Since there aren't many female zydeco singers, the very existence of Rosie Ledet is noteworthy. Fortunately, her debut album, Sweet Brown Sugar, shows that there's a reason to be interested in her outside of sheer novelty. Ledet proves herself to be a strong songwriter and an energetic accordionist on Sweet Brown Sugar. Her voice may be a little too restrained for some tastes, but she makes up for that with her propulsive, infectious instrumental work. Her songs suggest that she could deve...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

The soundtrack album to the 2002 film about a hip-hop-centered romance has 15 songs by a wide variety of the music's veterans and more recently emerged talents. Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, and Eric B. & Rakim are some of the better-known contributors on a compilation that mixes neo-soul and harder hip-hop styles. In the neo-soul bag, there's Jill Scott, whose romantic "Easy Conversation" is one of the better selections. Jazz/R&B crossover singer Cassandra Wilson covers {...   [ read more ]

CD $13.25

Smooth Jazz: Brown Sugar is a budget-priced sampler spotlighting previously released material by artists on the Shanachie label. Among the ten tracks are saxophonist Kim Waters ("Heaven Sent"), vocalist Angela Bofill ("Love in Slow Motion"), and the pop/jazz groups Fattburger ("What's New") and Streetwize ("Brown Sugar"). ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide

CD $17.08