Jennifer Hudson “JHUD”

Oscar-winning soul diva Jennifer Hudson has given herself a musical makeover with her new album JHUD. And frankly, it is well overdue.

The 33-year old yummy mummy is hanging up the power ballads we’ve heard her do a thousand times before in favour of a vibrant disco and 1970s R&B styles.

But don’t get it twisted, Ms Hudson is not slacking off in the vocal department by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, the upbeat production takes her vocals to new heights and puts her in the same field as iconic artists who have filled dance floors in past decades.

You may have slept on the singles she released in the last 12 months and I don’t blame you (anyone else thought ‘Walk It Out’ sounded painfully dated by Timbaland‘s standards?) but Jennifer comes to life in technicolour on JHUD. The best tracks are indeed the ones saved for the album.

Standout numbers like ‘It’s Your World’ (featuring R. Kelly) sound like something lifted from an old episode of Soul Train. You have Hudson and Kelly engaging in a five minute-long vocal showdown, spurred on by a funky beat and lush strings that would’ve done Earth, Wind and Fire proud. Basically, if they had made a sequel to Dreamgirls following Effie’s journey to solo stardom, this would be the starring performance.

 

You don’t need to check the receipts to know that this is one hell of an expensive album. Top-line hit makers like Pharrell, Timbaland and The Fugees‘ producer Jerry Duplessis have all checked-in.

The Pharrell-hemmed track, ‘He Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere’, tops the bill with an Iggy Azalea feature. You’d think they would have rushed this one out as a single by now, considering Iggy’s stock.

Jennifer goes into sassy sex therapist mode here coaching her girlfriends on how to please their men. “Get what you want, get more pleasure. Leave no one, y’all come together. Whisper in his ear, it makes it hotter. Don’t wipe the sweat, it makes it better!’ she sings.

Iggy Azalea “The New Classic”

“You’re well done but bitch, I’m rare!” Just some words of truth you’ll hear Iggy Azalea spit on her knock out debut album: The New Classic.

The 23-year old Australian rapper is a curious specimen in the hip hop scene.

Alabaster skin, statuesque figure and platinum blonde hair often snatched up in a fierce high ponytail, she looks more like a runway model than a femmecee that raps with a dirty Southern drawl.

You might’ve seen her name thrown around the blogosphere, paired with mentions of mixtapes, but things didn’t really heat up for Azalea until her UK Top 20 singles ‘Work’ and ‘Bounce’ hit the fan last year.

She started becoming a fixture at fashion shows in London and minutes later, she was opening for Beyoncé on the Mrs Carter World Tour, which gave her greater exposure in her own home country.

T.I. feat. Christina Aguilera ‘Castle Walls’ Premiere

You know Christina Aguilera won’t be played as some rapper’s rent-a-vocalist.

But with the kind of drought she’s in these days, our melismatic diva can’t afford to stick up her nose any further.

Here you see Aggie graciously bending over to lend her pipes to T.I.‘s latest single ‘Castle Walls’ but the track itself isn’t too far a stretch from her usual melodramatic fare.

Check out the full version of ‘Castle Walls’:

T.I. feat. Christina Aguilera – Castle Walls by poshlopezman

She might spit at the suggestion but if this collabo turns out to be some titan hit, RCA will probably re-release Bionic with it. There are already hints that her label would revive the flop album to coincide with Aggie’s Burlesque flick so this addition would make sense.

Footnote:

T.I.‘s No Mercy album is out in Australia on 3 December. There’s no confirmation yet on when ‘Castle Walls’ will hit the airwaves.