Faceless Hoodie

Yeah I Figured's Spin of the Week : Make Sure They See My Face by Kenna

Yes J Dot, I realize that altering the title of this supposed weekly feature without your consent, yet alone knowledge is grounds for removal. If only I'd be so lucky. But given your passive aggressive nature, I'm sure I won't feel the full sting of your disdain until Sunday at our staff meeting. Which I guess I should be grateful that you at least have the decency to belittle me behind closed doors. You are a great friend and emperor. Now onto this week's selection...

There has been some great music released this year. Unfortunately, Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams have nothing to do with that. Once purveyors of a sonic boom, the Neptunes have quite frankly lost their voltronic touch. Replaced by beat smiths like Timbaland on the Billboard charts, seems that the duo from Virginia Beach have rested on their head nodding laurels. Their once undefinable sound has become assembly line at best. Perhaps Pharrell should refocus his consistent inconsistency on their music, rather than his ridiculously priced fashion lines. Just because you get away with selling $100,000 recycled beats to clueless record labels, don't give you the license to charge impressionable consumers like myself $95 bucks for a fucking t-shirt! And please, no more Skateboard P, he's nothing but a distraction on wheels.

That said, last year's Clipse record proved that when the Neptunes give a shit, they can still produce that beautiful minimalist grime foundation sound layered with blip tweaks and percussion umph. I'm guessing that album inspired an awakening of sorts. Just this week Pharrell told mtv.com that the third N.E.R.D album is finished, describing it as "Red Bull injected with hormones." Not entirely sure what that means, but it does indicate this will be a return to the chaotic, nonsensical sound of In Search Of... We'll have to wait until next year to see if that holds true.

But for immediate proof, look no further than the release of Kenna's second album, Make Sure They See My Face. The Ethiopian born singer worked exclusively with Chad on his debut, New Sacred Cow - an album anchored by a new wave sensibility that incorporated elements of hip hop and rock. In fact, Kenna's voice reminds of the lead singer from seminal 80's group, Tears for Fears.

This time out, full production credit goes to the Neptunes, as Pharrell oversees two tracks and as an added bonus for music lovers, Justin Timberlake contributes backing vocals. Always nice to see contributions from JT.

Overall the album is not a departure from Kenna's debut, but it does expand lyrically and skirts the realm of inconsistency (a good thing) that bolsters the N.E.R.D records. I like the album more and more after each spin.

Not sure if the Neptunes can sustain this creative vigor, but I'm hoping that Kenna's album is a step in that direction. Otherwise I will kill Skateboard P myself.