Have a good weekend folks!

Red

Shareffa: The Mixtape
"Different. Finally."
An Album Review By Nfared

Though severely hackneyed at this point, the phrase is worth repeating, "R&B
ain’t what it used to be." Good looks taking precedence over vocal ability
permeates the industry leaving the looming question of whether or not real
talent will ever mean anything again. There is still hope though as Shareffa
attempts to prove with her debut album "Point Of No Return", due out this fall.
The mixtape previewing her album is circulating and leaving no doubt that
Ludacris is a smart guy.

"Need A Change" is that old school, new school track that moves the soul with
its sound and its words and she instructs, "When you got love for a man who
ain’t worth a damn/think its the best that you’ll ever have/you need to send him
packin and set him free…" With "Need A Boss", she follows the popular trend of
women wanting a thug (DC3s "Soldier", Letoya Luckett’s Gangsta Grillz, and
Cherish’s "That Boi"). Her forceful, confident tone makes borrowing sound good
though as she admits, "I be buggin cause all these fake thugs is tryin to press
up/I need a boss like hey/that’s flossin like hey…" She explores being
vulnerable and mislead by a friend on "Phony". Obviously hurt, she releases in
disbelief, "Now let the truth be told/you had to hit the road/never thought you
would try to play me out." The jumpy "I Like The Way" is her version of love.
She admits in the chorus, "I like the way you make me feel when you come
around/I like the way you make me feel when you hold me
down…/you make me wanna be for real and settle down." The powerful "Impossible"
tells the story of a woman wanting to be herself but trapped by love. The words
are almost piercing as she recounts, "Told me that I’d never amount to shit/told
me to when to go and when to hang around my friends…/told me if I stayed it
would be the best for me." She sings as if the wounds are as fresh as ten
minutes ago, pondering, "don’t know why I feel for you, I don’t understand…/see
this was not my plan."

Needle Meter
Every now and then, something in life needs rejuvenating. For our time, it’s
music. It needs a facelift, a life preserver, an artist that will shock it back
to life before it flatlines. With this in mind, Shareffa earns an honorary PhD
in R&B. She brings soul and originality reminiscent of Mary and Faith, yet has
an edge that is all her own. If this mixtape is any indicator, Keyshia Cole, who
has already proved to be one of the lights at the end of the tunnel, may be
looking over her shoulder. Music, reborn.
Five Needles, CLASSIC RATING















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