Have you heard the word? SOB’s is
definitely the place to be, especially for their monthly installment of Sol
Village, the crème de la crème of emerging R&B talent, hosted by recording
artist Eric Roberson. Last night the world was at NYC's doorstep; it was a night of a celebration of all
different types of R&B, from club hits, to ballads, to rocker Neo-Soul, to
doo-wop. There to lead the celebration were Kay Tunes, Aaradhna, Algebra
Blessett, and Eric Bellinger.
Roberson started off the show with
his hit, “Change For Me,” before introducing Kay Tunes, the pint sized
crooner from Virginia whose voice packs a punch. Kay showed off her hefty vocals with
“Cried” off the EP The Story of An Emotion. Off that EP also came “It Ain’t
Love,” before she transitioned that song with Jay-Z’s “Aint No Love,” and ended
with an interesting cover—Andre 3000’s “Prototype.”
New Zealand bred Aaradhna followed, approaching
each song with an unlimited source of inner diaphragm power. She didn’t just
sing with her voice, but she spoke with her hands as well. Clarity ensued with
every syllable, and the force of her emotions spilled over when she sang a
rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Nothing Can Change This Love;” she followed with
songs off her latest album Treble &
Reverb: “Miss Lovely,” “I’m Not The Same,” and an uplifting “Wake Up.”
Algebra Blessett (from the ATL) then took the stage,
adorned with a multitude of gold accessories. The sassy starlet has been out
for a minute, raising her children, but now she’s back for another round. She
started with songs from her upcoming untitled album, including “Nobody But
You.” She still works with Kwame as her producer, but it’s a different sound. The
new tunes were quite rockish in a way--exhibiting a heavy electric guitar and
bass sonation, a bit of a deviation from her neo-soul roots. She ended with a
tune off of her first album Purpose
called “What Happened?”
Hailing from Los Angeles, Eric Bellinger brought it home, but not before bringing it to the club with his hit “Club Lights” off
his mixtape Born II Sing Vol 3. He
has that mainstream radio R&B/hip-hop sound, and has worked with Usher,
Chris Brown, and Jhenè Aiko in the past. He
also played some more crowd favorites off the tape, “ASAP” and “Say No,” before handing it over to Eric Roberson, who ended out the show with a tune.
Last night, R&B was brought to NYC's doorstep, a constant reminder to how small the world really is. --GB
