Single Reviews

Robin Thicke has made a great transformation into the blue-eyed soul supremo he is today. His latest cut Magic is half blaxploitation anthem and half feel good dance floor filler. I feel in love with his under rated 2002 salvo When I Get You Alone, and although the strings on...   [more]

23-year-old Welsh singer Duffy has a vocal tone that conveys experience way beyond her tender years and could simultaneously topple any seasoned soul music aficionado. Mercy is taken from her debut album Rockferry and has made people instantly compare her to fellow UK song bird Amy Winehouse. If...   [more]

Chris Brown's new cut Forever is clearly out of club land. Like his nimble feet, Brown’s vocals glide and wind around bubbly synths are anchored by some deep bass lines. The synths dance the fine line between contemporary dance music and streamlined R&B to create a fertile field for Brown...   [more]

Bobby V has never impressed me and Sexy Girl doesn’t either. Bobby Valentino falls back on the same old formula of, ‘ Baby you are fine, baby you are gonna be mine’ .. booring! Even the more easily pleased punter would find this track hard to take thanks...   [more]

Dub, Electronica, Hip Hop, Mattafix can do it all! Their unique style cannot be imitated and they have produced a bunch of great tracks thanks to that fact. Things Have Changed is the third single off their incredible second full release Rhythm & Hymns. On Things Have Changed...   [more]

When we think we’ve made some kind of progress in the world of Hip Hop, someone always manages to pull it right back down, like crabs in a barrel. Not the best analogy, true, but it has more intelligence than in the entire Drivin’ Down The Block cut...   [more]

I am always annoyed when great rappers and real Hip Hop is overlooked. And I am equally pissed off when a track like City Haze’s Brooklyn Streets is remaining unheard. The first thing about this track which may appeal to fans of more than just Hip Hop...   [more]

It is rather uncommon to hear an R&B artist with an alternative-sounding track. But Lyfe Jennings has pulled this smooth and relaxing piece of work right off, and made it a masterpiece! As the name Midnight Train suggests, the lyrics do obviously have something to do with a...   [more]

Rick Ross is an artist who I believe will always be Rick Ross. With The Boss his J.R. Rotem-produced second single from Trilla, I feel like I am in 1980s cocaine-ravaged Miami. Joining Ross is the new Akon-like track featuring whore that is T-Pain (and that vocoder of...   [more]

With Gnarls Barkley, you never really know what to expect. Run, the lead single from the highly anticipated Odd Couple album continues the innovative, eccentric and vibrant recipe for success which they have cultivated. Danger Mouse's hopped-up 1960s soul boogie sounds likes Sam and Dave's Hold on,...   [more]

Here, Timbaland, arguably the best producer in the world teams up with fresh faced MC Flo-Rida on Elevator. It’s great that Timbaland is collaborating with so many artists, he seems to be one of the few out there presenting great music as it should be. I...   [more]

This is such a cute track. Yes, cute, jazzy, smooth and fluffy. Papoose is rapping here but on more of a playful tip as he rides an old school El Debarge cut with talk of ladies and their mysterious ways. His tone and delivery coasts along like a...   [more]

If Fats was making this track with intentions to cause pain, he succeeded. It was a pain in the ass, the neck and especially the ears. Senseless introductive rambling followed by rhymes without an ounce of intelligence, this track is yet another example of modern horse manure which passes...   [more]

A real funk voyage is laid out here by one of modern soul's true powerhouses. On Stone Cold Anthony Hamilton channels James Brown and Bill Withers with exuberant grace and feet tapping joy. Taken from the American Gangster soundtrack, this cut could just well be the perfect backdrop...   [more]

The Lord is my shepherd! He knows what I want! And that is why he gave Devin The Dude the ability to make this great track. Smooth, smooth, smooth! A nice, relaxing R&B beat…the type of beat that makes you just want to spark a spliff and zone...   [more]

I felt lost, confused, and very disappointed hearing this song. This is definitely not Usher’s or Pharrell’s best tune by far. I was quite excited to hear a collaborative song between these two artists but once that average beat started, I literally put my hands on my forehead....   [more]

I think I hear fire brigade sirens, because this track is ON FIRE! The nice, solid beat was laid down by the late great Jay Dee (R.I.P.) and accompanies a melody which although sounds like an ice cream van at points, still works. The scratches are a very nice...   [more]

  I'm no Young Jeezy fan. His flow irritates me and his lyrics do nothing for me. However, even though this track is nothing more than what you'd expect from Jeezy, the beat is definitely hot...   [more]

Movies inspire us to do different things. For me, the movie 300 made me consider doing some situps for a moment - for Ja, it inspired him to write a hard hitting track to mark his comeback. It's been a while since Ja Rule had the...   [more]

Member of New Zealand trio Smashproof, Young Sid, lets fly here with a truthful tale of life growing up in the tough streets of South Auckland. The ominous beat and fiery delivery of the track mirror the title. Too Much Pain is no lullaby but has a...   [more]