1st Born Second [PA] by Bilal

Pros: A YOUNG TALENT BEYOND HIS YEARS. HAS A VISION FOR R&B MUSIC.
Cons: NONE.

It's very rare that a artist of this magnitude comes along to take a musical artform back to its natural origins and this is exactly what he's done with this MASTERPIECE. I recently had the opportunity to see him perform live at the Essence Music...

Pros: Its soulful and he has his own style
Cons: His style might take a 2nd listen to really get into it

This CD is great on so many levels. First off it covers a lot of musical ground from jazz, funk, hip-hop to blues and soul and reggae. Its definitely not just a CD for R&B lovers. Its got the perfect balance of old and new school sounds. There's flava...

Pros: Experienced and unique vocalist; Prince stylings yet has own sound
Cons: Dependent on if listener likes voice and jazz singer stylings; curses some

Ever since “Soul Sista” dropped on the Love & Basketball Soundtrack in 2000, Bilal Oliver has been eagerly anticipated by fans of The Roots and other members of the Soulquarian extended family. This talented jazz singer turned neo-soul funkster...

Pros: Some good production; good cameos; great lyrics; Bilal's voice
Cons: Some songs don’t work; his singing gets a bit weird at times

The Main Idea: I liked Bilal’s 1st single from the minute I heard it. It was smooth, soulful, cool and romantic all at the same time. And I can’t tell you how close I came to buying all 3 of his CD singles. I even almost bought his CD the same ...

Pros: There are lots of good songs on the album.
Cons: They're stuck between the bad ones.

1st Born Second is perhaps one of those crucially overlooked neo-soul albums that was released in 2001. Because there was such a major influx of the male singer genre last year, some of the better talents got caught up in the whirlwind and the...