Sheldon Taylor's Souls of Black Notes

Verzuz' greatest moments occur when the spotlight shines on Black music legends of decades past. The recent Bobby Brown- Keith Sweat battle carries on that tradition. From viewer reaction and even without a major hit in years---the legend of both singers still burns brightly.  Brown enjoys a higher profile---thanks to  much-documented trials, tribulations, and hard-fought triumphs compared to Sweat's  flurry of press coverage (see September '92 Ebony Magazine  piece "Can A Mailroom Clerk from The Projects Find Happiness and Stardom in 2 Atlanta Dream Houses?"). The Harlem crooner's  pedigree lies not in a high-profile persona or across-the-board crossover moments, but in a catalog of durable hits standing the test of time.  Usually linked to fellow New Jack Swing arbiter Teddy Riley, Keith Sweat is more than a seminal architect of R&B's future. He's also a throwback to its past. Born in '61 (or '56 if you do the interview math), Sweat mode...

                                                            "Feeling your love/like a love I used to know/long ago" --- Deja Vu (1979)   I miss the Nineties. Music was so much better then . It was the best era . There was a time I cringed inside whenever I heard that statement or anything remotely to it. Don't get me wrong. So much fantastic music came out of that decade but in my eyes the fawning and fervent genuflection was a bit premature. Blasphemous. I know. Blame it on the purist in me.    I was born in '68, which technically means the Nineties were my era. I also have a soft spot for music from soul's legendary period landing roughly between 1964-1975.  As elementary school kids in '76, '77 and '78, The Jacksons' Enjoy Yourself.  Heatwave's Groove Line and Boogie Nights. Parliament's Flash Light ...

                                                                                                                                Its 2020 and post-millennial Black music is officially in its second decade. See it strut down a industry catwalk draped in shimmering highlights of the past decade: Hip-hop's comet-like ascent showered the galaxy with brand-new stars. Female power brokers ascended to the corporate throne to assume stewardship over urban music.  The airy minimalism of new R&B queens Jhene Aiko, SZA, Ella Mai, H.E.R. and Teyanna Taylor have supplanted the full-thro...