So what do you all think of Alicia Keys? Did any of you see her performance at the World Music Awards? I was a little surprised when she was introduced as being the next in the line of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Arethra Franklin, but I thought she then proceeded to put on one of the best awards show performances I have ever seen. Whether or not she can ascend to the level of the aforementioned artists remains to be seen, but I would like to hear some of your opinions on her, her albums, and if you think she can reach those lofty heights in the future. Go to it!

I think she's one of the better, if not the best, current neo-soul (hiphop-infused soul) artists. My favorite album would have to be her sophomore album The Diary of Alicia Keys; I prefer that one to the first album, Songs In A Minor. I haven't really listened to the Unplugged album, but what I'm really waiting for is a third studio album, whenever she's going to release that. I think her music is awesome; she's got a lot of creativity not to mention her vocal talent.

One thing...I wouldn't put Alicia Keys's music in the pop genre... Shouldn't there be a "Soul" thread?

Alicia Keys is one of the people who makes it on the radio and MTV who's actually good.

I thought Songs In A Minor was a strong album, but Diary Of Alicia Keys was a bit of a let down.

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Originally posted by Carlito's Way:
I think she's one of the better, if not the best, current neo-soul (hiphop-infused soul) artists.

Umm, your definition is sort of, well... wrong. Neo-Soul is a term that defines a sort of updated 70s-inspired, rootsy, "organic" (for lack of a better word) soul.
Music from artists like Eric Roberson, Anthony Hamilton, Erykah, and Jill cannot necessarily be called "Hip-hop-infused."

Anyway, back to the topic.
Keys is alright as an artist. Definitely talented, but incredibly overrated. Her gimmicky piano-playing has gone from bearable- often with amazing results- to downright annoying in its bland predictability.

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Originally posted by merqury:

Definitely talented, but incredibly overrated. Her gimmicky piano-playing has gone from bearable- often with amazing results- to downright annoying in its bland predictability.

How can a spectrum that runs from bearable to annoying contain amazing results? I would say that the amazing thing is Clive Davis and his uncanny ability to find talented artists who consistently perform. Alicia Keys came at a time when noboby was doing what she was doing. Taking the Hip Hop culture and adding a touch of class. Mr. Davis definately has an eye and an ear for not only talent, but for something outside the norm of what is currently popular. (Remember the time when Whitney Houston, also a Davis protege, was a factor?)

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Originally posted by P-Bo:
How can a spectrum that runs from bearable to annoying contain amazing results?

I would recommend you re-read my comments. I didn't say her work spanned the divide between bearable and annoying. I said her work went from bearable to downright annoying... a different statement altogether.

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Clive Davis and his uncanny ability to find talented artists

No arguments there

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who consistently perform.

I spoke too soon

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Taking the Hip Hop culture and adding a touch of class.

Wow. Is that ethnocentrism I smell? Yup. Definitely.

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Mr. Davis definately has an eye and an ear for not only talent, but for something outside the norm of what is currently popular.

Davis will definitely go down in history as one of the greatest "record men" in the Rock n' Roll era. This is, of course, largely due to his uncanny ability to take credit for all the work done by others. Clive definitely helped propel Whitney's early career, but an A&R man named Gerry Griffith was the one who discovered her and brought her to Arista. He also made song picks and chose producers on her debut album. But of course, that's not how Clive chooses to remember things.

And while I apologize for interrupting Clive's tongue-bath, dude has done his part in saturating the market with unremarkable, generic fare (see Foxx, Jamie) and pigeon-holing true talents into stereotype-driven, one-note themes (see Barrino, Fantasia and her incessant "baby-momma"-isms).

Comments re-read and I still question how something that goes from bearable to annoying can co-exist with "often with amazing results".

Regardless, I really don't care for any artists that Clive has discovered or molded. I also don't care how he does business. You could head over to Pound Ridge and tell him that you enjoy his contributions to the music world. I do respect his ability to be one of the best at what he does. Unfortunately, after reviewing some of your posts, I can't say the same for you. I would say your posts go from bearable- often with amazing results- to downright annoying in their bland predictability. Stay golden.

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Comments re-read and I still question how something that goes from bearable to annoying can co-exist with "often with amazing results".

Don't worry, I'm sure you're good at other things. Try handicrafts.

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Unfortunately, after reviewing some of your posts, I can't say the same for you. I would say your posts go from bearable- often with amazing results- to downright annoying in their bland predictability. Stay golden.

Oooh. Emotional, aren't we? Okay, Soror.

Well, while I'm flattered that you took the time to go over my posts, I don't believe that's the topic at the top of the page.

So unless you plan on creating a thread called "Sophomoric, Pedestrian Analyses of Merqury's Posts," your musings really have no place here.

I'll be waiting for that thread to open, and hoping that- despite its name- you can muster up something less, shall we say, weak than what I've seen so far.

I guess this is "a trifle polite", to steal an "obscure" movie quote, but I'd prefer to see a discussion of Alicia Keys in this area, before it turns into "WARNING! WARNING! Dr. Smith approaching!" Hopefully somebody is old enough or old-TV-savvy enough to understand that quote, but I want this to stay on-topic. We do have other means of communicating besides the Open Forums (Private Messages/Chatrooms.)

quote:

Originally posted by merqury:

Umm, your definition is sort of, well... wrong. Neo-Soul is a term that defines a sort of updated 70s-inspired, rootsy, "organic" (for lack of a better word) soul.
Music from artists like Eric Roberson, Anthony Hamilton, Erykah, and Jill cannot necessarily be called "Hip-hop-infused."

Well...what I thought was that Neo-Soul is a bigger, sort of umbrella category that includes artists who produce that "new" soul sound that is actually an attempt to revive the 1970's style soul fused with a little contemporary R&B. Although you are indeed right that the likes of Erykah Badu and Anthony Hamilton do not incorporate HipHop into their music (however, for example, Anthony Hamilton has provided vocals for certain rap songs; and some Badu tracks are very "contemporary R&B"), the label Neo-Soul still actually includes Alicia Keys (together with Badu, Hamilton, John Legend, D'Angelo, India Arie) even if she heavily uses HipHop infusion. I agree with you that most Neo-Soul artists do not infuse HipHop with their music; I think their main point is to truly revive soul with an attitude of being anti-mainstream in favor of preserving a more underground credibility and soulfulness in their music. Alicia Keys I believe has successfully merged HipHop styles into her own music without at all losing her "soul" demeanour and credibility.

So I guess I wasn't being clear when I put "hiphop infused soul" in parentheses. I wasn't really equating hiphop-infused soul with neo-soul, but I was just specifying that Alicia Keys is categorized as a neo-soul artist who has infused hiphop with her music. I mean after all, it's not really all that difficult to fuse the two together, since both are technically under a "bigger genre".

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Originally posted by merqury:

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Taking the Hip Hop culture and adding a touch of class.

Wow. Is that ethnocentrism I smell? Yup. Definitely.

There's a difference between not wanting to hear a bunch of millionaires pretend to be street thugs, and being ethnocentric. Outkast has *lots* of class, and are still distinctly within hip hop culture.

I believe you just proved that Hip-Hop (like any genre) does indeed have its own class acts. So what's your point?

...I'm not sure how you could read my post and not get my point.

It's okay not to want to hear music about jamming mack-10s up they bitch ase. It doesn't make you ethnocentric or anti-hip hop in any way.

The post you initially responded to only seemed to imply to me that the poster didn't like the Eminem or 50 Cent type hip hop that makes it on the pop charts and critics like Christgau love, and was glad to see some popular hip-hop that wasn't in that mold.

I don't see a problem with that. Settle down.

merqury seems settled to me, Bob.

And you're among the last members around here to be offering up such advice.

Stick to the topic and stop making it personal. You've received more than your share of warnings to that effect.

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To be fair, most of the personal comments are coming from merqury (that ethnocentricity comment was a pretty low blow at P-Bo, for instance). Looking at this thread in isolation, I can't really see any instances of Bob saying anything personal.

And... that's pretty much my $0.02. Unless I think of something to say about Alicia Keys, I won't post in this thread again.

merqury's earlier comments were duly noted and addressed by mark at which point it was appropriate to move on. Bob didn't need to throw gas on the fire.

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So, what's the verdict? Are we going to get a Soul/R&B category? It would encompass everything from 70's soul to contemporary R&B so I'm pretty sure there would be much discussion.

OK, I'll lobby for it, but it will go back far before that -- at least to the super groups/singers of the late '40s/'50s.

Hehe All right, I'm down with that

Is it okay if this thread be moved to the R&B/Soul Category? Please? It seems a lil out of place here.