Category Archives: Chrisette Michele

From "Audrey Hepburn" to "Better," Chrisette Michele is Unstoppable

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Image courtesy of the Curly Nikki website.

Chrisette Michele never ceases to bewilder, beguile or amaze.  In a post about three years, I said she was one of this generation’s best vocalists.  She continues to lives us to this year after year.  Always channeling the best of her soul and her emotions into music with the versatility that pleasingly boggles the mind and pushes boundaries.  Her most recent mixtape, Audrey Hepburn: An Audiovisual Presentation, carries on in this tradition.  
Image courtesy of the Hello Beautiful site.
Audrey Hepburn: An Audiovisual Presentation is “a dedication to the artistic vision inspired by Audrey Hepburn and the #RichHipster movement.”  The nine-track mixtape features Robert Glasper, Kenneth Whalum, 2 Chainz, Nello Luchi, Wale, Dunson, Bilal, Guitar Slayer, Lem Payne, and Fogo.  Audrey Hepburn is both classic and modern in terms of sound and style and has a laidback groove that makes for pleasing, easy listening.  It’s soulful cool.  Hip-Hop cool.  Jazzy cool.  Funky cool.  Classy cool.  Sassy cool.  Sultry cool.  It’s everything we’ve come to love about about Michele (and maybe more).  
While the mixtape is enjoyable in its entirety, personal favorites include “Can The Cool Be Loved” featuring Bilal and Dunson, “Charades” featuring 2 Chainz, “Pray Me Well” featuring Robert Glasper, “Rich Hipster” featuring Wale, and “My Fair Lady” featuring Guitar Slayer.  Audrey Hepburn is an excellent treat to tie us fans over until the release of her next studio album.
And speaking of her next studio album, I, like many fans, was so happy to come across another unexpected treat online a few weeks ago in “Better,” the title track from Michele’s next album.  Featured on the recent Motown Music Sampler Vol. 1, Michele continues to dazzle us vocally, lyrically, and musically on “Better.” On this soul-stirring, mid-tempo R&B tune, Michele sings about the search for love and how “love’s gotta make me feel better” because “getting to love’s got me losing my mind.”  It’s honest music that many will be able to relate to.  “Better” is powerful enough to resonate with fans the same way “Blame It On Me,” “Epiphany,” “Love Is You,” “Goodbye Game,” and “If I Had My Way” did.
What I love (or one of the things I love) most about Chrisette Michele is that she’s a risk taker.  She’s not afraid to do what moves her and to share what she’s going through.  She enjoys breaking outside of the box.  Boxes and categorization can limit our growth and progress.  They also can hinder our ability to see ourselves (and others) in totality (seeing, appreciating, celebrating, and respecting all we bring to the table).  We’ve got to be free, especially when we wish to be our most creative, authentic selves.  That’s the plane Michele is on.  And as revealed in her recent Singersroom interview, you can see, feel, and hear a deeper faith, strength, and confidence in Michele both personally and musically.  From Audrey Hepburn to Better and beyond, there’s no stopping the force that is Chrisette Michele.

Download Chrisette Michele’s mixtape Audrey Hepburn: An Audiovisual Presentation from the Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes site.

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Day 6: Chrisette Michele – One of This Generation’s Best Vocalists

Day 6: Chrisette Michele – One of this Generation’s Best Vocalists

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I’ve been loving Chrisette Michele for a few years now. Her most recent album – Epiphany – stays in rotation. I play it once and cannot seem to stop playing it again. The sign of a great album is one that leaves a lasting impression on you. It moves you. You can’t get the music out of your head. It just hits the spot (or several spots). This album, I must say, is one of the best R&B/Soul releases of the year. While it may have been criticized for not having as many of the jazz-inflected arrangements as her debut, there’s no denying the jazzy vocals from this songbird.

Her voice is a mystical, musical instrument with personality, lots of color, varying tones, shades, and timbres, and a wide range. It’s sexy, soulful, and passionate. And it has a girlish quality that is reminiscent of the late great Ella Fitzgerald (one of her greatest influences – along with Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Natalie Cole to name a few). She has the innate gift to sing anything and make it believable. She takes you there. You’re riding with her from beginning to end. And every song is a performance. Each one different from the last. Which also brings to mind another great lady of song – Phyllis Hyman. Though she sounds nothing like Phyllis Hyman – there’s something about the way she delivers a song that reminds me of Phyllis Hyman. Phyllis Hyman owned her songs. She commanded the stage. She took you on a ride. It didn’t matter where she was taking you because you were so happy and so moved to go along anyway. And that’s what Chrisette Michele does. If her artistic and musical growth is any indication, she will go down one of the best vocalists of all time.