KEYSHIA

Seems like these days everyone’s trying to get into the music business. There are so many artists these days I can’t keep up. Just to get an idea, I watch BET’s 106 & Park show regularly, pretty much every other day if not every day. They have ‘The New Joint of The Day’ every day. Sometimes they even have 2 in one day! And that’s just in the hip-hop & R&B circles and I’m sure there are a lot more new songs put out every day that the general public doesn’t know about.

I used to be able to keep track of who’s who and who’s hot and who’s not but I gave up after a while – there are just too many artists out there. I still kept up with a number of my favorite artists though. Like, I’ve always liked Mariah Carey from the day I heard ‘Make It Happen.’ Shoot, with a vocal range of 8 octaves – I kid you not – she had to be good. She was hot for a long minute and then fell off. I attribute that to her being complacent and not surrounding herself with people that were honest enough to offer constructive criticism. Consequently her label dropped her, Virgin Records I believe, [is that an oxymoron, Mariah with Virgin Records? My bad, I’m only kidding] and she was snatched up by none other than Russell Simmons/Def Jam. I guess she was so shook up from getting dropped by Virgin she came back with a vengeance and her current album is a chart-topper. Good for her, I say.
I know plenty about my other favorites too; it’s not like I have an obsession with Mariah, no. Nas, Pac, BIG, Jigga, Jadakiss, Talib, Lil’ Kim, Big Boi, Lil’ Jon, to name a few, are also up there in my books.

A couple of months back though I discovered one artist that was impossible to ignore - that’s how good she is. I’m talking about Keyshia Cole. With a name like that you know she’s gotta be black, let me keep it real. For the record, she IS black, 22 years old and is a native of Oakland, California. I first heard Keyshia a couple of months before her album dropped in her first single “I’ve Changed My Mind” featuring Kanye West and I’ll tell you what, her voice isn’t one to ignore. She has the kind of voice that will make you wince – with pleasure - and make goose bumps pop up all over the body. Not only is her voice flawless – if there is such a thing – but she’s got soul too, a lot of it. It’s like Christina Aguilera’s voice blended with Mary J Blige’s, both pure and soulful at the same time.

Now, I must confess that I haven’t bought a CD in a long minute. Not that I don’t have any music, don’t get me wrong. I’ve got plenty. Ever since [or every since, as the black people say] Napster initiated the peer-to-peer music sharing revolution it was a wrap. I never bought a CD again coz I could download the songs I wanted at will. [The following statement is for the benefit of the Feds who might be reading this] Not that I support the copying and distribution of copyrighted music. [End of disclaimer] If the song I want is available for free online though, why go and buy the whole CD when all you need is that one song? Am I wrong here? I know iTunes lets you download individual tracks but nothing beats free stuff. Prime example: there’s this site called Craig’s List that lets you buy stuff, sell stuff, advertise stuff or ask for stuff; kinda like eBay, only you pick up the stuff you buy yourself instead of getting it shipped to you. People may sometimes post stuff for sale for months and no one responds. Post the same item for free and you’ll get a gazillion responses. Bottom line is, people love free stuff.
*Food for thought*
Like I was saying before I got sidetracked, I haven’t bought a CD in a long time but the minute I heard Keyshia I knew I had to listen to everything she’s put out. I guess I must have been making it pretty obvious I wanted the CD coz B.E.T. got me the CD before I got my own copy. [Good looking out, baby gurl] Needless to say the CD was stuck in my CD player for a long minute. I ripped the CD to MP3 and I play it at work, play it in the car and play it at home, and everywhere else in between. [Shout-out to C.K., the coolest chick ever. How about that 1-2-3-4 joint, ha ha!] I went online and got all the remixes and collabos I could find with Keyshia in ‘em. Trust me y’all, she’s worth listening to. It doesn’t hurt that I think she’s sexy as hell either, especially in the ‘I shoud’ve Cheated’ video. She looks great in the 'I Just Want It To Be Over' video too. And I love the fact that she makes whatever it is she’s singing seem believable – that’s real important to me. Kinda like Mary J singing ‘I’m going Down.’ [You can feel the pain oozing out her voice with that one. Can I get a witness?] Not only that, but Keyshia is a hustla too. She hunted down MC Hammer back in the day and he did a song with her when she was only 12. Then she hunted down Daron of 112 in Atlanta – keeping in mind she’s from Cali – to produce a song for her. “I Should’ve Cheated’ was the result. Gotta admire that sort of persistence. I know I do. I like a girl who’s ‘gully,’ who’s not afraid to go there for what she wants. But that’s material for another post.

I know I sound like I’m getting paid here but seriously though, this Keyshia girl is destined for big things. Quote me on that. Give credit where it’s due, ay?