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U.K. soul chanteuse tries to gain traction in U.S. with exuberant album
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
Published on Sunday, May 11, 2008
U.K R&B/soul artists have traditionally had a pretty tough time translating their success to the States. For every Soul II Soul, Joss Stone or Amy Winehouse, there are many more Lewis Taylors, Craig Davids and Ms. Dynamites, talented artists who can't seem to catch a break on this side of the pond.
Senagalese/Grenadian-bred, West London-born singer/rapper Fanta Estelle Swaray, known as simply Estelle, is the latest U.K. soul chanteuse to try to gain traction in the U.S. market. The singer/rapper is known in her homeland for the autobiographical rap single 1980 (her birth year); its accompanying album The 18th Day (her January birth date) made it to the U.K. Top 40.
Estelle suggested to her then-label V2 that her sophomore effort be produced by singer/songwriter John Legend, and for reasons that surely have since gotten someone fired, the label balked. She moved to the United States, where Legend promptly signed her to his boutique imprint Homeschool.
The results of her perseverance and effort are displayed on Shine, a thoroughly enjoyable melange of contemporary R&B, hip-hop, reggae and dancehall that is one of the best R&B albums of the year.
Shine is packed with big-time guest producers and rappers, including Swizz Beatz, Wyclef Jean, Cee-lo, Mark Ronson, Kanye West and will.i.am, but they never overshadow the cool, confident star of the show.
Estelle is a powerhouse vocalist, and to her credit she doesn't push too hard. While many young R&B singers with limited range insist on melismatic mewling like colicky kittens, Estelle, who co-wrote all the songs, trusts her self-written and borrowed melodies, easily switching between her solid and soulful vocals to her heavily accented and strong rapping.
The album opens with Wait (Just a Touch), which rides a chopped-up sample of Screamin' Jay Hawkins. I Put a Spell on You is produced by head Black-Eyed Pea will.i.am, who once again proves that he's best when he's beatmaking for others.
The funky and sassy tone carries through the album. Estelle is no wilting flower whining about men who done her wrong, or the victim in a string of maudlin ballads. On most of the dozen songs, she's an empowered but vulnerable woman who knows what she wants and how to get it.
On No Substitute Love — which like many of the tracks references reggae, dancehall and rap — she berates a noncommitted suitor. The uptempo American Boy features Kanye West and a jazz-inflected melody perfect for driving with the top down.
Even when she is asking to be More Than Friends, she doesn't come from a place of weakness. Over a slow rolling groove she questions her love's maturity, ''calling my phone about we needed a break / how we gonna break up when we ain't been on a date / you say you want that real woman, but when you get her you run / how come I never met the family, like your dad or your mum?''
The Ronson-produced Magnificent rides a classic dancehall rhythm and features Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, and Come Over continues the Jamaican vibe with a smooth reggae groove and Estelle reminding a lover of the good thing he has: ''All this love I can give to you, I expect a bit in return / you don't have to be perfect, love, as long as you're willing to learn.''
Whether Estelle follows Winehouse into stateside stardom remains to be seen. But R&B/rap fans who are weary of the same old musically skeletal woe-is-me ballads and bubbleheaded club jams should find plenty to enjoy in the exuberance, confidence and good old-fashioned talent displayed on Shine.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
U.K R&B/soul artists have traditionally had a pretty tough time translating their success to the States. For every Soul II Soul, Joss Stone or Amy Winehouse, there are many more Lewis Taylors, Craig Davids and Ms. Dynamites, talented artists who can't seem to catch a break on this side of the pond.
Get the full article here.
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