The past four weeks since my last column have been devastatingly dull when it comes to quality urban music. The musical landscape has been barren as the Mojave in the dog days of summer. Barren as an 80 year-old virgin spinster. I'm not exaggerating.
Case in point: Jagged Edge. That's right, they're back. After a three-year absence, the Atlanta-based quartet returns with a self-titled album. I naively allowed my hopes to soar like a dove when I saw the groovy cover artwork, which calls to mind blaxploitation movie posters of the '70s. It seemed to infer that the band had discarded its relentlessly hollow trademark sound in favor of something more adventurous.
No such luck. The album's tunes are a study in safety and predictability, almost indistinguishable from all the band's other grooves. If you're a fan of the Jagged Edge "formula", then this album is for you. But those who like their soul with a bit more originality will likely be as disappointed as I was. C'mon, guys—be edgy! Live up to your name! Incredibly, Jagged Edge has been around for a whopping 10 years—an eternity in the treacherously fickle world of R&B. So safety clearly has its rewards.
There were also new releases from Ice Cube and Busta Rhymes this month. Yawn. Oh, and there was a Mint Condition greatest hits collection. Double yawn.
What to do? Take a trip back to bask in the glory of a joint too many people slept on when it was first released. A joint by a woman named Teedra Moses.
Born in New Orleans, Moses first made a name for herself as a songwriter, penning lyrics for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Trina and Christina Milian. She stepped out of the shadows and took her rightful place behind the mic with her debut Complex Simplicity, released in 2004.
On Simplicity, Moses struck exactly the right note. Her music was a million times more raw and introspective than your typical urban radio fodder. However, her themes and her grooves always managed to color within the lines of what is considered commercial R&B. Her muse took her to strange new places, but those places were never too strange. What she gave you was soul sweetened with a little bit of the '80s, but rooted in something tough, modern and strong.
The album is loaded with midtempo grooves that roll so easy and smooth, you never want them to end. Moses channels Cherrelle on "Caution," her soprano floating like frothy whipped cream atop a bouncy track. Built on a languorous groove that sways like a hammock on a lazy August day, "No More Tears" is nothing short of mesmerizing; Moses is the very soul of ache and longing. And the singer takes it to the streets on "You Better Tell Her," laying down the law to her man, telling him to handle his business with an unwelcome interloper ("Listen daddy, I'm too cute to fight/You better get that bitch told tonight"). This track, like most others on Simplicity, works from a familiar blueprint, but Moses adds unexpected twists and turns that serve to make the end result far more fresh and engaging than you'd expect. Simplicity stands tall as one of the best R&B albums of the past five years.
Moses is currently working on a new joint, tentatively titled Young Lioness. She promises that it will cover new territory and be a departure from her debut. That's great, but don't change too much, Teedra. We love you just the way you are.
Subscribe to Feed
