What I'm listening to now.

Well, well, well, I'm so glad to report what seems to me a real revival in down home, smooth-love soul.

Soulstar is Musiq's third album, apparently. Based on this one, I'll be eagerly anticipating his first two. This is just plain genius (the album, not my previous sentence). If you like Stevie Wonder, you'll love this, both for its soulful quality and the near-Wonder sound. Some people think it's boring, not as good as some of his best or some of his "competition" but that only makes me really wonder what I'm missing elsewhere. I love this musiq....

Usher's Confessions is another RnB album that's so hot, you might want your oven mits when handling it. I'm another old fuddy-duddy who thought little of Usher based on what he saw on MTV et al., but BOY did actually listening to this album change my opinion. If you can't get jiggy ta dis, you must be dead!

Chocolate Factory by R Kelly. Though some of the lyrics are too silly to be taken seriously, this is a great piece of music. What else can I say? If you like RnB, just buy the thing, dammit!

and finally, to round out this little group, I give thee Lemar's Dedicated. Scrumptious, tasty, mouth-watering, beautiful vibes. If you ain't heard Dance (With You), you really must get out more. I'm pretty sure I first heard it on the radio in London last summer on pre-release (the single, not me) and it blew my socks off. No, really. This guy may have almost single-handedly revived the UK Rnb scene. His music is just plain fantastic. Lover's groove par excellence.