Essence of Soul

J. Rawls | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polar Entertainment
• ASIN: B000CQKZMK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,360 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Interview

2. Smile Again feat Tavaris

3. Pleasure Before Pain feat Eric Roberson

4. Woman Enough (The Apology) feat. Middle Child

5. Soul (Again & Again) feat. Middle Child

6. Inhale, Exhale feat. Venus Malone and Wordsworth

7. Questions feat. Tavaris

8. Inside Of Me feat. Middle Child

9. Miss You (Bring It Back) feat. Jonell

10. Ill Connect - Performed by Sol Uprising

11. What If feat. Middle Child

12. Bailar feat. Aloe Blacc

Editorial Reviews

J Rawls has assembled the crème of the soul underground for a compilation which beautifully represents the fluidity between hip hop and jazz infused soul. Having honed his craft with his group the Lone Catalysts, J now confidently delves deep into vocal terrain. The result is a refreshing collection of surefire gems.

From the bittersweet sentiments of the wonderfully talented Eric Roberson ("Pleasure Before Pain"), to the apologetic ladies anthem performed by Middle Child ("Woman Enough to Say"), Jonell’s party anthem ("Miss You"), to Aloe Blacc’s Brazilian love affair ("Bailar"), The Essence of Soul has something for everyone.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, January 25, 2008

By 

C. W. Hall "http://www.chriscospins.com" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essence of Soul (Audio CD)

J Rawls is the producer behind the hip-hop duo Lone Catalyst, as well as "Brown Skin Lady", the black girl anthem from a few years back that came courtesy of Mos and Kweli. The calling card of Rawls production has always been that it was just incredibly beautiful. As he himself says, "So many people told me I should have people sing over it that I finally just started working on some things." The Essence of Soul is the result of pairing one of hip-hop's most musical producers with a host of established and up-and-coming singers.

The results mostly mirror the talent levels of Rawls' collaborators. The production rides the highest level of consistency with songs either held back or taken over the top by the individual guest vocalist and their corresponding writing talent. Fortunately, the slow points are few and far between. On the top end, "Pleasure Before Pain" featuring Eric Roberson is one of those tunes that makes you wonder why you haven't heard it 50 times a day ever since it dropped. The oft-praised songwriter proves why his name is gold among the soul underground, building from Rawls' base to incredible heights.

"Inhale, Exhale" sees Rawls form up with Venus Malone and Wordsworth to channel the very best attributes of Zhané.

The song that finds Rawls working closest to his hip-hop roots is "Miss You (Bring It Back)" with Jonell. The singer revisits the incredible flavor she flashed with Hi-Tek and Method Man for "Round and Round" versions 1 and 2 and the song hits it out of the park.

Tavaris, damn Tavaris. That's all I can say. Both joints that Tavaris drops with Rawls are must haves. These songs cry out for an album's worth of collab.

It's one thing for a talented producer to work with established artists and make a dope song. It's an entirely different thing for a talented producer to use his own project to showcase an artist you've never heard of and manage to pull it off. That's what Rawls does with Middle Child. The singer is a virtual unknown, but paired with Rawls' tracks she comes off like a veteran. Check "Soul (Again & Again)" and "What If" and you'll be a convert. I've got her marked down as one to watch.

All told, The Essence of Soul shows that what people always said about J Rawls was true. His beats do sound extraordinary with singers. Not to take anything away from his hip-hop records, but I can't wait for volume 2.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars YA SLEEPIN!, June 18, 2007

By 

will power "will" (BELTSVILLE ,MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essence of Soul (Audio CD)

A GREAT BUNCH OF HIP HOP FLAVORED SOUL,TOO BAD! PEOPLE ARE SLEEPIN ON THIS FUTURE CLASSIC.......SEEK ALL OF THIS GENTS CD'S FOLKS

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent Music, January 9, 2007

By 

rica bleu "music lover" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essence of Soul (Audio CD)

This cd is absolutely a must-have if you enjoy good music. It is very well produced and is one of those best kept secrets. We need to put it out there - give it more radio play. I heard a song from the cd on a local jazz station and fell in love. Kudos to J.Rawls!!