Cee Cee Michaela, best known for the UPN TV series Girlfriends, debuts with Everybody's Talkin'. It is a mix of R&B, with some jazz influences, especially on "So Much Luv." "Corrupt" is styled after African chanting/singing, somewhat in the mode of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. "Harriet", about Harriet Tubman, slips into Tracy Chapman mode, while "Darkness Upon the Face" acknowledges the debt Michaela owes to Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. "Blues in F Minor" laments that "I ain't got no money, 'cause I got the no record deal blues".
While Everybody's Talkin' is not something I'd listen to over and over again, fans of this style will certainly agree it will not be long before Michaela does find a record deal. The talent is obvious here -- don't be surprised if her TV show finds a way for her to showcase that some time soon.
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