just B.E.

We here at B.E. would be foolish to deny the hotness that is The Dream’s new album, Love (me all summer)/Hate (me all winter), but we’d also be falling off our game if we didn’t recognize his heavy swagger-jacking of some certain music greats.

Take the new single, “Fast Car,” for example. As much as dude samples Prince’s sound through both music and adlibs, he should have just called it “Red Corvette.” You aren’t fooling us on “She Needs My Love,” either—hardcore Jodeci fans know a K-Ci run when they hear it, Dream. And didn’t Ginuwine just come out with “Falsetto” about a year ago? Yeah…it was called “When We Make Love.”

The album is solid, but it’s hard to respect genius when it’s just a remix of previous genius. We’d get to the R.Kelly impersonations, but we figure he doesn’t deserve any more credit until a judge tells us he’s innocent of freaking the same children his music helped make.

Looks like Timbo has found a new muse...

Anyone who frequents B.E. knows that Vocalz loves his girl groups...just check out mine and Rocka's heated debate over Destiny's Divas and TLC here. However, while D.C.'s out of commission to allow Bee to have more epileptic fits, someone has to take the top spot...and we've previously speculated that Diddy's upstarts Danity Kane were poised for hostile takeover. But after hearing their new Timbaland-helmed track "Right Now," we're finally convinced-- they've got the goods.

While I personally think every song on their recently leaked sample is tailor-made for Billboard success, "Right Now" is actually the only track Thejavascript:void(0) Boss and I could mutually agree on (LOL). Then again, who could go wrong with a Timbaland beat, especially one as hypnotiq as this one? Danity's vocal layering plus Timbo's signature jungle-excursion cadences equals a delectable dessert for the ears...have a taste a tell us what you think.

Danity Kane » Right Now

There's been an excessive amount of ponderous head - scratching and not enough work getting done here Just B.E. lately... but then again hearing your favorite songs on the mp3 player and realizing that said artist hasn't been out with anything fresh in five - plus years is conducive to such behavior. Consequently, we decided to make a list of these artists (the important ones, anyway), complete with their "claim to fame"... be on the lookout for the rest of our custom-made categories in weeks to come.

The Neo-Soul Royalty

Erykah Badu: Claim to Fame > "On & On," "Love Of My Life"

If Lady Day had been reincarnated, it would be through Ms. E.Badu. The Queen of Neo-Soul hit the scene in 1997 with the triple-platinum Baduizm, and though she often has unpleasantly long intervals between albums, she always manages to deliver. However, it's been almost three years since Worldwide Underground, and recently getting lost in "Orange Moon" has us asking, "what the hell is she doin'?"

Maxwell: Claim to Fame > "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)," "Fortunate"

Chiseled features and a modest demeanor added to this innovator's mystique when he gave the U.S. a taste of "Ascension," followed by a string of cult and popular hits that solidified his position as the leader of the neo-soul invasion. And who could forget the immortalization of his "Sumthin' Sumthin': Mellosmoothe" in the most famous scene of Love Jones (a staff favorite)? But for whatever reason, Maxwell hasn't been heard from since 2001's Now, leaving his fans yearning for more of that "cococure."

D'Angelo: Claim to Fame > "Brown Sugar," "Untitled (How Does It Feel?)"

If Erykah and Maxwell were the king and queen of the movement, D'Angelo has definitely become the court jester with his foolish antics of late. With DUI convictions, drug charges, and a disappearance of the figure that had eyes glued to the t.v. during the "How Does it Feel" vid, it's more of a question of "what the hell is wrong with him?" rather than "what the hell is he doin'?" Nevertheless, recollections of the smooth, ever-cool lothario that brought us such jems as "Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine" and "Send It On" give us hope that he'll get his shit together and show these new cats how it's done.

Blu Cantrell: Claim to Fame > "Hit ‘em Up Style," "Breathe"

Where do we start? Blu had everything going for her…a throaty alto that surpassed the Faith Evans comparisons, a bangin’ hit heralding her arrival, a working gimmick (the jazz sampling and image), and R&B mogul L.A. Reid in her corner…what happened, babe? Why didn’t you have any more singles from the near-perfect So Blu? Why are you posing nude for lame magazines? And why are you only famous in Europe now? We’re still waiting on the follow-up to that fire-ass “Breathe”... please make us proud.

