Thursday, November 27, 2008

Jesse Boykins III - The Beauty Created Review



Enter Jesse Boykins III, YOUR NEW FAVORITE SINGER! Does this sound bold? If so, let me expound: Jesse Boykins is a stellar singer/songwriter, graduate of New School University, and proponent of the post Neo Soul era (think Sa-Ra and PPP) with a great voice, talent for writing and an ear for making terrific music. I give The Beauty Created 7 out of 7 Head Nods!

Approximately 9 months and 11 days after dropping his spectactular debut EP, Dopamine, Jesse Boykins III and crew return to create Beauty. Beauty (n) - the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. Wielding style and substance, The Beauty Created can only be described as Boykins' "Hip Hop Bossa Electro Soul Opus," but even that does this album no justice. The parts of The Beauty Created are equally as astounding as it's sum. The songwriting, shrouded in allegory and symbolism, covers a wide range of subjects with women being the topic, but not the focus of the song, allowing the listener to appreciate the surface of a song or immerse themselves in its depths. Sonically, you can hear influences from Jobim to the Isleys, Marvin to Sa-Ra and beyond. However, Boykins doesn't merely recreate their sound, he adds his own flavor to it, dazzling the ear with a gumbo of sound without sounding like an experimental novice. (Check Shine which begins with electro hip hop soul then takes you straight to Jamaica and back again.)

Overall, The Beauty Created, remains in a lane all it's own. Trendsetters in the music industry, nowadays, are slim to none. Jesse Boykins III is definitely carving his own lane and I hope we see his influence on his peers and their ilk. Experimental without being ostentatious (given his musical background) or too "out there", The Beauty Created is worth your patronage on Amazon.com and iTunes. With his first full length, Jesse Boykins III has created an album that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit, or more simply Beauty...and that's not just the new car smell talking (lol).
Peep DJ Rahdu's interview with Jesse Boykins III on The Diamond Soul XXXperience here.

*Head Nod Scale
1=Don't waste your time like I did mine.
2=Waste your time like I did mine but I dare you to disagree.
3=Well, there was the single.
4=If it were a hand in spades there's "two and a possible".
5=It's a "good" album. Meaning at least 3 or 4 solid songs.
6=Really Good Project. Has the "Rewind Factor" more than once.
7=The number of completion. Great Album. Instant Classic.

1 Comments:

Blogger ChocLitLuvJoi said...

I'm gonna have to agree w/ the 7 head nods. He is a welcome treat to the Soul table. He brings all kinds of different seasoning that'll have your palate firing off synapses begging for more. The substance, sincerity, and soul in his music is comparable to Vikter Duplaix. His writing is beautiful, not to mention the thought behind them. The Beauty Created can Come to My Room anytime!
~Be All Truthhhhhhhhhhh

November 28, 2008 at 8:02 AM  

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