Leave It All Behind

Foreign Exchange | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 14, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Hard Boiled
• ASIN: B001EICD8E
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,021 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Four years after the release of their critically acclaimed debut "Connected," The Foreign Exchange returns with their sophomore set, "Leave It All Behind."

Consisting of singer/songwriter Phonte and producer Nicolay, The Foreign Exchange came together via the online hip-hop community Okayplayer.com in 2002. After trading files through Instant Messenger for over a year, Nicolay (living in his native Holland at the time) and Phonte (a Raleigh, NC resident) completed their debut album before they ever met each other in person. The album, "Connected," was released in 2004 to positive reviews, and was praised by legendary DJ's such as Jazzy Jeff, King Britt, and DJ Spinna for its inventive mix of hip-hop, R&B, and electronica.

"Leave It All Behind" finds The Foreign Exchange much closer in geography (Nicolay has since become a resident of Wilmington, NC), but located much further from their hip-hop origins. The duo's second full-length is a dark, multilayered affair that features Phonte showcasing his abilities as an exceptional lead and harmony vocalist, while Nicolay extends his musical palette to include sprinklings of jazz, downtempo, and house. The lush, Darien Brockington-assisted "Take Off the Blues" picks up where Connected's sleeper hit "Come Around" left off, while the complex polyrhythms and dreamy synthesizers of "Sweeter Than You" are described by Phonte as "swing jazz for the next century." Marc Mac (of legendary UK production team 4hero), also contributes a string arrangement to the duo's glorious cover of Stevie Wonder's oft-forgotten 1991 gem, "If She Breaks Your Heart."

In addition to appearances from longtime FE affiliates Darien Brockington and Yahzarah, the album also features guest shots from producer/keyboardist Zo! and vocalist Muhsinah.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Leave Your Preconceptions Behind, October 14, 2008

By 

Thomas L. Strickland "Information Architect" (Alpharetta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leave It All Behind [Explicit] (MP3 Download)

Why limit yourself? That's the lesson of The Foreign Exchange.

Yes, Phonte is still the brilliant MC we've come to know and love from Little Brother. He's still half of the very talented retro-duo known as Zo! and Tigallo. And if you've not given ears to his occasional Gordon Gartrell Radio Podcasts, you're missing out on commentary that is at once insightful and hilarious, all set to the found beats of DJ Brainchild. This should be enough for any one man, but Phonte has talent to spare. Which brings us to The Foreign Exchange.

Connected was an initial step in a particular direction. Leave It All Behind is the logical next.

Phonte and Nicolay give themselves over entirely to the concept of Leave It All Behind. It feels like this dynamic duo surveyed the current landscape of R&B and found it wanting. Too much plastic, too much "Love In This Club" nonsense, too many unnecessary guest spots, and not enough of that human-to-human contact that used to be the total objective of old school R&B. Sensing this need for something honest and real, they created Leave It All Behind.

Did they succeed? Mostly. Admittedly, the strongest single is the album opener. "Daykeeper" works on the senses like the work Tricky used to do with Martina Topley-Bird, like something intoxicating and evolving. The rest of LIAB -- with the possible exception of the titular closer -- is best experienced as a whole, from beginning to end. After all, this is a journey. To enjoy it, you need only to come along, leaving your own preconceptions at the doorstep.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come A Little Closer, November 19, 2008

By 

Stony (Upper Marlboro, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leave It All Behind (Audio CD)

A fellow hip hop head told me about this album before I had a listen to it, his advice was to not bother because Phonte only raps on 2 songs. Well to say the least, I'm so glad I didn't listen and decided to make my own judgement. I didn't like the album at first with the exception of "Take off your Blues" but now that I've given it more ipod rotation, I can't stop listening to it. This album is so smooth and fresh- give it a chance and stop trying to make it live up to "Connected" after all, variety is the spice of life right?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The New Brown Sugar, October 16, 2008

By 

Lawrence Smith "jihod" (chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leave It All Behind (Audio CD)

I was going into this expecting to hear Phonte rap 1st & foremost! I'm a huge Little Brother fan secondly. Nicolay is was an average producer until he started to evolve because I really liked that beats on that Nicolay & Kay- Time: Line. On Little Brother's last album did anyone seem to notice Phonte seem sorta kinda bored & uninspired? In my opinion right now as far as new guys in rap go he's prolly the 3rd best rapper behind Lupe Fiasco & Median(from his own Justus League crew). Back to this album I want to stress Phonte is NO Andre 3000, meaning he can actually sing & hold a whole album down w/o any tricks. This album reminds me A lot of D'Angelo's Brown Sugar & also some of Amil Larrieauxs 1st album Infinite Possibilites. It's a 5 outta 5. As of right now Phonte is the 2nd best singer/rapper I've heard behind Lauren Hill of course. This album is Classic and shows Phonte's growth as a Human Being & Artist. He's very sincere & Intelligent here w/ Nicolay. He does the singing stuff better than most who do it full-time (I.e. R. Kelly, Beyonce, & Avant) & I don't think that's an over exaggeration! A must have for 08'. Nicolay Is a better R&B producer than Hip-Hop producer maybe that a lane he should drive in more often .