The Best You Never Heard, this week, serves up little known gems by Rihanna, Amerie, Mario and LeToya. Do you have any suggestions for future instalments? Drop me an email at
sam@thatgrapejuice.net ———————————————–
Rihanna – Music Of The Sun
Though seemingly a distant memory, the Rihanna that burst on to the scene just three years ago had yet to have her Bajan roots (musically) diluted. A great example of this is ‘Music of The Sun’ the title track of her 2005 debut. With its Caribbean flavoured production and laid back feel, the track still stands as one of my favourite Rihanna tracks – not that that means much LOL
Listen: Music Of The Sun
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Amerie – When Loving You Was Easy
I’ve made no secret of my belief that Amerie’s last effort, 2007’s ‘Because I Love It’, was criminally slept on. Serving up a solid selection of box-fresh hits, it’s shame things didn’t pan out as they should have with the record. One of the album’s best offerings IMO was the C-Note produced ‘When Loving You Was Easy’. Raw, impassioned and boasting a fantastic vocal performance by Amerie, the track was one of my personal highlight’s from what is an awesome album.
Listen: When Loving You Was Easy
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Mario – Lay In My Bed
As with Amerie (above), Mario delivered with ‘Go!’ – his third studio album – one of last year’s most underrated LP’s IMO. Solid from start to finish, one of the record’s standout cuts is the Polow Da Don produced ‘Lay In My Bed’. In an industry which sees its veterans boast about being the pioneers of ‘Baby Making Music’, Mario definitely shows, with this one, that the young’uns can hang too.
Listen: Lay In My Bed
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LeToya – All Eyes On Me (ft. Pall Wall)
There’s no doubt LeToya’s solo success was one of the biggest stories to emerge from 2006. Indeed, the former Destiny’s Child star silenced the naysayers and critics, delivering a very solid debut, which spawned the smash ‘Torn’. It was the JR Rotem produced ‘All Eyes On Me’, though, that stands as my highlight from the record. The high-octane production – which LeToya rides effortlessly – is overly infectious. This is how a club banger should be done. Good stuff.
Listen: All Eyes On Me (ft. Paul Wall)
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Your thoughts: Hit(s) or Miss(es)?
