Keyshia Cole's A Different Me (Nu-Soul)

Keyshia Cole: The new R&B pin-up girl
By Marcus Scott

Unlike the thump jam R&B music of the times, where manufactured soul has become a financial practicality of sorts, there are still those songbirds, whose husky, melancholic voices soars and sweeps through the airwaves, as if slashing the soul. Rather or not you like or love Keyshia Cole, her debut The Way It Is, was an undeniable classic showcasing her exemplary passion for the ever-changing R&B genre and showing us that she was more than the second-coming of hip-hop soul queen Mary J. Blige. Two records later, she’s changed a bit and is no longer the neophyte audiences were presented with in her debut. This time around, she gives us A Different Me, a step in a new direction.

Similar to Ciara’s Evolution phase or even Beyoncé’s Sasha Fierce reinvention, Keyshia Cole’s A Different Me gives the star a rather seductive introduction as she sashays in an synth-heavy R&B slow jam, the Reo produced “A Different Me Intro” is equal parts sexy and equal parts spectacular, spawning from similar influences that created magical grown-folks music that created Ciara’s “Promise” and Chris Brown’s “Take You Down,” and the ramifications are beautiful. For a song that’s only an introduction, the only let down is that it is an introduction.

Nonetheless, when the album gets underway, the album grows balls, and something that Cole has lacked in her music—individualism, which, by many means is a plus. The first official track “Make Me Over” is a soul-clash funk spectacle that immediately dismisses Cole as a copycat for the likes of her contemporaries, sampling the likes of rock legends like Tina Turner. This is a big mistake because the track is utterly magical, eliminating any notion that she’s unoriginal or that her salient and arresting vocals aren’t presented with a love with her music. The “Tina’s Wish” sample added with elements of its high-energy horns, voluptuous brassy bass, dynamo pro tools engineer backbeats and buxom off-the-wall drum—a sound that encompasses the girl group Motown Sound and miscellany of 80s Miami Bass music—is a poetic stunning success in harmony. Adding Cole’s pain-filled poignant vocals and a message of rebirth, change in image and or course, and a sensationally vivacious cabaret come-hither vocal delivery, the song is great mid-tempo gush of soul.

“Please Don’t Stop” is one of those singles that sounds like an electro-soul edition of the recent Mary J. Blige Growing Pains era, something that Cole will face for quite some time. Nonetheless, it’s refreshing. The groovy synth sounds of the laid back track produced by The Runners and Ron Fair respectively is high-quality love song fuelled by an R&B urban glam and club bravado arguably unseen in Cole’s first two records. The track’s finger-snapping rhythms, aligned with Cole’s soaring alto wails, definitely define her positive endorsement via record sales and longevity in music.

Just listen to hip-hop swagger of “No Other” featuring Amina Harris, with its simple and sexy strings sparring with the electro-guitar creating an R&B new wave ripple effect beautifully produced by Kwamé, who scored films like “Step Up” and “Stomp the Yard.” Or, listen to the little slice-of-heaven fairytale ending christened “You Complete Me,” whose over-the-top torch song vocal bouillabaisse is like food for the soul. With its soaring tinkering keyboard notes and pulsating drumbeat clang sounds contrasting against the backdrop of its slow-paced flow, makes this a song influenced by tunes that made old school R&B tunes legendary.

What doesn’t work for the record, is that its not very diverse in sound. Plagued by the current chameleon R&B wave, Cole is gridlocked in creating a combination of seen-it-done-it balladry and writing classics to her repertoire. Tune in to some of the best songs on the record such as “Brand New,” whose sex appeal and simple messages scream star power and potential hit makers. If released on Cole’s sophomore record or even released in the first part of the record, the songs beauty is lost because of its sister tracks that come before an after—“Playa Cardz Right” and “Trust”—which are amazing tracks, bare resemblances. The strings in “Brand New” for example, seem to parody nearly the same keys in “Trust.”

On the other hand, even while there are no surprises (she doesn’t challenge herself), the record is a standout and fuses the competence of former Cole releases in a way that, not only is marketable, but declared Cole as an important R&B artist. A Different Me matches the alluring psyche of The Way It Is and the babydoll-lingerie-appeal that made Just Like You a work of genius for the post TRL generation. With high points on tracks like “This Is It” and “Beautiful Music,” Keyshia Cole is slowly proving that she is the new blackbird of post-Y2K BET soul music scene, which isn’t a bad feat for someone fairly new to the music game. With the slow-drip flow of the record, the synth soul and vocal cry is Cole’s most kinetic attempt as an artist and there’s no telling what’s next. Maybe she’ll shed that tough snakeskin of her’s and share another side of her?

If you want to see the original: http://blog.nu-soulmag.com/?p=1037