various artists - The Show (1 Fam Productions)

1 Fam Music is a local label (not to be confused with another Baltimore crew, First Family Entertainment) that recently released a compilation album. The album features over a dozen artists, most of them singers, but also a few rappers, and there was a big concert last weekend featuring the artists on the CD at Centerstage, which I was invited to check but unfortunately missed, since I had to go out of town over the weekend for family obligations. But apparently there's going to be a DVD of the show, and more concerts at Coppin and Morgan State and UMBC soon.

The album is a really slick, well-produced project, someone named R.M. produced most of the tracks and gives it a really polished, consistent sound. I feel like there's a lot of R&B being made in Baltimore that I never hear, so it's nice to check some of it out and be pretty impressed by the talent on here, although since there's so many different artists on here with only one or two appearances each, it's kind of hard to get a handle on anyone's individual sound or personality. That's just something that inevitably happens with compilations that showcase unknown artists, though, I guess.

Adonna - "Who Is She?" (mp3)
Adonna is one of the only rappers who gets a solo track on The Show, and though sometimes hearing a rapper in the context of a mostly R&B album isn't the best way to get exposed to an MC, she really kills this track, I like it. And of course, I'm always supportive of female MCs carving out a place in the Baltimore scene.

Labels: mixtape/album review, mp3