I’ve never made a secret of my appreciation for Anthony Hamilton’s music. I said he had the R&B album of the year for 2004, even though his record dropped in ’03. Pimpin’ is that bad. More than anything, he doesn’t sound like a weeping, hard up sucker. That goes a long way with me. Suckers…well, their suckers.
Now, I’m listening to “Soulife,” his sorta new record. New because it’s just dropping, but only sorta because the tracks are about four years old.
Look here–if these are the songs that never made their way out for four years, he might be the baddest singer of his generation.
Dead serious.

When was the last time a singer sounded as genuine as him? Who right now knows how to pick beats that perfectly complement his voice? And has anyone else figured out that it’s possible to be masculine without being patronizing of misogynistic? Has their been a Southern singer as good as him since…shit, since whom? He’s got a better voice than K-Ci Hailey, even though his showmanship isn’t on K-Ci’s level. He’s a great songwriter, and he seems to have a grip on reality. You know, the kind of reality that involves doing more than spittin’ game and drinkin’ away the pain.
He’s a bad man, Jack.
For real, this is some great shit. How great do I think it is? I’m writing this after listening to only three tracks of “Soulife.” And I’m confident that I won’t look foolish by the time I get through the rest of the disc.
Also, just peeped the new Kells. Hit the bidness blog to see what I think of that. Here’s what I can say here that I couldn’t say there–it’s not good enough to make me forget he pisses on people. An interesting note is that when I wrote about the BET Awards two years ago, Wiley really loved that line. I’m still not sure why, but he does piss on people. Kells, not Ralph.
Yeah, lemme stop now before we get confused.
And this weekend, I watched Chappelle’s “For What It’s Worth” for the first time since it dropped. The first time I saw it, I found it to be utterly shocking and hard to evaluate. This time around, I know what to say–it’s really funny. Dave’s gotta get back out there. It’s unfair how smart he is. I’m not going to say he’s the next Richard Pryor, but he gets it in a way that no one since Richard has gotten it. Too much bathroom humor, but it matters not when one considers everything else he gives us.
And if you haven’t already, cop Season 2 on DVD, if only for the third disc. Makes no sense how funny Charlie Murhpy’s stories are.
(rubbing his hands together) “Boy, I took him to the brick oven and made pizza with his face. He got to the bottom of the hill, and they put the crust on him.”
And he never smiled once while saying that.
***
I’m done. Got some real good news for the world soon. Too busy knocking on wood to tell you right now, though.