Kelly Price: Claim to Fame > "As We Lay," "Friend of Mine"

With a voice a fluid as water but as powerful as a shot of 100 proof vodka, Kelly Price steered attention away from her extremely overweight figure and right to her soulful, hearty debut, Soul of a Woman. The last time we saw Kelly she was on MTV Cribs flaunting a 100-pound weight loss and a new hubby…we see you, Ms. Price, but it’s been 4 years, and Priceless just didn’t hit the mark. What the hell are you doin’?

Fantasia: Claim to Fame > Everything she sang on American Idol, especially "Summertime"

Let’s be real, people - we were happy for Ruben Studdard and all, but he didn’t really represent for black singers on season 2 of Idol. This is why Fantasia Barrino was such a breath of fresh air in season 3…she took it to church every night, rocked that stage, and in the end was able to sway an audience that mostly didn’t share her skin pigmentation. But alas, J Records did a horrrrible job promoting this diva (“Truth Is” as the first single?), so we still haven’t seen the true potential of her stardom…we need for you to get on that, Fanny.

Sunshine Anderson: Claim to Fame > "Heard It All Before," "Lunch Or Dinner"

We actually had to think hard to remember this singing sensation – she was in and out of this industry like *that*. But hearing “Heard It All Before” for the first time in six years is like experiencing the joy of winning all those arguments with your ex all at once (take it from us…an unbelievable high), which is enough to have you on a futile 10-minute Googling session. Wherever you are, Sunshine, regardless of what’s keeping you from deserved celebrity, you’re more than welcome to come back…we promise we won’t heckle, frown, or criticize. In fact, we can do lunch…or even dinner.

With the recent resurgence of young male R&B stars, one can't help but be wary of the direction that this new generation is taking the music scene. But more importantly, why is it so hard for male crooners to break the mold of their peers and bring soul music back to the classic status of their forefathers?

Today, it seems like no one will ever be able to bring the timelessness to R&B that those such as Luther Vandross, Al Green, and Marvin Gaye posessed. These men had staying power and an originality that made them stand out amongst their peers. Luther made women melt with his velvet-smooth vocals, Al was one of the first to bring that gospel-tinged flavor to R&B, and Marvin was the iconic sex symbol of his time. You can pop any of these men into the CD player with a guarantee that everyone in the room will drop what they're doing, start to move from side to side, and recite each and every word along with the song.

Can we say the same of the tired, mediocre artists who plague radio today? Ginuwine, Avant, Tyrese, Case - who are still trying to climb out of the "girl let me love you down" pigeonhole and do something new. Even Usher - however entertaining and popular - uses sex and controversy to garner a following. Of course, these men can sing, but where's the originality? Where are the daring song concepts?

However, artists aren't totally to blame - the redundancy of their work is perpetuated with the increasingly superficial media and society. Those who do finally break out of their stereotype are ironically swallowed up into obscurity by the wealth of the shallow, contrived work of their peers. Anthony Hamilton, one of most original artists to hit the scene in years, still hasn't crossed over into popular success, no doubt because of the content of his work. He conveys soul, emotional depth, and truth through his music, but all of that is drowned out amid the overly - used theme of sex and simplistic lyrics. John Legend, who has been on the music scene for a year, is just now experiencing his deserved level of fame (undoubtedly a product of his recent Grammy wins). Nevertheless, his ingenious return to classic soul still hasn't been recognized by many - he has yet to be featured on the cover of VIBE magazine (by himself), yet Chris Brown, a young newcomer, not only has his own cover but has been dubbed "the future of R&B".

So, are Chris and his cohorts Ne-Yo and Trey Songz, the future of R&B? It seems that Chris may be following down the same road as his predecessors, Usher and Mario, but Ne-Yo and Trey actually stand a chance of carving out a unique image for themselves. Both stars' content and sound is surprisingly fresh - "Stay With Me" is actually an ode to music, and "Gotta Make It" is a refreshing ghetto-come-up-love-story - but only time will tell where this new generation will take us. They just may have the skills to make Luther proud - or Bobby Brown even more jealous.