We talk in these groups all the time about real music and how we appreciate
people who are truly dedicated. Well ladies and gentleman, if you still agree
with this statement, then GO GET SYLEENA JOHNSON'S ALBUM! We said this would be
a good year for music and with this album, that continues to be tru!!!



Syleena Johnson- Chapter 3: The Flesh

“How Can Jive Records Be So Stupid?”
An album review by
Nfared


Though considered a cliché, the phrase “Good talent is highly overlooked” is
still valid because, for the most part, good talent is overlooked. The music
industry-- by way of several labels permanently asleep at the switch-- has an
alarming habit of taking an artist with strong potential and making a nice mess
out of a promising career. After struggling through two albums, Syleena Johnson
is still dealing with terrible directional decisions by her label, Jive Records.
Her third album, Chapter 3: The Flesh debuted at a horrifying 75 on the top 200.
Jive, having a bad habit of ruining artists, has struck again, making a
sickening blunder by choosing to in no way promote this album. Whether or not
Syleena was privy to this information is probably unknown. If she knew though,
she did not let it deter her from putting her heart, soul (and other things not
to be mentioned just yet) into this project.



The timeless quality of Syleena’s voice is clearly audible at the beginning of
“He Makes Me Say”. Producer Terry Hunter knowledgeably creates an up-tempo track
that completely blends with Syleena’s old school sounding voice. She rides the
track effortlessly displaying astute vocal control. Urging a Parental Advisory
sticker, Phone Sex is lyrically in-your-face as Syleena sings just above a
whisper in the first verse, “Touch me soft/rub me strong/get me wet/love me
long/but wait a minute…”. Even more descriptive, the beginning of the second
verse paints a vivid image, “Can you see me/in a red thong/red pump
heels/nothing else on/oil on my legs/cheery red lips/black hair straight/coverin
my breast/would like that?” On a roll, Slowly, the next track leaves no stone
unturned with phrases such as “You smell good enough to eat”, “…like a virgin I
was tight but he loosened me”, “And I couldn’t wait to/feel him cum inside of
me”. From sexy, to emotionally wounded, in Another Relationship,
Syleena wonders why someone would build something with her only to give it to
someone else. As if thinking aloud, she questions in the second verse, “what did
she have on me/what did she do that is so damn good/ that would make you give
up/ all the love all the trust/ and the stuff that you built with me.” The hurt
Syleena is just as convincing as the sexy Syleena. This is especially evident
towards the end of the track as she hits the top of her range, demanding, “Why?
why, why did you leave/so so so easily?” Syleena ends the album giving homage to
her gender with “Only A Woman”. The chorus earnestly brings home her message;
“Only a woman sees/only a woman knows/secrets she’s gotta keep/when she’s barely
holding on/only a woman cries/with force that will shake the sky/only a woman
bleeds/only a woman.



Syleena Johnson mystifies in a way. Her voice is a tree of soul with several
branches: there’s the raspy and rugged branch, the solid branch, and the smooth
and sexy branch. All of these branches-- these elements -- come together in a
creation of music that should have sent Syleena soaring to the top of the charts
for the release of this album. The excitement, power, and creativity of this
project is unmistakable. There is that saying though, “Good talent is always
overlooked”. Five Needles
















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