Estelle

All talent aside, there’s a thread of novelty woven into the quilt of blue-eyed soul currently blanketing the UK. And while it might not be the main factor in the music’s popularity, all the success would likely unravel without it. It’s a trend that lead London born singer and rapper Estelle to question the music industry’s attitudes on the subject, though she was careful never to question the musicians themselves. She may have pointed an honest finger but she did so from eye-level, never stepping up on a soapbox. Instead, she used her music to grab the public’s attention, producing an extremely listenable sophomore album that speaks to her talent and savvy as an artist.

Shine is her first album since being signed to soul crooner John Legend’s Homeschool Records, and it sparkles with pristine production from start to finish. Her boss obviously didn’t skimp on the tracks, calling in some of the best talent working today including will.i.am, Mark Ronson, Swizz Beats and Wyclef. Knowing better than to try and overpower the impressive beats, she rides the crest of each song with her airy baritone and isn’t afraid to drop a few bars of rhyme, which she does with reliable skill.

The Kanye West assisted “American Boy” mixes a roller rink baseline with a just a touch of electro stiffness in an ode to all the fit Yank lads on the dance floor. Flipping a George Michael melody on “No Substitute,” she keeps things classy enough that what could have flopped as a desperate rehash comes across with a self-assured nod. From the island rhythms of “Magnificent,” featuring rising rap star Kardinal Offishall, to her Philly soul duet with Cee-Lo, “Pretty Please (Love Me),” Estelle sings like she knows what grit is but doesn’t want it to soil her commercial chances. This could be seen as pulling up short by some, but in this case it seems like thinking long term. You don’t put your feet on the coffee table the minute you come through the door. You wait till after you eat.

—Chas Reynolds
06.03.08

The debut album from London native Estelle, 2004's The 18th Day, stalled at number 40 on the U.K. chart. Uneven and tentative but not without a handful of major standouts -- like the wistful and animated "1980," where she displayed her MC'ing chops, and the Mary J. Blige-worthy slow groove "Dance with Me" -- it wasn't enough to further her label's support. Estelle proposed a John Legend-produced follow-up, which V2 did not approve, so she relocated to the U.S. and secured a deal with Atlantic through Legend's Homeschool boutique label. Capping a cunningly punitive turn of events orchestrated by a once-shunned artist (i.e., "How ya like them apples?"), "American Boy" -- a flirty disco-funk track featuring Kanye West and production from will.i.am, who re-heated the beat from his own "Impatient" -- took a swift route the top of the U.K. pop chart. When Shine was released, just after the chart feat, the song had yet to make as much of a splash in the States; regardless of how the single or the album fares from a commercial standpoint, Estelle can at least be proud of having made a second full-length that builds upon and far outstrips her first. Wyclef Jean and will.i.am produce two songs each, while the remainder is divided between a wide-ranging cast including Mark Ronson, Jack Splash, and Swizz Beats, all of whom produce one track. Through it all, Estelle is the main attraction and is never upstaged or out of her depth, whether she is trading lines with Cee-Lo or Kanye West, switching between singing and rapping on "More Than Friends," or swapping out blissful rocksteady reggae for nerved-up glitz-pop. Most impressive is "So Much Out the Way," where she does the work of at least three vocalists of varying modes, all over a Wyclef concoction that alternates between tautly snapping jazz-funk (courtesy of Louis Johnson's bass from Grover Washington, Jr.'s "Hydra") and Wall of Sound soul (transformed from Bob Marley's "So Much Things to Say"). Not many vocalists could possibly navigate all this terrain without losing a beat, but Estelle has no trouble pulling it off with her versatility and easy-to-like personality. Her second act is ceaselessly enjoyable, one of the finer R&B albums to be released in 2008. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide