Contemporary KY-R&B isn’t typically my cup of Chamomile. But last week, the Times had me on double Dream duty, penning a preview for his Kanye West-aided, Myspace-sponsored show, and writing a review of said show. Suffice to say, I find The-Dream somewhere between Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon,” and The Cranberries single, “Dreams.”
But in an R&B market starved for compelling voices (especially commercially bankable ones), Terius Nash is the best of the new jacks, blessed with a preternatural knack for melody and innate pop gifts. Love Vs. Money might be over-long and solipsistic, but in a singles-driven genre, “Rockin’ That Shit” and Kanye-collabo, “Walking On the Moon” are two of the most iTunes friendly things I’ve heard all year. My money’s on the latter to emerge as this year’s “American Boy.”
Yet there’s something disconcertingly faceless about The-Dream, with his discography finding him mostly vacillating between hero worship of Prince, R. Kelly, and Timbo. That said, the iconography is vivid and faithful. Truthfully, I tend to prefer the classic Stax/Motown model, (see last year’s Raphael Saadiq album, anything on Daptone or Now-Again), or singers struck with a streak of off-kilter gonzo humor like T. Pain and late-model R. Kelly.
Ultimately, compared to his competition–cornballers like Akon and J. Holiday–The-Dream seems like a revelation. Still, I’m just biding my time for the Jodeci comeback. More photos below the jump, courtesy of Myspace.
Download:
MP3: The-Dream ft. Fabolous, Ludacris, Juelz Santana & Rick Ross-“Rockin’ That Shit Remix”
MP3: The-Dream ft. Kanye West-“Walking On the Moon”
