Fallen Star: The Black Female Soul Singer
It is quite a disappointing time to be listening for good soul music. If soul singers don't have their eyes on pop, or hip hop, they're necrophilicly (trans)fixed on pastime paradises. And with Black radio, once a rather diverse platform for multigenerational Black musical expression, having died and been reborn wack, and post "Video Soul" music television uninterested, there aren't too many venues to get the word out about good soul music by Black artists. Christina, Joss, JoJo are doing just fine. (I can't say the same for Amy, whose substance abuse woes outweigh the commercial success her whiteness enabled.) As to the queen of hip hop soul and the princess of Dereon, their successes are unique and neither does much straight up soul. This has left me frustrated by the relatively low profiles, stalled careers, or critical indifference to some vital Black female voices on the major label soul scene. Here, I want to highlight two of my favorite under-appreciated Black female soul singers whose careers thus far, have been grossly underdeveloped.
Elizabeth "Yummy" Bingham
De La Soul teased me by performing the J Dilla produced "Much More" featuring Yummy on a appearance on a 2003 episode of Chappelle's Show when the album on which this song would appear, The Grind Date
Only 21, Yummy has put in work as a backing vocalist, a member of Kay Gee's girl group Tha' Rayne and as a UK solo artist--her debut, Is It Good To You, was released there in 2006. I wasn't too impressed by the singles her label put out before relegating her to just being big in Europe. The Rockwilder produced "Come Get It", featuring Jadakiss, was all wrong. I love Jada and Yummy but the hectic track and inane sputtery songwriting did little to showcase her sparkling voice and it was entirely too hip poppy. I'd like to hear her over more Dilla and now that I think about it, I should see about getting the acapellas from her album and laying them to some Dilla instrumentals. On the Okayplayer board a while back, some poster half-dismissed Yummy and ?uestlove responded by enumerating the many different ways she sang the hook on "Much More." De La and 'em let her do her thing at song's end. She took them out by reconfiguring every utterance of the chorus with new timing, new inflections, new feeling. You've got to reconsider her work on "Much More." Yummy is a beast.
LaToiya Williams
"Fallen Star" is one of the most significant soul singles of the past decade. Well-written (by Priest "Soopafly" Brooks), straightforward and expertly sung by the great yet to break LaToiya Williams, it was a single from the Snoop-curated compilation Doggy Style Allstars-Welcome To Tha House: Vol. I
LaToiya explains of her forthcoming solo album. "You'll think of Aretha Franklin. You'll think of Gladys Knight, Johnny Taylor, Billie Holiday and Nancy Wilson. I'm going back to where they wore gowns on stage, trying to put a positive image out there for these young people. I know they're getting tired of seeing these women with no clothes on. That gets played out. "
Oh wherefore art thou LaToiya! Her MySpace page ain't got a music player (although "Fallen Star" is embedded) and pronounces her labelless. Gladys Knight is her top bud' followed by Snoop so she might still be working in a background capacity with them. I'd like to track her down for an interview. Her talent is just so great. She emotes soulfully without the minstrel affect of today's soul stars. It's not at all put upon and speaks to gospel training and influence without bent knee histrionics, screams or tears, not that those are not at times appropriate. It's the ubiquity of the former which has in part taken heart out of soul. Anyway, I'd like to hear what she's up to and why her album didn't happen. And I'm not the only one; A Hot Mess posted "Fallen Star" late last month to contextualize the "Sensual Seduction" fuss.
Tags: LaToiya Williams, Yummy Bingham
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