Album Reviews
1st Born Second | Bilal
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Though he’s been on countless artists’ albums, Bilal only has one album to call his own. 1st Born Second (2001) is a good mix of Bilal’s collaboration skills as well as his solo abilities. He can hit some high notes that I thought were impossible to reach by the male species.
I had the distinct honor of seeing him perform live at Morgan State University in 2006. He was performing on a full bill alongside Talib Kweli and my wifey Amel Larrieux (jokes on wifey part, I only wish!). At that time, I had only heard a few of his songs. Songs like Reminisce ft. Common & Mos Def ,The 6th Sense on Common’s album Like Water For Chocolate (2000). They were really great songs, but to me he was just the man who created the chorus/hook. Nothing more and not any less. But after his performance, the “nothing less” got replaced with “where is he publishing his music, i want some!”. He was amazing live and he did some crazy stuff with his voice.
On another note, I also saw a first. The first was seeing a hundred or more black women just drop their jaw, get out of their seats, and go buck wild. I have never been to an Usher or Chris Brown concert so I don’t really know the comparison, but this was just shocking to me. They swayed and dropped along every note that Bilal sang. Some of these women were even sweating more than Bilal from dancing and singing.
If the initial songs I heard were not enough for me to get his album, this event and his effect on the crowd changed that instantaneously. I purchased 1st Born Second and was really happy to receive what I got from this neosoul artist. It has a good mix of hip hop type songs (Reminisce), very soulful melodic songs (Soul Sista), and even a mix of reggae and soul (Home). He goes through a good range of frequencies with his voice throughout the album. The variety helps me really be able to listen through the full album instead of finding singles. It basically doesn’t make it a “listen to when you broke up from a relationship” love album.
Due to Bilal’s amazing voice and his ability to collaborate will with others, he’s managed to get on a few newer albums like Hezekiah’s I Predict A Riot and the more recent LAX (2008) by The Game. If you want Bilal summed up in a nutshell - he’s Prince or An Artist Formerly Known as Prince with a little more soul and a little more hip hop.
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