GhettoMusick leads us into the fantastic. Unhappy according to Big Boi is merely a state of mind. Reminding us that we might as well have fun, we should also understand being dresseed to impressed with Bowtie. Sleepty Brown along with Jazzy Pha drops vocals. Along with the horns, it's enough to get crunk. Continuing on, The Way You Move segues in with a continuation of Sleepy's croonin' ("can you feel that b-a-s-s bass?"). It's lit, y'all. In The Rooster, Big Boi laments about splitting up in the most musically inducing way.

Bust with Killer Mike lights the fire again. The fire rages with intensity in War, in which he defiantly states, "basically, America, we got f****d". By this time, all bets are off for me. "What about repenting?" he asks during the tune Church. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard this in every house party down here in the ATL for the next year. His little son Bamboo interludes at this time, then bringing us into Tomb of the Boom, which, in my opinion, will be the next release. With Ludacris, Konkrete, and Big Gipp in the mix, it's a done deal.

Knowing throws us into Flip Flop Rock, sharing the mic with Jay-Z and Killer Mike. Absolutely flawless. Reset, an absolutely fantastic, and possibly my favorite track, lets you know that everything happens for a reason. Khujo Goodie says his piece, leading into Cee-Lo's sermon. D-Boi leads us into Last Call, which has many things going through it. This song may be the singular indiscretion. It's merely great.

I don't need to tell you how much I love this CD. It's written all over the place. I refuse to compare the two. I'll just say that comparisons between the two alert me to one thing - that they are great together and separate. Rare to find. Makes me proud to be a southern boy.

e-scale.... 9/10

ej wants you to share your world. Express yourself to eXponent. It's a good thing.

Introducing Atlanta, New York, and Paris in the same sentence during the introduction should be a warning label to all that this is going to be all over the place, and it is. Sliding into the ears with the nicely mellow piano tune Love Hater and then an interlude having a conversation with God had my head shaking in the car. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone. Cupid Valentino steps in and gives you the groove of Happy Valentine's Day. By this time, I've come to the realization that comparing him to anyone would be futile.

Spread comes across as a nice drum-and-bass coital-comedic track, leading into Where Are My Panties. These two tracks take sexuality freakiness with unabashed joy and the unrequited need to lay in someone's hair. Ice Cold then declares falling in love with Prototype, and wants to let you know about it ("I can't afford to not record!") Andre then rocks us back into the Love Below with Rosario Dawson decorating the blissful track She Lives In My Lap. Supreme.

Hey Ya, the current release and video, beings us into Roses, a tune with the inflections of Big Boi interwoven in. He lets you know that the roses he sees aren't exactly fragrant. Bitterness aside, he slides into Good Day Good Sir with a nice "Andre and Farnsworth Bentley" meets "Laurel and Hardy" tune. The groove Behold A Lady segues into Pink & Blue, a lovely, lovely slow joint cowritten by R. Kelly. Love In War asks for forgiveness and reconciliation with snares, drum beats and violins sharing the auditory canals with scratching.

She's Alive has to be one of the most poignant tracks done in recent memory, which speaks volumes about being a single parent at a young age. Absolutely classic, it leads into the Kelis-infused track Dracula's Wedding. Dracula's terrified, y'all. These Are A Few of My Favorite Things phases in, given a nice interpretation by Dre. Boom Bap indeed. Norah Jones then encourages you to Take Off Your Cool, an all too short musical treat. Vibrate does exactly that to my brain. An all-encompassing A Day In The Life of Benjamin Andre ends this CD on a high note (as if it couldn't get any higher).

This is a fantastic CD. He touches everything, leaving no stone unturned. There are too many favorites here for me to list, as they change every day. Right now, Prototype and These Are A Few of My Favorite Things stand out. Just yesterday, it was She Lives In My Lap, and the day before that...well, I'm sure you get my drift.

My mind is still racing. And I'm not alone. Check Mister JT's thoughts out.

e-scale.... 10/10

ej wants you to share your world. Express yourself to eXponent. It's a good thing.


You won't believe in me, but you would fancy leprechauns or groundhogs-
No thank you, Easter Bunny.
- Happy Valentine's Day

What's wrong? What are you afraid of?
The Love Below
- She Lives In My Lap

Don't run, I'm not the sun. So much at stake...
...oh! Bad choice of words!
- Dracula's Wedding

It started with the foot, and then the legs and before you knew it, I was backstrokin'. I'm talkin' swimmin' around in circles. I continue to do so. I even bought new headphones so I got to listen to this at work and at home. For the first time in recent memory, I'm actually listening to an album which was recently released with only 10 songs on it.

Never fear, it's damned entertaining.

With Freakquency (Erykah, R. C. James, Breezy and Ringo) at the controls, there's a good amount of diversity going on. Erykah leads in with Bump It, encouraging you to turn it up for over 8 minutes (!), but if you can get past that, you'll be just fine, dipping into Back In The Day (Puff). With Lenny Kravitz on the electric guitar and some old-school claps going,she brings you into the spirit of reminiscing. Woo steps right on out there right after I Want You, with less of a song and more of a steady groove.

The Grind is less Erykah and more Stick Man and M1. After that, Danger lifts you up back into Badu mode, after which she come's out swingin' with Think Twice, penned by Donald Byrd, with Roy Hargrove kicking it on vocals and trumpet. Once back in the groove, she gives you Love Of My Life Worldwide. With Queen Latifah, Angie Stone, and Bahamadia on lock, this is one clubbin, radio rockin' cut. With an outro of World Keeps Turning, Erykah delivers a fine finish.

One could say that I'm hella biased, because I've been to three Erykah concerts, and I have all of her CD's. You be the judge. Better yet, check Monique out, too. She's rambling in the affirmative.

e-scale.... 8/10

ej wants you to share your world. Express yourself to eXponent. It's a good thing.


Block on lock, the trunk stay locked
Glock on cock the block stay hot
- Danger

We were laughin and jammin' and singin' and talkin' and bumpin' in the trunk with the windows rolled up. Puff.
- Back In The Day (Puff)

One Day has the obligatory rap which works, but it's a pretty standard introduction, which phases into Wishing. Admittedly, seeing the video for Wishing last week prompted me to purchase the CD. This is a pleasant surprise when you want to hear mellow soprano. While saying that this CD is very familiar and already well worn could be concieved as a detriment, it's not. The background vocal arrangements cause the song to stand out among others in its class. It struck a supreme chord with it's dazzling background vocal arrangments - so much so that I find it hard to stop playing this song countless times.

Yahzarah gives us a DC hometown go go influence with the remix version of Blackstar, and Same Page. Feel Me, a track which was previously released and contained on an import of the same name, was often played in several Atlanta clubs and deserves a listen. Yazarah seems to have a thing about songs that begin with the letter 'B': the funkiness of Bury It, Baby, and Baby Love is enough to make even the most mellow bob their heads subconsciously in the car.

All in all, a very positive set. The real test? To see if she gets some national recognition with this CD. The first single has to make a dent in the minds of the States. Unfortunately, my friends, right now it seems that it's a toss up.

Pass the word around.

e-scale.... 8/10

I wanna know love
Inhale peace, exhale joy!
- Feel Me

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today
To bury the bitch and let it die
- Bury It