Yah Zarah - Hear Me

Nu soul diva YahZarah is also known as Dana Williams, a former backing vocalist for Erykah Badu. This album is the reason that the word "former" is the operative one in that last sentence. Williams/YaZarah, hailing from North Carolina, is a singer of wondrous range and dimension. In the true sense of the word, no matter how modern (or postmodern) the groove is, she is, without debate, a soul singer. With timberline rhythms, glissando pianos, swooping strings, and horns accenting the beats, YahZarah shows that the only thing she has in common with her former employer are human bodies. Whereas Badu has that thin, reedy, Billie Holiday-style of delivery, YahZarah has a wide-open, warm, throaty voice that can sing down under the basement before soaring into flight with the birds. Chip Shearin's production is warm and unobtrusive, allowing the vocal to hover just above a spacious mix that keeps everything on a middle to low simmer, nice and laid-back. While all of the songs here shine as stellar examples of the best of nu soul, the standouts are "Rooftop," with its jazzy cadences, the shimmering balladry of "Feel Me," and "Babylove," along with the slippery rhythms and blue-unto-black funk of "Guillotine" and "Blackstar," as well as the steamy and sensual "Same Page." YahZarah is about to break out; she's got the look, the tunes, the sound, and does she ever have the voice for all the nu soul devotees -- as well as those fans of solid modern R&B -- to fall down on their knees and worship. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide