Wednesday, September 13, 2006

THE FUTURE OF MALE SOUL SINGERS
Soul music has been fortunate enough to have some of the most talented males singers in the world bless us with enough classic material to last 20 lifetimes? Most of us with any real music history really appreciate the soul music of the 70's, 80's & 90's? Even though I enjoy pretty much all soul music, there is something special about the male vocalists of that genre. Voices like Frankie Beverly, Teddy Pendergrass, Stevie Wonder & Al Green can never be duplicated, nor should they? Unfortunately, the world has lost many great male soul singers over the years like Marvin Gaye, Rick James & Luther Vandross, just to name a few. These loses have put some of the more seasoned soul music fans into a slight state of hopelessness and depression, while they ponder about what's going to happen to soul music in the next few years? It's kind of like imagining the youth of today taking care of you when you become old and gray. For some, that's a frightening thought. Unlike your future in that senior citizen's home, I feel that the future of soul music will be fine. No, we will never have another Marvin, Luther or Rick, but we do have Dwele, Raheem, Van Hunt & John Legend to hold it down for awhile. This is only four of the many male soul artists doing their thing on without the deserving promotion of radio and television.

Actually, there are plenty of up & coming talents on the horizon, and they are definitely capable of keeping soul music fresh and new. Please, realize that it is not only the artists themselves that are responsible for keeping soul music alive, but some of that responsibility also falls on the fans as well? Old and new fans have to remain open-minded about the music. That means putting aside your prejudgements and actually listening to some of these new artists with an open ear. The music has changed somewhat over the years, but that doesn't mean that the quality is any less? As any wise person knows, change is the hardest thing to implement and except! It's ashame, but it's true.

I have debated about soul music on just about all levels, but the one comment that mashes my bunnions the most is, "All of these new soul artists sound alike!" That's like saying all black people look alike? A statement like that just lets me know that some folks don't pay attention. They hear the music, but they are not actually listening to it? John Legend sounds nothing like Eric Roberson, who sounds nothing like Dwele. There are some similarities that they share, but they all have unique instrumentation and vocal pitch. For those of you that can't let go of soul music's past, DON'T!! If I asked you to, I would be an hypocite because I haven't let it go myself, but I have accepted what the future has to offer though. One my favorite singers is Alexander O'Neal, but so is Darien Brockington. Even though I adore the male singers of the past, I still embrace the movement of the future's new generation of crooners as well.


For your listening pleasure, I have put together a compilation of some of my favorite nu-skool male soul artists. Some of these artists may be very familiar to you, while others are probably not? Artists like Bilal Salaam & Jonz are pretty much making their way on the independent circuit trying to get established, while katz like Donnell Jones and Anthony Hamilton have found a way to remain relevant after several years in the music business. The male artists that I have chosen for this compilation have all taken different paths to get where they are, but they all have one goal of making quality soul music. Hopefully, by exposing some of these talented artists, it will encourage you to seek out some more of their music?

FUTURMALE SOUL TRACKLIST:

1) Tavares - Smile
2) W. Ellington Felton - The Addict
3) Bilal - Hands of Time
4) Dwele - Flapjacks
5) Erro - I Dare You To Stay
6) Darien Brockington - Think It Over
7) J. Isaac - Happy To Be Here
8) Anthony Hamilton - Some Kind of Wonderful
9) Van Hunt - Down Here In Hell (Accoustic)
10)Jonz - Pro-vide
11)Bilal Salaam - So What
12)V - Anotha Phase
13)John Legend - Save Room
14)Donnell Jones - Feelin' U
15)Viktor Duplaix - Stimulation

GET THIS MIXX HERE!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This soul mix is exactly the type of shit I've been looking for. I'm in the process of downloading this right now. From looking at the tracklist it seems like it should be pretty hot. Jamz, who is that playing in the background?

Anonymous said...

Jamz, who is that playing in the background?

^^nevermind, i know now. :)

DJ SoundNexx said...

@Shanti - I am assuming you meant the video when you said, "the background" right? That's John Legend singing "Save Room," which is on the mix itself.

Glad you are diggin the music. Thanks for coming thru!

Anonymous said...

I want to download this mix...but after reading about the GREAT male singers of the past, I don't see how Bilal (Mr. Whisperer)can get his feet to fill those shoes. Well I'll download, listen, and get back with you. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Jonz is my man. I thought I was the only one that knew of him. Good looks on the compilation too. Keep up the good work.