Just to be clear....

Worth getting into = Van Hunt

Over-rated hype = Alicia Keys

Overrated.

I still don't get him, so over-hyped to me.

though i liked the Darkchild remix to Ordinary People

He might be worth getting into but I don't know if that negates him being overrated.

I couldn't get into his first album but I did like Ordinary People no matter how bland it was. But now with this Save Room/Stormy situation, I wonder how much material on the new album is solely his.

I don't think he should be bashed so much. I guess it's just backlash from the huge hype he gets 'cause I'd rather have him out on the market than Fergie or some of the cheesy R&B male singers who have horrible lyrics and have the same posturing as a rapper.

MattyJam said:

I think Van Hunt is just jumping on the overly crowded wagon called "neo-classical soul"....which to me has become overrated. Alicia is not overated...There is true talent there. Van Hunt to me is someone who sounds like everybody else in his genre.

As for John Legend, just plain BORING!!!
[Edited 10/31/06 10:32am]

shorttrini said:

Like who? Names, please.



Oh, to answer: John is mid-tempo & ballads all the way. He's talented. If you like that sort of thing then You'll probably like John. He's sort of the James Ingram of today. If you're looking for neo-soul to dance to, you might wanna pass on him.

BlaqueKnight said:

Poor Man's James Ingram?

BlaqueKnight said:

Say what?

AlexdeParis said:

The problem that i have with a genre that is popular, is that everyone starts to sound the same. Or the sing about the same thing. Neo-Soul was great when u had people like, Maxwell, Jill Scott and even Ms. Badu in the game. Now these new people are singing the same old tired songs and they just don't impress me anymore.
[Edited 10/31/06 16:40pm]

boring and over hyped..the flavor of the month last year..

Whatever.....at LEAST he knows the words to a SLY STONE SONG!!!!! Fantasia didn't on the Grammy's!!!!!
John Legend is a talented cat, whether y'all like him or not. And at least he doesn't come out of his mouth saying crazy s**t!!!!! I had a chance to meet him in Seattle in August of 2005, and he was a very personable guy. Very down to earth. So WHAT are y'all talkin' about?????
OVERRATED is being billed as the 2nd coming of D'Angelo & then don't know the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner"!!!!!
OVERRATED is being called one of the greatest soul singers of today & don't know the fu**in' words to one of the all-time classics!!!!!
OVERRATED is also not knowing that a "classic" is written & performed by the legend you're paying tribute to!!!!!

Don't believe my rants???? Go ask MUSIQ, FANTASIA & CIARA and call me in the morning.....the doctor's office is CLOSED!!!!!

John Legend is cool w/ME!!!!!

I think he's definitely upped his game on this album. Ordinary People was so heavily hyped that people got suckered into to buying his so-so first album.

buuuuut Once Again is a great album. It's up there with Van Hunt and IMO surpasses both Van Hunt albums.

I love the album.

The whole neo soul regime is over rated,
a bunch of posers playing slow ass music
Vainandy would most likely agree lol

its not that the artist arent good,
they're just not bringing anything new to the game...
its all been done before...
no one is adventurist anymore...

that goes for every musical genre...

Legend is good, he isnt great,
decent writing material, but if you wanna listen to that type of stuff, pop in a Teddy Pendergrass CD or Jeffrey Osbourne,
compared to cats like that he's lackluster...
a freak mutant posing to be a soul artist, scuse me... "neo soul"
i dunno, but Soul never use to be boring
what the hell happened?

i don't get into van hunt or john legend. i think they're both hyped up way too much.

i wish anthony hamilton would get a quarter of the attention those guys get.

His first album was good to me..Havent heard the new one but highly doubt I'll be gettin it

sallysassalot said:

Anthony Hamilton gets way more attention than Van Hunt ever has. Or did you mean here on the Org?

I love Van, but I don't really care about the others.

BlaqueKnight said:

That's exactly what I'm looking for... any recommendations?

He's MUCH BETTER than that overrated in the closest alicia keys.

mikek1 said:

No, he isn't. What he is doing has been done before.The best things that he has put out was, "I used to love you". Putting new words to a song from the late 60's is not new.That "Save Room" joint is okay, but come with something original. Alicia, on the otherhand flips things and puts a classical spin on them. It also saddens me that people will accuse others of being something when all they have to go on is heresay and gossip. This is about the music and that other mess should be left outside.

shorttrini said:

Alicias biggest hit was fallen
a stolen melody from James Brown It's a Man's World
but in this day n age flat out stealing melodies and chord stractures
is being creative....

She's just as bad...
if not worst

Is there any legitimate reason why they 'borrow' other people's music especially so early in their careers or with little to no acknowledgement of the original source?

EmbattledWarrior said:

On point post! Everytime i hear her mentioned now i think of Rick James' assessment of her: "She calls her album, ‘Songs In A Minor,’ and all of the songs are in E and D....I don’t think she knows her grammatic skill, personally. I think she’s ‘The Gong Show.’ When she did the Donny Hathaway song in front of millions of people and fu**ed it up, that just goes to show you right there what’s going on…"...classic...and i'm sure he would have said the same thing about JL.

EmbattledWarrior said:[quote]

shorttrini said:

Alicias biggest hit was fallen
a stolen melody from James Brown It's a Man's World
but in this day n age flat out stealing melodies and chord stractures
is being creative....

She did not steal the song...it has a similar melody with different cord changes. John on the otherhand took "Stormy" and just song over the record. There are no changes in the melody at all. To me that is stealing. What makes what he did okay and what she did not okay.

its not that the artist arent good,
they're just not bringing anything new to the game...
its all been done before...
no one is adventurist anymore...

[/quote]
With the exception of Meshell NdegeOcello. A brilliant, adventurous artist who sadly doesn't get heard enough by the masses...

FUNKHUNTER said:

With the exception of Meshell NdegeOcello. A brilliant, adventurous artist who sadly doesn't get heard enough by the masses...[/quote]

*sigh* More original and more daring than John and Alicia put together. Honestly, John and Alicia don't bother me. It's something other than 'let me lick you up and down' and if I don't dig it, I turn it off or don't buy it. But I do wish there were more exposure for artists like Meshell. Sometimes I enjoy that she's under the radar but there are other times I'm frustrated that she doesn't get more hype.

Can someone answer my question upthread?

AlexdeParis said:

really? from whom? i've never, ever heard his name mentioned by anyone. then again, lol, i don't listen to much radio or watch much tv.

sallysassalot said:

Anthony Hamilton gets steady airplay and video rotation.
[Edited 11/1/06 6:25am]

There is room on the musical landscape 4 a John Stevens (legend)
Just ignore the HYPE and LISTEN 2 the music.