Words By K1NG

Expanding your musical horizons is a tough thing to do at times, but when your ears are not being biased and you actually give something new a chance you might just find the diamond in the rough that can add to the quality and diversity of your musical collection. As I dig and discover outside of hip-hop, I am finding new artists from different genres and even sub-genres.

One artist that caught my attention recently was a woman named Chrissette Michele. From the first time I heard her on the hook of Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come single “Lost Ones” to the time I heard her singing a capella on Nas’ final track off of Hip Hop Is Dead I had a heightened interest in the beautiful voice behind the hooks. When I did a little research I found out that Chrisette was a choir singer and had some strong Christian morals to back it up, so I figured she would never release an actual studio album, especially on Roc-A-Fella records.

Then one day I opened up my iTunes music store and saw the free download of the week was a song by Chrisette Michelle. I was definitely curious as to what a full song created by the songstress would sound liked which led to me downloading the song and pressing play. The song was called “Your Joy,” and was an ode to her father that explained how it used to be when she was a child and he would take care of her when her mother wasn’t home, and that one day a man will take her away from him when she marries him, but she promises to always remain her father’s joy.

Although the song was of a different subject matter than the majority of the music that I listen to, it was definitely refreshing and enjoyable. The song itself was not what caught my attention, it was more of the style of music and her voice.

This made me hope and pray for a new song, or possibly even a new album by Ms. Michele. My hopes were satisfied when I was visiting one of my favorite online forums for music and I saw a link for her new album entitled, I Am.

After my first listen through the album I have decided I will be stopping by my neighborhood Rasputin music store to pick up my first R&B album that I have ever purchased. I cannot thoroughly give this album justice with words due to my inexperience in the female R&B genere, but I guarantee you that you will not regret giving this album a full chance all the way through and even dishing out $10 of your hard earned cash. As I always like to say, Support Good Music!

Chrisette Michele – “Your Joy”

Chrisette Michele – “If I Have My Way” Video

For more info, visit www.myspace.com/chrisettemichele

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