” than “I Miss You”), and the track is one of the best Darkchild productions of late, crisp and ringing. Too bad Bow Wow showed up.
Estelle f/ Kanye West, “American Boy” (Homeschool/Atlantic). Due to release her second album, her U.S debut, the last week of April through John Legend’s Atlantic-housed boutique label, West London’s Estelle introduced herself to non-Anglophile stateside listeners with an appearance on Natasha Bedingfield’s “Drop Me in the Middle.” The humorously assertive, Slave-referencing “Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)” has been played by some video outlets, but “American Boy” is where she makes her real domestic splash. Its shrewd and timely subject matter (U.K. girl wants to be shown around the U.S. by a native suitor) and friskily clawing disco-funk won’t add up to Trey Songz-like radio rotation — even with Kanye being Kanye — but it should help her get some traction here. Whether she is singing or rapping, playing around or setting someone straight, the appeal is substantive. Check 
Mariah Carey, “Touch My Body” (Island). Out of the ten new R&B entries from the February 23 and March 1 editions of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, Mariah Carey’s new single, which debuted on the 23rd, is easily the most event-like, though label-mate Janet debuted 16 spots higher with the all-around superior “Luv.” (Granted, this left “Luv” in the dust on the following week’s chart.) Produced and written with “Tricky” Stewart and the-Dream (the duo has three songs in the Top Ten right now), “Touch My Body” is nonchalantly cute and flirtatious, its backdrop very nearly bordering on mild and plodding. With a busier or more energetic beat, however, the effect of Carey’s deceptively devilish delivery on lines like “‘Cause if you run your mouth and brag about this secret rendezvous, I will hunt you down” would probably be lost.
