Marsha Ambrosius Announces New Album!!

Are you excited about the new Marsha Ambrosius album as much as I am? I'm so excited! If you were a fan of or heard of the group called Floetry, then you know Marsha from her singing. She logged on to her Twitter page on yesterday and announced that she will have a new album, "Friends & Lovers," for release on July 15th! The album is also up for preorder very soon (in a few days).

The first single from the album is "Stronger" featuring Dr. Dre. I haven't heard it yet, but I'm sure it will be a really good song. Marsha is an excellent song writer and I went to buy her last album, "Late Nights and Early Mornings" as soon as I could. 

I'm thinking this album is going to be full of love and sexiness that she is known to do so well. ...even more than her debut album. It's been a few years since she released new music, so I'm excited to see how she's grown as a solo artist. I know I won't be disappointed! Of course I will post a review of the album once I hear it.

New Music! "Kingdom" by Common

Common just released a new single today titled, "Kingdom" featuring Vince Staples. It's been a whole since we've heard from him. From the preview on iTunes, it sounds like Common changed his sound a little and is starting to be more proactive in his music. It sounds like something Nas would write at first listen. I'm excited for the upcoming album. 

Sza, The First Lady of TDE

Let me start off by saying, I love Sza. She is gorgeous and very talented. Why isn't she as popular as she should be? I don't know. That's why I decided to write about her and the music. If you are a fan of Kendrick Lamar, you know he is affiliated with TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment).. that's a good start. Well, Sza is the first lady of TDE (as I like to call her); meaning she is the only woman who has a record deal under TDE. 

Sza has done some work with Kendrick Lamar and other artists, but I discovered her through the "Teen Spirit" music video uploaded to YouTube that so happened to grace my timeline on Twitter. I clicked on the video and I lost my mind! She is so talented. If you haven't heard of the song, go check it out on YouTube! I tried to find the song everywhere so I could download it and I didn't have any luck. 

Thankfully, to my surprise she released her first album, "Z" a few months later and I was blown away. I saw her album on iTunes and I was too excited than I needed to be at 2am in the morning. The album includes 10 songs and is 41 minutes long. If you haven't heard her album, you are missing out! I'm guessing their may be another album around somewhere since this album is titled, "Z." There must be an "S!" ...or she just titled the album"Z" because it's cool. Either way, I love the album and I think it should be heard by all. Of course Kendrick Lamar is featured on the album. There are also other artists like Isaiah Rashad and Chance the Rapper. I like how she does not sing the typical songs we are used to black female artists singing. She gives us a good sample of multiple sounds that would appeal to a variety of individuals. It's so out of the box and unique. I highly recommend this album to anyone who wants to hear a refreshing and unique sound that Sza can only create!

Michael Jackson's "XSCAPE"

Michael Jackson never seems to disappoint. "Xscape" is the second album made available to us after his death. I was expecting an album with new and recently recorded (a few months or so before his death) songs, but the entire album was recorded in the 90s. The production on the album is recent. I was a little turned off by that, but once I started listening to the unreleased songs that were mixed by today's super producers my thoughts immediately changed. They managed to grasp the spirit of Michael so perfectly. The albums showcases his unique sound and issues he always wanted to bring attention to in his music.

There has been a little controversy surrounding this album. When I decide to buy an album, I preview it on iTunes and then I proceed to read the comments. Many people are upset that there is another album and they feel as if MJ would not have approved because if he wanted the songs released, he would have released them in the 90s and they go on to talk about his love of perfection. I personally think if MJ did not want his songs released, he would have probably written it in his will and testament. Strangely enough, there was a comment from a band member of the Black Keys asking why did it take MJ's representatives to release an album 3 years after his death? Are you an MJ fan or are you feeling distraught by MJ's album being released the same day as yours and garnering the attention you feel your band deserves?

If you are a MJ fan, you would love this album. Songs 1-6 are typical MJ and the last two songs are experimentation in my eyes. "Blue Gangsta" and "Xscape" are not the MJ songs we have grown to love over the years, but they aren't terrible. My two favorite songs on the album are "Loving You" and "A Place With No Name" because I believe they capture the essence of who he was and fall in line with music he released when he was alive. This album is exceedingly better than "Michael" that was released in 2010. A lot of work was put into Xscape and the quality of the album says so. I would recommend this album to any MJ fan. You will love it!


Track Listing: 1. Love Never Felt So Good (3:55) 2. Chicago (4:06) 3. Loving You (3:16) 4. A Place With No Name (5:36) 5. Slave To The Rhythm (4:16) 6. Do You Know Where Your Children Are? (4:37) 7. Blue Gangsta (4:15) 8. Xscape (4:06)