This week’s Best You Never Heard feature returns this week with little known gems by Whitney Houston & Deborah Cox, Jill Scott, The-Dream and Cherish.
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Whitney Houston & Deborah Cox – Same Script, Different Cast
For a collaboration of such magnitude, it’s surprising to note that so little has been made of Whitney Houston and Deborah Cox’s 2000 duet ‘Same Script, Different Cast’. Lifted from Houston’s multi-Platinum ‘Greatest Hits’ LP, the stirring ballad sees the divas soar to new vocal heights, over a soulful reinterpretation of Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’
In an age where the beauty of great lyrics is almost entirely confined to the past, this is a potent reminder that an engaging story can skilfully be conveyed via song. Indeed, the track features Houston playing the former lover of Cox’s current boyfriend, warning Cox of his hurtful ways. Yet Cox refuses to acknowledge it, accusing Houston being jealous. A divas clash of epic proportions!
If ‘The Boy Is Mine’ had a sassier, older sister, this would be she! Awesome track. (SAM)
Listen:
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Jill Scott – The Real Thing
Serving as the title track from her 2007 release, ‘The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3’, Jill Scott’s ‘The Real Thing’ demonstrates her versatility as both a songwriter and vocalist. The powerhouse singer gives the listener the opportunity to hear the restrained yet gritty side of her renowned voice while unleashing a wave of lyrical fire over the live instrumental.
Scott spits rhymes in the second verse with the precision of the most talented MCs; combining her Neo-Soul roots with her poetic skill. When it comes to being a true artist, Scott is definitely ‘the real thing’. (TRENT)
Listen:
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The-Dream – Put It Down
Mr. Nash sores effortlessly through his illustrious falsetto, demonstrating the full capabilities of his upper registers. This is one of the few records on which Mr. Nash’s voice comes close to matching the heights of his enormous ego. Well, almost. (TRENT)
Listen:
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Cherish – Chevy
Though now no longer together, sister-group Cherish served up many an underrated gem in their short stint on the music scene – cue ‘Chevy’. Taken from their 2006 debut ‘Unappreciated’, the track is best characterised as R&B bliss.
The Old School inspired car-bumper manages to not only be racy (with clever use of metaphors), it also remained age-appropriate for the ladies – who at the time were mostly in their teens. How or why this wasn’t a single, I have no idea! (SAM)
Listen:
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