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After a forced hiatus due to various other commitments, we can finally resume the latest weekly series from the OTU brain trust. I must admit, this is fast becoming my personal favourite series in OTU history, purely because it allows both yourselves and I to rediscover tracks that we either once loved or once forgot about, and that’s frankly a lot of fun.
Enough of the self-appreciation.
Click on below for another diversity-laden edition of SYFA, featuring a trio of prominent current mainstream names, alongside a couple of acts that have slipped away somewhat.
→ Continue Reading Sh*t You Forgot About: Episode 3
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A very slow week for R&B/pop music this week (those new Chris Brown/Rihanna collaborations don’t count as music), and as a result it’s a pretty short, and stream-heavy, episode this week.
I’ve made this statement before, but R&B really is in a bad spot at the minute, with a serious lack of both quantity and quality as many of its stars are either inactive or pursuing pop careers. It’s a sad state of affairs, but I retain hope that the likes of The-Dream will be back soon to restore the natural order.
Click below for this week’s relatively diverse edition.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 139
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The renaming of this to R&B Sundays is probably long overdue now, eh?
2 posts from 2 upcoming vocalists to recap on from the week gone by, with an enjoyable cover of Frank Ocean’s American Wedding by Yasmin and visuals for Jesse Boykins III’s smoothed-out Zoner.
Without further ado, head below and grab this week’s collection of mainstream goodies.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 133
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It’s still absolutely beyond me how The-Dream is still so horribly overlooked in the R&B genre, but as long as the good music keeps coming, us fans will more than cope. I recall reading he’s ‘retired’ the name The-Dream and will be going by Terius Nash now: confirmation required, but an unnecessary move in my opinion.
One of the more upbeat, club-oriented from his enjoyable 1977 (free) album, Dream displays his versatility by grabbing a relatively atmospheric, slowed-down production and injecting it with an intensity and energy courtesy of catchy vocals, flashes of scathing, personal lyricism and a strong guest spot from Sean, who seems to be racking up these great R&B feature verses. Watch your spot Fabolous.
The video is uncomplicated and fits the song well, fitting teasing scenes with the ladies alongside generic club visuals for a decent representation of all facets of the track. Grab the song on the free album here.
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A genuinely fantastic track, and one that’s rarely left my rotation since its release on the free 1977 album.
The sharp guitar plucks make for a superb backdrop, blending together a summery, Latin American feel with a rough edge that creates depth and a slight darkness. Combine that with raw, hard-hitting lyricism from one of R&B’s best songwriters, a clear and effective structure and very catchy vocals, and you’ve got a superbly rounded track that stands out as one of the R&B highlights of recent months.
The video is a great watch, opting for a more character focused video that showcases a noticeably slimmer Dream’s natural charisma with a dedicated and confident performance, whilst the slow unravelling of the leading lady makes for a subtle and likeable change of pace against the more obvious, brash videos usually associated with the genre. Definitely worth a watch, and the audio should be grabbed here (along with the rest of the free album).
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One of the better (and yet, still criminally overlooked) R&B artists left in the genre, The-Dream drops off a free album for his many fans. If the previous release, Wake Me When It’s Over, is anything to go for, we’re certainly in for a very high standard on this 11-track project.
Surprised to see a few big name features on this one, with Big Sean and Pharrell offering their services on two tracks, whilst Dream also looks to break an artist (with the rather unimaginative name of Cash) with another feature. Not one to miss for the R&B fans, click below to grab the free album from The-Dream’s website. He seems to suspect his label will stop him from distributing this for much longer, so grab it while you can!
The-Dream-1977
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Taken from his upcoming free album 1977 (set for release tomorrow), The-Dream warms the fans up with this taster of what’s to come on that project, and the early signs are very good.
With a sound that would have slotted in beautifully on both his superb debut and fantastic third album (let’s be truthful, the second was a disappointment), Wake Me has an atmospheric, drifty production that works wonderfully with Dream’s whispery, ambient vocals for a relaxing yet intense slice of slow R&B. The lyricism is very enjoyable too, with Dream’s more recent penchant for a brutal honesty in his lyrical content being a positive point yet again, whilst its synergy with both his delivery and the production creates a holistic quality that results in an engaging and addictive slice of music. Look out for the 1977 project on here tomorrow.
The-Dream-Wake Me When It’s Over
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Inspired by the motion picture Colombiana, The-Dream drops off a track expected to be on his upcoming free album/EP/mixtape, 1977. The track is a little heavy on the autotune, but is otherwise enjoyable, with the light yet sharp guitar melodies in particular giving the track a real summery, continental flavour.
The video is made up of clips from the aforementioned film, and acts almost as an extended trailer with the not unattractive Zoe Saldana taking on a complex character that makes for quite interesting viewing, and certainly suggests the film could be a solid watch with a nice blend of espionage, emotion and ‘aesthetically-pleasing’ scenes. It meshes with the audio very well, with the production in particular being versatile enough to suit the diverse scene choices.
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He’s not in the episode, but I saw this picture and just had to use it. R. Kelly looks so content there doesn’t he? You just know he’s not wearing any trousers either.
No recap or unnecessary additional bluster up here today. We’ve got a slightly longer episode this week thanks to a range of solid content, with a decent mix of acts stepping up to the plate.
Click below to have some R&B/pop delivered directly to your home or place of business.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 109
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The last 48 hours are a bit of a rapid blur, so to me it’s still Friday. Very solid new material this week, with some of the bigger names in the R&B, pop and even hip-hop world making appearances.
Only the three relevant posts to recap on, with the announcement of the Future Hits Live tour, solid new music from Drake, and a brand new EP from the talented Rocki Evans which is probably going to be worth a listen.
Click, read, download, enjoy.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 104
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Better late than never eh? There are genuine reasons, but forget all of that rubbish: it’s here now, and that’s what counts.
No recap this week, so there’ll be none of your time wasted up here, and instead you can get to clicking below and grabbing new music from Akon, Lloyd and more.
To quote the mighty Brick Tamland, ‘OK, let’s go!’.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 103
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On we roll with the institution of institutions, and it’s probably fair to say that the highlight of this week’s R&B has already been posted: having finally got around to listening to The Weeknd’s debut project I was incredibly impressed by it, and would wholeheartedly recommend you R&B Friday fans checked it out.
In addition to that, the past week saw visuals for the latest T-Pain and Chris Brown collab, Frank Ocean dropped off some enjoyable visuals for one of his lesser-known tracks, and finally a big collaboration between Lloyd, Trey Songz and Young Jeezy.
Click below to grab what else we’ve got in store this week.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 102
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Not to be confused with George Orwell’s somewhat more macabre view of the number 101, we roll on past the magical 100 with this week’s episode. Be sure to catch up with my top 30 from episodes 1-100 if you haven’t already.
Short recap from the last week: Raheem DeVaughn follows up his enjoyable Jackin’ 4 Beats mixtape with a sequel, Beyonce returned with her latest high-octane video, and a (highly-praised) remix of Mike Posner’s Falling.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 101
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A few interesting remixes this week, with over a third of this week’s tracks being of the remix variety. Other great tracks in there too, making this an R&B Friday that you’ll forgive for being a little late to the party.
Unlike recent weeks, there’s a pretty big recap on this week’s notable R&B/pop events: Yasmin previewed her new single, Tank came through with a new video, Timbaland’s #TimboThursdays rolled on, Trey Songz released the Love Faces video, Miguel and Gilbere Forte combined for a fantastic effort, Diddy’s Dirty Money trio released an official mixtape, last week’s notable Grammy performances, Bruno Mars’ Grenade getting the Lil’ Wayne remix, and finally Erin Christine’s fantastic performance of Naked. All worth checking out, and more worth your time after the click below.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 88
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After announcing Jay Electronica’s deal with Jay-Z Roc Nation label, it was revealed that this track would be their first collaboration and it hasn’t taken long to surface, with Electronica releasing it moments ago on Twitter.
The production has that off-beat, alternative style Elect seems to favour, whilst the raps come with the memorable wordplay that has become synonymous with the Jay Electronica name. Arguably, it’s not one of his strongest verses, but that may be a harsh judgement with such great expectations and from only one listen. Jay-Z’s verse is really enjoyable, continuing his recent vein of form with an attention-grabbing delivery that is garnished with the customary Jay boasting. Gainsbourg is sampled towards the end, though I’m not sure why The-Dream is credited. Maybe slightly underwhelming overall, but we’ll see after a few listens. Interestingly, the album field has the much-anticipated (or excessively delayed) Act 2-Patents of Nobility title: when’s it coming Jay?
Jay Electronica-Shiny Suit Theory ft. Jay-Z, Charlotte Gainsbourg & The-Dream
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Lots of things I could pick out in this week’s episode, but probably the most prominent would be the features: there are lots of them! A couple of unexpected ones too, including Asher Roth’s first appearance in R&B Fridays.
Warm yourself up for this episode with some help from Bruno Mars and Nicki Minaj: watch Bruno Mars perform some classics, listen to Bruno collab with Damian Marley, and enjoy a cover version of Just The Way You Are. Then, grab a great Nicki-featured collabo, listen to her next single from Pink Friday, and finally catch her blended with La Roux and Colin Munroe.
Head below for this week’s instalment of the internet’s favourite R&B series.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 67
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Another video that’s taken quite a while to come out, given that the track was dropped over 9 months ago.
Whilst you could have had a baby in that period, I’m sure you refrained solely because you want to wait for this video. Or (hopefully) not. The track was decent though, so it’s probably worth at least 1 watch.
Audio is here chumps.
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Fingers crossed, this week’s R&B Friday will actually reach you on time!
A really diverse episode awaits you this week, with both an interesting mixture of tracks and a range of well-known artists making the cut this week. Plenty of content with over 20 tracks making up this instalment, you should have enough to see you through the next week.
