Alicia first came to our attention in 1998 with her excellent debut 'Daa dee daa (Sexy Thing) from the 'Men in Black' soundtrack. Ever since then she has been fine tuning her craft and is now ready to unleash her debut album 'The Life' (on J Records) 

The album as a whole is brilliant from start to finish. Alicia wrote all but one of the tracks and served as producer which shows how talented this young lady really is.  If you're like me you will have a hard time picking a favourite but of those that come to mind 'Fallin' is a moody, sensual ballad, 'How come you don't call me' was originally written by her idol Prince but her take on the track definitely does justice to his purple heiness. 'Roc with you' is beautifully orchestrated by none other than Mr. Issac Hayes a classy track filled with Mr. Hayes signature touches, the song can be found on the Shaft soundtrack also. 'Troubles' is a true stand out with it's romantic notion of the troubles of the heart 

The one weak link is 'Girlfriend' and not the song itself but for having JD (Jermaine Dupri) do his so called 'signature rapping' its just not warranted here but there you go - that's my opinion. All n all a great set nevertheless and I urge you not to overlook this one. 

TD.

  

Who would of thought these gals would get together and collaborate to do a cover of the Labelle classic hit of the 70's but here we have it. Pop teen diva Christina Aguilera swap musical notes with reigning RNB and Rap sweethearts Mya, Lil' Kim and Pink to do a more harder version of 'Lady Marmalade'. 

The track is making quite a bang on the radio circuit as one of the week's most added tracks to stations playlists across the country and although there is no street date on the single yet, it will be featured on the new soundtrack to the Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor musical film 'Moulin Rouge' which will be in theatres the middle of next month. The soundtrack (available on Interscope) will be in stores May 8th.     

 

TD.

Every now and then an artist comes along that is raw, fresh and new and makes you take notice. That artist is St Germain (born Ludovic Navarre) who one can only say is bound for big things. 

On 'Sure Thing ', (his first single release for the Blue Note label from the album Tourist), St Germain bonds pieces of jazz and blues into a stunning piano funk jam that borrows a John Lee Hooker riff and vocal as the main stay. The album is in stores now so do yourself a favour and get yourself a copy of this young man's work it's well worth the money spent.

TD.