Keyshia Cole - Way It Is
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Keyshia ColeEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-06-21
Music Label: A&M
Soundtracks:
- (I Just Want It) To Be Over
- I Changed My Mind
- Thought You Had My Back
- I Should Have Cheated
- Guess What?
- Love
- You've Changed
- We Could Be
- Situations
- Down And Dirty
- Superstar
- Never
Free Music Notes for Way It Is
Free Music Review: The Way R&B Should Be!
Hit: 5 Stars
That's right people, you heard me! In a world where female mainstream R&B is generally ruled by hot-looking songstresses who rely on infectious, club-ready production and sub-par lyrics, Keyshia Cole easily stands out amount amongst the growing female R&B surplus with her raw, soulful vocals. Seemingly more inclined to following the examples of artists like Alicia Keys, Faith Evans and -more specifically, and most noticeably- Mary J. Blige, Keyshia Cole's mind-blowing debut album "The Way It Is" is an uncompromised R&B classic that mainly puts a betrayed female's wrath into crystal-clear perspective.
While there may be virtually NO synthesizer-heavy mainstream club bangers on this album, Keyshia clearly doesn't need any, as her compelling lyrics & soulful vocals do a much better job at telling the story. In fact, the Jadakiss-assisted "Guess What" -a bluntly aggressive power ballad where Keyshia furiously gives her man the boot after catching him out- is as close as you'll get to anything remotely danceable, boasting some loud horns & nice bass on the production board.
There are plenty of highlights to go around on the album. Produced by Kanye West, lead single "I Changed My Mind" is a powerful ballad which has Keyshia giving up on a lover who's unwilling to appreciate her for the great woman she truly is. Alicia Keys also lends a helping hand on the horn-driven R&B/Soul anthem "(I Just Want It) To Be Over", a dramatic power ballad where Keyshia reminisces on the good times of her relationship, and how she wishes that her now-rotten relationship would just end. The best heartbreak ballad, however, is "I Should Have Cheated". With stellar lyrics, funky guitar riffs & smooth harmonicas, Keyshia Cole's powerful vocals are drenched in sorrow & regret as she confesses to her paranoid ex-lover that although she didn't cheat on him like he constantly accused her of doing, she wished she did. Nowhere else on this album (or any other album, for that matter) will you find confrontational subject matter put into such a creative viewpoint, nor will you find any other songstress of this new generation who can do such a song with better results (well...maybe Alicia Keys, and possibly Beyonce, but probably not too many others).
However, Keyshia Cole still knows how to love like any sane female. A perfect example of this is the self-penned "Love", an amazing ballad where Keyshia exposes her vulnerable side that longs for love from that special somebody over beautifully smooth instrumental arrangements. The vocal melismas on the sweet chorus also add a very nice touch to an unavoidable standout. "We Could Be" also makes room for emotional tenderness, where Keyshia ponders the thoughts of being with another man. Although some people may be less attracted to the sensuous misfit ballad "Down & Dirty", it gets its fair share of props for its instrumental experimentation, Keyshia's seductive vocals & the cheesy metaphor-free lyrics that come with it.
Everyone will be bound to love many tracks over others (the Chink Santana-assisted drama ballad "Situations" & the R&B/Soul ballad "Superstar" should score the "skip" button more than anything else), but ultimately, Keyshia has come out with a stunning debut. 5 STARS!
Best 5 Tracks:
"Love"
"I Should Have Cheated"
"We Could Be"
"I Changed My Mind"
"(I Just Want It) To Be Over"
Way It Is Poster
KEYSHIA COLE is the real deal. Like many young people raised in tough neighborhoods, the 21-year-old songstress endured a tumultuous childhood in Oakland, California, and has fought all her life to keep her dream of a music career alive. Now she?s realizing that dream on her own terms with her first album for the A&M label, The Way It Is. It?s been a long road for Keyshia, but it?s her powerful voice ? a bell-like instrument whose soaring clarity is topped off with a tantalizing touch of soulful grit ? that?s carried her through, not to mention the diminutive singer?s personal combination of sugar, spice, sass and sex appeal, along with a solid-steel spine. With production by Kanye West, Krucial Keys, Ron Fair and Chink Santana, Keyshia?s dreams have been realized.Pop Music CDs
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