Does Anyone Actually Use Algebra After They've Finished School?

OK, i'm not afraid to admit that there are times (that are few & far between in my case) that everyone needs a little bubblegum R n B in their lives. Be it in a club & you wanna see the ladies shaking what their mother gave 'em or your in 1 of those moods where only a bit of croon inspired radio balladry will put you on the road to recovery. But as (among others) Eric, Raheem, John, Robin, Jill, Erykah, Angie, Amy & now Algebra will testify, putting some real heart & soul in your music is always the best way to go. I've been picking up my fair share of tidbits from this songstress for a long time & there has been a buzz among people in the now for quite a while. But after various ups & downs & a shortening of her recording name (she removed the Blessett) Purpose is about to hit the shelves. Boy does it hit! The 1st 4 tracks alone will put to bed any doubters (hard as they are to find) fears about the ladies prowess. At This Time sets things off with a lovely soulful ballad with a simple guitar & violins for company. Halfway will get those necks snapping with it's super crisp snare and vibrating bass accompanied by a smooth flute loop & horns. Then the slick drums, spacey violins & understated piano of Run & Hide continues with the neck snapping theme. Things then get a little more uptempo with U Do It For Me, which reminds me of Talib's Waiting For The DJ. The Quality of the production doesn't let up an inch. Soul purists will love Algebras voice & demeanor while those of us that lean more towards the Hip Hop side of things will have most of Purpose on repeat for quite a while. It is just such a richly crafted & consistantly superb album & the use of strings on a bulk of the songs is refreshing. Al floats effortlessly through every track & while i can easily get tired of listening to some the newer releases, i've been bumping this from start to finish without hesitation. My personal favs on this one have to be Simple Complication, which talks about the complexities of becoming a young parent. And the lingering keyboard & Ill drums of I Think I Love U . But What Happened comes in a close 3rd (i'm a sucker for live instrumentation). OK so some of the subject matter is nothing new (love, life, etc), but who cares if it's explored this well. Easliy My R n B album of the year so far. An absolute must have.

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Algebra - Purpose Selection

And a lil something extra: Algebra - The Herb Powers Masters