The name might be new but the voice certainly isn't. Anthoney Hamilton's voice has grace the tracks of Tupac to D'Angelo. And speaking of D'Angelo, this is where he got to horn his chops as his back up singer.

Anthony's claim to fame has been a slow rise. The singer/songwriter who was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, now resides in Harlem, New York and discovered his talent while singing in his church choir at age 10. Growing up, he was a shy teenager who wasn't fitting in, he recalls 'At about thirteen, I'd moved to a new neighborhood, and there were a few girls standing around singing. I started humming, coming out of my shell a little bit, and the girls said, 'Wow, you can really sing.' And I was like, 'I can, can't I?' "

From there he made the rounds on the local nightclub and talent show circuit, performing alongside fellow Charlotte natives Horace Brown and the members of Jodeci but knew that to make it means leaving Charlotte for New York City. Heading out to NY in 93, he got signed to Uptown Records but before releasing his debut set, the label folded. From there in 95 he went to MCA and in 96 released his debut XTC which for the most part got ignored by the public.

Since then he has written hits for Sunshine Anderson ('Last Night') and Donell Jones ('U Know What’s Up', 'Pushin') and as mentioned before was recruited by D'Angelo as his back up singer for his 'Voodoo' Tour.

The title track from the album of the same name takes you back to the sounds of the 70s where music was made with heart and gut feelings. The mood is set and as he tells a story about love and emotions stirring. A terrific track all round and one I'm sure everyone will get into.

The album is due in stores August 26th and is one to look out for. A TY-D Pick indeed. 

Listen to Anthony Hamilton's 'Coming from where I'm from'

Sir TY

 

 

 

Mya has certainly grown in the last 5 years ever since bursting onto the scene with her appearance with Dru Hill that led to her releasing her self-titled debut back in 1998. Nowadays she's more self assured, confident, independant and shows more skin in her videos but the music is what she's all about as evident in her latest set MoodRing.

The debut single 'My love is like ...Woo' is commanding alot of airplay across the airwaves and as you might suspect, her album offers more of the same. The sexy diva has grown as both an artist and a performer and it shows on tracks like 'Sophisticated Lady', 'No Sleep Tonight' and 'After the Rain' (which are the standouts)

But the track I'm reviewing today is 'Fallen' - a midtempo groove dance number that borrows The Pharcyde's 'Runnin' Away' as the back bone throughout the song. Production is terrific and Mya is exceptional as she delivers a fine performance indeed.

Mya's maturity as a singer is evident with racier lyrics on hand here but she's making a statement that's she's here to stay but don't take my word for it, log onto MTV.com's 'The Leak' and listen to the entire album and judge for yourself (hurry though it's there only until the album is released on July 22).

As mentioned above, the album is due on record stores shelves next week so you might want to get a copy for yourself. A TY-D Pick indeed. 

Listen to Mya's 'Fallen'

Sir TY