It's been a long road for Kehlani getting to the release of her debut full-length album. Since she got her first shot in the limelight at 16 as the vocalist in group, Poplyfe, placing 4th on America's Got Talent in 2011, she's battled homelessness, depression, a suicide attempt and the perennial struggle of striving for success in an industry where 'urban' artists are sidelined. But Kehlani took all that fight and turned it into a refreshingly honest, but catchy hit-packed album, SweetSexySavage.
SweetSexySavage shows off Kehlani's song-writing chops. On tracks like, CRZY, I'm Not Used To It and Piece of Mind, she sings uniquely openly about the difficulties she's faced and the strides she's made towards fulfillment in a conversational, story-telling manner more common in rap than R&B. But the album sonics, lean heavily on Kehlani's classic R&B upbringing, with several interpolations of songs by Akon, Sasha, New Edition and two Aaliyah covers. SweetSexySavage takes the listener on a journey through the sound of '90's R&B's greatest hits, sometimes literally and other times drawing inspiration from the style of the era. A fun, up-tempo leaning album, with songs made for chart-topping potential, but managing to maintain artistic integrity.
As if in direct inversion of SweetSexySavage, Sydney Bennett's solo debut album, Fin, pushes new boundaries for R&B and opts for down-tempo relative minimalism. Better known as Syd, Bennett was first known as a producer in Odd Future, and then as lead vocalist of The Internet. The Internet received notable acclaim and a Grammy nod for 2015's Ego Death,which featured what the group termed, 'trip hop', a subtle blend of Hiphop, R&B and Soul.