Lalah Hathaway – Self Portrait
Its an honor to review Lalah’s new project, “Self Portrait”. I mean, her music (discography) has stuck to my passion for soul music for many, countless years now & she consistently spreads a wealth of beautiful music through various tempo’s & compositions. Each track off her newest release are refreshing & continues to examine the pure essence of R&B music. No matter the time or day, no matter the mood or season, Its always a joy to hear Ms. Hathaway’s voice!!
Track Listing:
~ Let Go
~ Breathe
~ On Your Own
~ For Always
~ That Was Then
~ Learning To Swim
~ 1 Mile
~ Little Girl
~ What Goes Around
~ Naked Truth
~ Udo
~ Tragic Inevitability
The lead track, “Let Go” is an immediate groovemeister, initially complementing the skating rink, as seen on her accompanying video-single. That is how Ms. Hathaway get down y’all!; Then, she changes gear & mellows out the listener to “Breathe” – a song relating to confusion & despair of todays generational woes. Take a listen.; The slow vibe continues in “On Your Own”, a tasty reminder of the way an old fashion R&B slow jam is done. Recycled & refreshed, composed with assistance from Rex Rideout & R&B singer Rahsaan Patterson. That track was the one! The one I tell ya’…
“For Always” picks up the tempo & sets up the chill factor. A message of love & commitment is on the radar & you may come to ‘zone’ in on the topic. The message & melody connects the dots!; When it came time to place that “*” next to the track for immediate replay, the song “That Was Then” grabbed it! I grooved the heck out of that jam! And by listening to Lalah’s voice croon & harmonize the song only made me push the volume nod up 3 notches.
Other tracks of mention, “1 Mile”, “Little Girl”, “Naked Truth”, & “Udo” glides across the project uplifting the Neo-Soul canvas, while another one send an endearing reminder of Lalah’s ability to grace a slow song in “What Goes Around”, which happens to be another one of my favorites. I enjoyed the arrangements on that one!
Ms. Hathaway received support from Rex Rideout, throughout & joined by Marcus Miller, Lenny Castro, Errol Cooney, Melvin Davis, Michael White, & Lots More. The total feel of pure, live session-like sound is magnified & felt. Check it.
The recommendation was out there before the review was typed. Lalah Hathaway always releases quality, beautiful R&B music. Consistently. I know her Father would be extremely proud. I certainly am!!
Terrill J. Hanna
The Urban Music Scene
Please visit our R&B Page for purchase & song samples of “Self Portrait”, exclusively from Amazon!