"Music," Leela James

[Deleted]

You can hear a clip here:

www.warnerreprise.com/asx/leelajames_music_as_56-a.asx

I like it but I'm not crazy about her voice. It's very throaty.

[Deleted]

This goes for adds next week.

[euge]

Yeah Im have to get use to her voice.

[Deleted]

Second most added at Urban AC with 17 adds.

[Me. I Am Justin...]

My Warner rep came by my store earlier this week and was bragging about this girl. I like what I hear based on that clip.

[TheSameOleG]

I like this song best vocals i have heard on the radio in a minute

[reception]

You can hear it at her official site. www.leelajames.com

[FADE AWAY]

She's getting a lot of critical respect. I think VIBE gave her like a 4.5/5 and said that the worst song was a remake of No Doubt's "Don't Speak." Not too shabby...

I like her. She wont do anything major though.

[ayodel]

She's got an "older" sounding voice. It's soulful though. She could make some waves on Urban AC.

[Deleted]

Triple digit bullet at Urban AC! :o

No wonder she's taking off like this. Look at the producers list for her album:

Kanye West; Wyclef Jean; Raphael Saadiq; James Poyser; Chucky Thompson

Warner Bros. is really behind her. It's funny that I made this topic over a year ago though. It took them a long time to finally give it a push. Her voice reminds me of Anthony Hamilton's now.

[Dee]

The video is been played here in Sweden so I guess they will release her album here too.

[reception]

(R&R) Week ending 6/17/2005: New & Active at Urban AC with 96 plays, 20 stations and 5 adds.

[SoulBrotha]

like it!!

[ayoPiT0]

I hope this does well. I saw the video on BET After Dark last night and I just fell in love with her and her voice. She's good.

[FADE AWAY]

Her album has leaked.

I didn't like her voice at first, but by the time I got to the middle of the album I was loving it. It's a really good album! I even like her remake of "Don't Speak." She rips it up on "A Change Is Gonna Come."

She has some Urban AC smashes for sure. I like her.

[NJ's Finest]

Her voice is somethin you got to get used to....she ok and her song Music I ain't feelin. I saw her video on BET AfterDark too and I was happy to finally hear the song and see who she was. But I'll keep an eye on her.

[Deleted]

All Music Guide doesn't like it.

"Music," the first song and lead single from Leela James' first album, bemoans the death of music. She reminisces about Aretha, Gladys, Tina, and Chaka, and asks, "Can we just put the thongs away?" Her argument is flawed and tired. All four inspirations released new material during the early 2000s, and James is the latest in an extended line of artists, stretching from American Idol to any anonymous keyboard lounge on the East Coast, claiming to rescue real music. James should turn off BET and go to a record store: issue solved. The remainder of A Change Is Gonna Come — named after the Sam Cooke song, covered here — isn't nearly as nauseating, thankfully enough, even if it retains a nostalgic tint. James has the stature of a woman who should possess a squeaky voice, but she sings with demonstrative grit. More importantly, she doesn't see her inspirations merely as artists to mimic; she sees how they learned from the past and applied it to the present. The past is built upon (if only a little), rather than simply revisited. Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq, Chucky Thompson, James Poyser, and even James Mtume are in on the action, giving James the kind of apt support she could've only imagined prior to recording the album. There's plenty of thematic range, whether there are blue lights in the basement, tears on the pillow, sweat on the dancefloor, or sun showers on the porch. Hopefully listeners won't hear all those names during "Music" and get the idea to listen to Lady Soul or Ask Rufus instead.

[real2reel]

I like that song on her website called Mistreating Me.

[ayoPiT0]

rebirthxperience said:

All Music Guide doesn't like it.

"Music," the first song and lead single from Leela James' first album, bemoans the death of music. She reminisces about Aretha, Gladys, Tina, and Chaka, and asks, "Can we just put the thongs away?" Her argument is flawed and tired. All four inspirations released new material during the early 2000s, and James is the latest in an extended line of artists, stretching from American Idol to any anonymous keyboard lounge on the East Coast, claiming to rescue real music. James should turn off BET and go to a record store: issue solved. The remainder of A Change Is Gonna Come — named after the Sam Cooke song, covered here — isn't nearly as nauseating, thankfully enough, even if it retains a nostalgic tint. James has the stature of a woman who should possess a squeaky voice, but she sings with demonstrative grit. More importantly, she doesn't see her inspirations merely as artists to mimic; she sees how they learned from the past and applied it to the present. The past is built upon (if only a little), rather than simply revisited. Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq, Chucky Thompson, James Poyser, and even James Mtume are in on the action, giving James the kind of apt support she could've only imagined prior to recording the album. There's plenty of thematic range, whether there are blue lights in the basement, tears on the pillow, sweat on the dancefloor, or sun showers on the porch. Hopefully listeners won't hear all those names during "Music" and get the idea to listen to Lady Soul or Ask Rufus instead.

Whoa they cremated her completely. I don't think she's that bad. She's no Jill Scott but she can hang around in that group of people with no problem. She certainly isn't as bad as they make her seem.

[Deleted]

I don't think the review is really that far off. All these female artists keep coming out talking about how music is dead and they're all starting to sound alike. They're contributing to the death of creativity by doing the same thing.

[SoulBrotha]

One Of the Best album of the year!

[reception]

Video.

[strong4PMB!]

I like this.