Our FIRST music review posting!! Foreign Exchange – ‘Leave It All Behind’ A+

Damn – you KNOW we had to do it! Our first official music posting!

Friday blessed the masses with his Ultimate Top Ten Rappers List -  and its just like Friday to overdo it, show his azz, bring that HEAT with his incredible blog!    That blog was so well-received that we decided to go on’ head and add a music category – to shine sum light on features, albums, mixtapes, and downloads!

First, let me say that…

I don’t listen to mainstream R&B music.

I think it’s boring, contrived, and quite frankly….kinda silly. Especially the guys! R&B cats be talking about romancing chix with promises of Yachts and mansions…..

$300 bottles of champagne…..

diamond bracelets and shit…

i mean, REALLY?? WHO HAS THAT KIND OF MONEY?! hahaaa  I damn shurr don’t!

Do u know how high the bar is RAISED to run game on a chik – and she listens to say….Joe?? ‘All The Things (Your Man Won’t Do)‘. Haaa! What chance do I have??? lol  And then you have the younger RnB guys, who all sound kinda girly/ gay-ish! And the older cats are boring as hell… And they all use the SAME DAMN producers!! Throw in a voice-changer and a T-Pain/  Little Wayne guest verse, and you really don’t know who the heck you’re even listening to anymore!

…and that is why I cannot stand to listen to mainstream Rap/R&B.

.

Which brings me to this MASTERPIECE I recently discovered -

** THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE – ‘Leave It All Behind’ **

Folks…….Words cannot describe how incredibly DOPE this album is!!  But I will  damn sure try……

This CD  is a musical feast for the ears. I think that The Almighty Himself came down….

and blessed Phonte and Nicolay to create one of the lovliest-sounding CDs in the new millineum. You gotta be connected to the underground/alternative scene to catch a instant classic like this! -OR- read this blog

There is NOTHING…and I mean NOTHING on the music charts that can touch this!  And I ain’t sure what genre or how to  CLASSIFY this music – is it  Soul? Neo-Soul? Trans-Atlantic, Experimental-Alternative, Soul/R&B/HipHop Collabo?! haha

Call it what you want, but The Foreign Exchange is my pick for one of the best group/duos out right now – mainstream or otherwise. Need further proof?…

Peep their breathtaking classic debut ‘Connected‘.

(We’ll save this underground *GEM* for another blog.)  :)  But for now…….

Introducing The Foreign Exchange –  Two musicians who produced an entire album literally thru email!

- The Dutch-born Nicolay (the Betterman from the Netherlands) is the greatest Music Producer you’ve never heard of!

This guy is a Genius! – TRUST ME on that.  You haven’t heard production quite like this. Nicolay arranges and crafts, layers and assembles sounds like a master renaissance painter. Musically, he takes you places full of emotion and feeling. Nicolay can paint that solid imagery in your mind- and leave an imprint on your brain. Sometimes his beats are uncannily simple – sometimes, his arrangements are utterly soaring. But whatever the case -

Nicolay makes sounds that stay in your head…FOREVER.

There are only three other producers I can think of that have a purely distinctive sound: Dr. Dre, Timbaland, and the legendary DJ Premier of Gang Starr – And now also Nicolay – who is his own sub-genre of musical production.

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Phonte (of Little Brother) – what can be said?

Coming out of North Carolina- this emcee/singer is part of the new-age hiphop group Little Brother – A nimble rapper and a capable singer…

Phonte sings on the RIGHT SIDE of ‘Sangin’ -  and pulls it off quite nicely! He was definitely that brotha’ that gots busy in the chuuch choir! With silky-smooth smooove falsettos and sincere lyrics – Phonte speaks in R&B that we commoners can relate to: Relationship highs and lows….Telling your girl how much you love her. Getting kicked out the bed (and playing X-Box). Fighting, breaking up, making up and fighting again. Forgetting why you were fighting in the first place. This is something EVERRRRYbody goes thru – with nary a material mention in the verses!

From the signature Foreign Exchange Intro sound (again, Peep ‘Connected’ for further goodness ) until the last note drops…

‘LIAB’ goes down a soulful landscape not typically heard from major releases.  The first song, ‘Daybreak’ is a double-declaration of how a couple feel for each other. Simply and completely beautiful!  The CD only gets better from there on.

To get a tasty piece of this CD – try out Track #3- the haunting  ‘All or Nothing/Coming Home to You‘ – Whoooooo man! WOW…..Seriously? Damn.

Or how about a slice of pure JOY? track #11 – the totally uplifting ‘Something to Behold’ - the feeling of being in love!

Want another tasty morsel?? Try Yazarah’s unbelievably butta-soft Track #8 –  ’If She Breaks Your Heart‘.  Dare I say the silkiest vocals since…..Vinia Mojica?

And If you like those samples – then you DEFINITELY want to cop the entire CD and get the full aural meal! The Foreign Exchange –  ’Leave It All Behind’ – is the hottest joint to NOT hit the charts. A damn shame really.

-Jay

Production: Nicolay is a genius!: A+

Lyrics: Phonte speaks raw realness: A

Guests Vocalists: Perfect harmony!: A+

Overall: You NEED to hear this: A+