lyrikalbj's Full Review: N'Dea Davenport by N'Dea Davenport
If there ever was such thing as an ‘underground soul scene’, then N’dea Davenport would most assuredly be one of the most well known within it. She was the soulful voice of the UK acid jazz band, The Brand New Heavies and their first two US released efforts (“The Brand New Heavies” & “Brother Sister”). The funktastic stylings of the band provided the exposure and songwriting experience that would set the stage for a musically diverse and polished self-titled debut effort that remains a hidden gem of soul from the late 㣾’s.
After backing up, writing, and guest’ing for artists such as Guru, Tone-Loc, Everlast, Mos Def, Natalie Merchant, Fishbone, and Madonna, N’Dea was poised to unleash a new brand of genre-defying soul that managed to challenge and appease her acid jazz fans. Writing and producing a majority of her cd (with the exception of a handful of songs produced by super producer Dallas Austin of TLC fame), N’Dea’s debut displays the soulful polish and precision of her charismatic voice.
Genre to genre she experimented with as track after track she proved that her style is not to be categorized. So as not to alienate her fans, she crafted Heavies’ styled funk and soul efforts like “Whatever You Want”, “Underneath a Red Moon”, and hip hop laced “Bring It On” (mixed by the late Jay-Dee).
Then, the REAL experiment begins. Thankfully, N’dea’s experiment is not far-fetched. She brilliantly dabbled with songs that featured her voice rather than drowned it out. The result is truly astounding.
Blues numbers are sometimes hard for artists to pull off. Thankfully, N’dea’s angelic voice has just enough grit within to emote the pain and passion in efforts like “Save Your Love For Me” and the brilliantly penned “When the Night Falls”.
To dabble even more, N’dea weaves a bit of house and electronica with “No Never Again” and “Oh Mother Earth (Embrace)”. Never over the top and still mellow and chill enough to not overpower the rest of the album, she managed to liven up the album and allow her fans to dance. And her edge peaked with the funk drenched “BullSh*ttin”.
Not to forget her roots, N’dea offered one last gem on her debut teaming up with the Rebirth Brass Band to offer a song dipped in the essence of swing jazz that could only come from New Orleans. Playful, light-hearted, energetic, and sure to make you smile, “Getaway” is most assuredly timeless.
So while the nation was hypnotized by the likes of N’Sync, Lauryn Hill and Destiny Child’s debut, late efforts from 2pac and Biggie, Madonna, and Maxwell, N’dea quietly re-introduced herself as an underground soul diva.
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