I went to the CDBABY site, & your stuff fits perfectly in your genre...but I think that's my problem with it - the genre.
Modern r & b just doesn't grab me. It seems emotionless & mechanical. The mechanical part comes from the drum machine & synths & fake finger snaps & claps. The emotionless part, though, bugs me more than the mechanics.
When I look at a song title like "Can't Keep A Sista Down," Gonna Lose Control," or "Waste No More Time," it makes my mouth water for something strong - an Aretha Franklin kind of power. But the song isn't anything like that, ever, in this genre. It's always the wimpy little aimlessly wandering melody, with everything just so throughout the piece, complete with the overly pretty background vocals holding everything to a smooth drone. Nothing too loud, no emotional outbursts allowed. Smooth smooth smooth groove all the way, but little emotion, if any, comes through, & little deviation from that groove.
There's lots of scale warbling, hardly a note is held for emphasis. It's like a VERY watered down gospel, to me, & as such, it's stripped all the emotion, all the action, & all the power from the potential in the title.
I'm not panning your performance in any way, KJ. It's the entire genre that is lost on me. What happened to the heart & SOUL of modern r & b? Every song seems to be designed to simply grope your partner in a non-attached manner, but where's the joy of love, the anger, the hurt feelings, the
emotion? It doesn't come through, for me, & I think the genre either needs to move back into emotional expression, or it could disappear when something that actually
moves ppl emotionally comes on the scene.
Or...perhaps I'm just a throwback neanderthal that needs constant tweaking to enjoy music...
You have a beautiful voice, KJ. I'd love to hear you step out of your preferred genre, into some blues or funk or old-school Motown sound, though. There's plenty to be proud of, here. Don't get me wrong. But you're so beautiful that I need you to touch me!
