Tuxedo – Number One

I have long been a fan of Mayer Hawthorne, since his first album on Stones Throw, and just about every subsequent album since. When I first heard the news that he was collaborating with Jake One on a full album of songs that would bring back the sounds and feelings of “80s synth R&B”, as both are fans of old school funk, R&B and hip-hop, I must admit I was very much the skeptic, as the last concept album that came close was Phonte and ZO!’s beautifully crafted album “Zo! And Tigallo Loves the 80s”, which was an album full of covers the duo did justice to. As this album was a project of original songs, I was prepared to find an average album, instead I was pleasantly surprised to find an album that takes me on a time traveling journey of funk, where pinstriped suits that Alexander O’Neal would don, reigned supreme and phrases like “fine as frog hair” would be used to describe Anita Baker, was common place. I can honestly say there is not one bad song on here, but the one that stands out to me is “Number One”, which is the duo’s re-imagining of a prequel to Snoop Dogg’s “Aint No Fun”, it sounded so original, I first thought it was a remake of the original sample, but it was simply their reimagining of what they believed it sounded like. This song, makes you almost wish that Nate Dogg was still alive, just to hear how their classic has been reinterpreted, from Jake One killing it on the synthesizer keyboard to Mayer hitting the notes the same way as Nate did, be prepared to reminisce on this one.

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