Kevin Michael, 'Kevin Michael' (Downtown/Atlantic)

For now, afro'd Philly kid is a Legend only in his own mind.

With his downy afro and thrift-store gear, this 22-year-old singer looks the part of a bohemian soul eccentric. And on the first track of his debut, Michael delivers a true incense-and-beads anthem: "We All Want the Same Thing" is a clever let's-just-all-get-along party cut, powered by a chugging slide guitar vamp and a sprightly Lupe Fiasco rap. But the rest of the album buries otherwise thrilling moments -- the eerie "Ha Ha Ha," three-hanky ballad "Ain't Got You" -- amid a steady stream of generic R&B. And the schlocky Wyclef cameo? Indefensible.

Comments

Got something to say?

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • No HTML tags allowed
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Use <!--pagebreak--> to create page breaks.

More information about formatting options

Are You Human?
If so, enter the four-letter code below to post your comment.
Image CAPTCHA