Kelly Rowland Airs "Dirty Laundry" On Fourth Album

Former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland's first three albums were great. From the soul-rock of Simply Deep to the urban sounds of Ms. Kelly and the R&B and dance jams on Here I Am, Rowland ha always made great albums. The only issue with the albums in the past was Rowland's lack of writing on each record. While she wrote a few songs on each album, she rarely opened up and got personal.
On Talk a Good Game, Rowland's fourth disc she wrote every song with the exception of the first track, "Freak." Every song is personal and a piece of Rowland, the second single "Dirty Laundry" is more packed with emotional lyrics from personal experience than all three of her past albums. On that single Rowland opens up about an abusive relationship she was in and her relationship with bandmate and "sister" Beyoncé. The lyrics of the song are packed with passion and go along with a laundry theme.
"I was battered/ He hittin' the window like it was me, until it shattered/ He pulled me out, he said/ 'Don’t nobody love you but me/ Not your mama, not your daddy and especially not Bey'/ He turned me against my sister/ I missed ya," Rowland sings passionately during the third verse. That part of the song is particularly hard to listen to. A song with this much passion and honesty takes courage to write and release. This shows huge strength from Rowland and while there are no other songs as raw as "Dirty Laundry" although "Down on Love" and "I Remember" come close.
One of the standout tracks on the album is a collaboration with Beyoncé and Michelle Williams, Rowland's former bandmates, called "You Changed" The song has a great R&B rhythm and a verse each from Beyoncé and Williams.
Other highlights include "Freak" and "Kisses Down Low" which both pack a sexual punch. Another great track is the "Big Yellow Taxi" sampling "Gone" which features a guest appearance by Wiz Khalifa. The song is a breakup anthem that is sure to be a huge hit with the ladies.
While the album all but abandons the dance sounds featured on her last album, "I Remember" comes kind of close. Another highlight is the Pusha T assisted "Street Life" which showcases lyrics about the recession and gets a tad bit political.
While most of the songs are good some aren't up to par with the rest. "Red Wine" really doesn't go anywhere. It isn't a bad song, but it isn't as good as the rest of the songs on the record.
The album towards the end gets a tad bit repetitive and all of the songs sound the same, especially on the deluxe version. The songs are good, but the songs on the actual album are better.
The album is a great record and shows true growth for Rowland. This album will go down as her best record.

Eve Returns With First Album In 11 Years

Rapper Eve hasn't released a new album since 2002's Eve-Olution. After being pushed back several times Lip Lock has finally surfaced. The album blows both male and female rappers out of the water. Eve has brought in the big guns in terms of collaborators on this album. Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship, Missy Elliott, Dawn Richard of Danity Kane fame, Snoop Dogg, Chrisette Michele and Pusha T all feature on the album as well as new or unknown artists such as Propain, Nacho, Miss Kitty and Juicy J get their moment to shine.
There are no bad songs from the uplifting first single "Make it Out this Town" which features Gabe Saporta to the future club anthem "All Night" which features Claude Kelly and Propain. Eve also shines on her solo songs where she can really brag. Promotional single "She Bad Bad," "Grind or Die" and "Forgive Me" are straight up bragging tracks. Eve gets clever with her raps. "My buzz stay strong/ Your buzz never started/ My albums are the shit/ Your career never farted," Eve raps on "Grind or Die." On the Missy Elliott and Nacho assisted track "Wanna Be" the three show haters who's boss. It's good to hear Elliott back on tracks, hopefully this means her album is going to be released soon. Newcomer Nacho holds her own next to two of raps best females.
The album's best two songs are the second single "Eve" which features Miss Kitty. The song is a dubstep-filled hip hop reggae song with just hints of Middle Eastern influences. The song is a reminder of the greatness that Eve is. The other highlight is "Keep Me From You" which features Dawn Richard. The hip-house track is a love song that could easily be on pop radio.
While the album closes with "Never Gone" which despite a great appearance from Chrisette Michele, seems out of place on the album. And the remix of "She Bad Bad" which features Pusha T and Juicy J just seems redundant and could have been another new song.
Despite these few flaws, Lip Lock is a great album and was definitely worth the 11 year wait. After hearing this album people will be saying "Nicki Minaj who?"