Hit that red line below and eat as much as you like. Go on, go crazy. No-one’s watching.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 61
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 Fans and followers, friends and foes: you heard it here first. Being the forward-thinking, innovative blog we are, Overrating The Underrated is jumping on the latest music revolution which is Spotify playlists. This will allow us to bring you monthly snapshots of all five authors’ posted material. The OTU monthly snapshots will ensure you never miss a thing and can enjoy all our picks from one central location: your Spotify application!
Unfamiliar with Spotify? It’s a free music application which allows you to stream and share music with your friends. You can listen to your playlists from any computer or phone in the world and you can also sync with Facebook to see what your friends are listening to. Keep up with the in-crowd, read about it and then get it here.
This month we’ve scoured through our back catalogue to bring you a stylish summery playlist boasting material from the likes of The-Dream, Empire Of The Sun, Tinchy Stryder, The Roots, Rick Ross, Skepta, You Me At Six and many more. So hurry up and click that glorious red text below!
Overrating The Underrated’s July Snapshot
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Many people wonder why I’m such a huge fan of The-Dream. I can understand why, as most people’s exposure to him wasn’t until his second album, which is probably the weakest of the 3 to date. His first album (released late 2007) however was a modern-day R&B classic.
Falsetto was the single that caught my attention back then, and put me onto the album. Falsetto is one of those R&B tracks that just has it all: great lyrics, a heavy, driving beat and a catchy hook. There’s a real raw quality to Dream’s voice on this too, which adds even more flavour. Give it a go, and definitely look to grab Love Hate if you don’t already own it.
The-Dream-Falsetto
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Right, seeing as today has been pretty slow – I’ll let loose the tracks that didn’t make it in Friday’s jam-packed episode. I won’t bother putting much (any) analysis into these tracks, as most of them aren’t really my thing. By which I mean that a lot these songs are mostly of the slow type of R&B, which I’m sure a lot of you will like…loads. Click on for the goods.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays (Monday): Episode 56 Part II – The Leftovers
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Warming you up for this Friday’s R&B Fridays (yes that’s still happening, despite Ajay’s absence), The-Dream meshes together 3 songs into one and makes a video out of it, he’s just that damn talented. The three tracks are, Yamaha, Nikki Pt. 2 and Abyss, which all also feature in sequence on his new album – Love King.
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Right, so you should have picked up early/rough version of both tracks mentioned above in previous OTU posts. The whole album has leaked, and out of sheer respect for this man’s craft, I’m not posting any of the newer songs. However, I will meet you halfway and give you the final versions of these two that we already teased you with.
Opinions on the early versions stand here, as both are exceptional R&B tracks in really high quality. It’s amazing how 3 albums in, Dream’s sound is still so fresh to the ears.
The-Dream-Turnt Out
The-Dream-Sex Intelligent
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Consistency is the key, and like last week there are 18 tracks for you to check out. Pretty much full of names you should be familiar with by now, giving everything a go this week is made a lot easier in that respect.
Savour these episodes-next week could be my last R&B Friday for a few weeks as I’m going away. What/who will substitute for them you ask? Wait and see. Still one more to go after this one though!
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 53
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Almost a month has passed since I let the audio loose for this track, and its still heavily in rotation for me. A superb R&B track through and through with a great beat, catchy hook, likeable lyrics and nice guest spot.
The video definitely does it justice, and actually takes the track into a slightly different direction than I expected. Makes the video worthwhile, and hence provides a good all-round experience.
Audio can be found here if you foolishly missed it before.
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One thing I love about doing these is that when I do stumble upon a forgotten gem, the feeling of how great the song was on first listen returns.
When this was released almost two years ago, it was undeniably addictive and an instantly loveable track. As far as catchy club tracks go, this really should have been up there with the best of 2008, but never got the mainstream acceptance it deserved. The beat was memorable, the hook was catchy, and Travie’s delivery was clear and smooth.
Great collaboration, fitting video, and one that can comfortably fit into anyone’s club/party/summer playlist.
Gym Class Heroes-Cookie Jar ft. The-Dream
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Many of your Fridays have been centered around this OTU institution, and I’m glad to deliver this 50th episode of the hugely popular series. I’ve enjoyed writing it as much as you have reading it.
Before you see what’s in store this week, I’ve actually sprinkled a lot of R&B in other posts this week to build up some R&B love prior to this episode that you should check for. First off, go here for Ne-Yo’s new single. After that, check out the final version of Alicia Keys’ Rapture, Estelle’s latest single, a superb track from The-Dream, amongst other R&B-influenced tracks that have been posted.
Done all that? Good on you. Time to get the rest!
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 50
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The final version of this track will be on that upcoming Love King album, and will apparently be featuring T.I. Really, really looking forward to that album and Dream forever puts out fantastic R&B. So much so, that this couldn’t wait until R&B Friday.
This sounds a little like some of Dream’s more awesome tracks from his last album (Put It Down and Kelly’s 12 Play specifically), and he’s about the only guy who can put out a 5min+ R&B song and keep me listening the full way through. This is another one of those, and I would highly recommend you checked this out as it’s a classic piece of R&B that gets everything right. Itching for that final version!
The-Dream-Sex Intelligent
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