Customer Reviews

Kings Ballad [Vinyl]

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4.5 Stars

I love this woman!

Kings Ballad, Georgia Anne Muldrow's third release under her government name, is easily her best. (And 2006's Olesi: Fragments of An Earth and last year's Umsindo were nothing to sneeze at).

While Kings Ballad is definitely her most accessible work to date, Georgia is still Georgia. Still spewing out cosmic knowledge and still as Afrocentric as she wants to be. Yet, what makes Kings really resonate is that despite Georgia's striking individuality, the messages are universal. Whether she's mediating on the future of our children (the opener "Indeed"), giving "Simple Advice" on a track of the same name, telling us to "never throw your dreams away" on the moody "Live" or just playfully radiating her "Summer Love" alongside her (equally cosmic) other half Dudley Perkins aka Declaime, it's all more earthbound while still retaining Georgia's trademark of unpredictability.

Georgia is a brilliant producer and arranger. Her kinetic productions are rooted equally in free-jazz spontaneity, boom bamp wallop and funk's thump while glistening with an unmistakable sunny Cali atmosphere. This is especially evidenced on the album's remorseful title track, a elegy to Muldrow family friend Michael Jackson and on "Can't Stand Yo' Love", where Georgia sings with a Larry Blackmon snarl.

Kings Ballad's lone slight may be the loss of momentum that occurs near its conclusion.

Seeing that Kings Ballad is her most accessible and accomplished work, the mainstream may come crawling towards her even more. After all, Erykah Badu and Mos Def have already adapated Georgia's songs on their latest releases ("Master Teacher" on New Amerykah, Part One and "Out My Mind, Right On Time" on the forthcoming New Amerykah, Part Two & "Roses" on The Ecstatic respectively.)

If they don't, it's simply their loss since Kings Ballad indicates that Muldrow will just continue to grow as a producer, expressionist, writer and singer/rapper. She's only a mere 26 and continues to grow on every successive project, so you can only imagine the future!

Already one of my favorites of 2010!