Vocalist Esthero was born Jen-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978, in Ontario. She moved to Toronto in 1996, and quickly became a fixture at the city's open mikes. There she met Doc (real name: Martin McKinney), an engineer and producer, and the two began working on a demo featuring his programming and her vocals. Sony eventually took interest, and suddenly Esthero went from a fledgling idea to a duo with Esthero's name as their own and a record, “Breath from Another”, issued in spring 1998 on the label's Work imprint. Breath's mix of beats, lush vocals, and fractured bits of programmed samples caught on perfectly with the trip-hop trend of the time, and Esthero had success with singles like Heaven Sent and the hip-hop-flavored title track.
However, it would take nearly seven years for a follow-up to appear. In the interim Esthero parted ways with Doc and struck out on her own, contributing vocals to projects like Black Eyed Peas' "Weekends" (2000). Signing with Reprise, she began work on new material, and returned officially in summer 2004 with the club single O.G. Bitch. Esthero followed the single in November of that year with We R in Need of a Musical Revolution, an EP that found her collaborating with Sean Lennon, Cee-Lo, and producer James Robertson (Skye Sweetnam) on a 21st century version of Breath's assemblage sound.
Esthero’s “Wikked Lil' Grrrls CD” is a GEM. There’s already been a couple of cuts that have played well on FM radio (“If Tha Mood” and the title song “Wikked Lil Grrrls”). They’re good and do a decent job in representing Esthero’s uniqueness and excellent vocal styles. Songs such as a “Blanket in Me” get you warmed up. Next is “Everyday is a Holiday (with you)”. Sean Lennon helped with composing this beauty. “Thank Heaven for You” is the cut that follows. It’s the kind of song you want to hear on a Friday or Saturday night at around 2:00am when its just you and that glass of finely aged liquer or when you’re with that special person.
“Beautiful Lie”, love the trumpets and its jazzy undertones and “Junglebook” (with Andre 3000) follow. “Gone” features Cee-lo Green. Actually, I love all the songs on this CD with the exception of the first two cuts, the second one features Esthero yaking for 1:32 I would have much rather listened to her melodies and her dynamic range. She is a little on the nasty side. After she does “If Tha Mood”, with Shakira Nyte, you can hear her laughingly chant: “I fucked your boyfriend”. For those that don’t know her, she’s a cross between Pink and Nelly Furtado. If you like either of these two ladies, you’re going love Esthero.
Goodtime, this one’s guaranteed, if ya buy the CD or download it and don’t like it, I owe you two of your favourite beverages at the next TERB get-together!!
However, it would take nearly seven years for a follow-up to appear. In the interim Esthero parted ways with Doc and struck out on her own, contributing vocals to projects like Black Eyed Peas' "Weekends" (2000). Signing with Reprise, she began work on new material, and returned officially in summer 2004 with the club single O.G. Bitch. Esthero followed the single in November of that year with We R in Need of a Musical Revolution, an EP that found her collaborating with Sean Lennon, Cee-Lo, and producer James Robertson (Skye Sweetnam) on a 21st century version of Breath's assemblage sound.
Esthero’s “Wikked Lil' Grrrls CD” is a GEM. There’s already been a couple of cuts that have played well on FM radio (“If Tha Mood” and the title song “Wikked Lil Grrrls”). They’re good and do a decent job in representing Esthero’s uniqueness and excellent vocal styles. Songs such as a “Blanket in Me” get you warmed up. Next is “Everyday is a Holiday (with you)”. Sean Lennon helped with composing this beauty. “Thank Heaven for You” is the cut that follows. It’s the kind of song you want to hear on a Friday or Saturday night at around 2:00am when its just you and that glass of finely aged liquer or when you’re with that special person.
“Beautiful Lie”, love the trumpets and its jazzy undertones and “Junglebook” (with Andre 3000) follow. “Gone” features Cee-lo Green. Actually, I love all the songs on this CD with the exception of the first two cuts, the second one features Esthero yaking for 1:32 I would have much rather listened to her melodies and her dynamic range. She is a little on the nasty side. After she does “If Tha Mood”, with Shakira Nyte, you can hear her laughingly chant: “I fucked your boyfriend”. For those that don’t know her, she’s a cross between Pink and Nelly Furtado. If you like either of these two ladies, you’re going love Esthero.
Goodtime, this one’s guaranteed, if ya buy the CD or download it and don’t like it, I owe you two of your favourite beverages at the next TERB get-together!!
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