|
 |
"Soul Brothers (Moonshine)" P2K Dadiddy
August 1, 2021: NEW ALBUM ALERT!
Buy P2K Dadiddy's new POUR IT UP album at SoulBlues Music.
POUR IT UP TRACK LIST: 1 WHEN YOU WORK IT (feat. TK SOUL)
2 THAT BOOK (feat. LACEE)
3 POUR IT UP (feat. RHOMEY)
4 IN THE KITCHEN
5 DO WHAT IT DO
6 JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF
7 MAN TO MAN
8 PAY 2 PLAY
9 DADDY
10 BUBBLE BATH
11 TIP THE DJ
12 BACKYARD PARTTY
13 BOOM BOOM ROOM (feat. JWONN)
14 BUY YOU A DRINK (feat. EREALIST)
15 MY KIND OF GIRL
Daddy B. Nice notes:  It's been largely forgotten but P2K DaDiddy's debut album, Welcome To The Boom Boom Room, was the recipient of the prestigious Best Southern Soul CD of The Year in 2018, beating out (some would say questionably) fellow Shreveport-area artist Jeter Jone's DHIS HIM, Sir Charles Jones' THE MASTERPIECE and fellow Louisianan Tucka's WORKING WITH THE FEELING (which came out very late in the year and won the next year).
Boom Boom Room was an auspicious debut, loaded not only with a lot of great songs but a plethora of well-known guest artists (a feat it takes some effort to achieve). Even more surprising has been the subsequent ascendancy of the single "Soul Brothers," aka "Soul Brothers Moonshine," which has been reissued by both Jeter Jones and Sir Charles Jones on ensuing albums. Along the way the simplistic but inexhaustible melody has evolved into a signature tune of sorts for Sir Charles, whose ouevre it so stunningly emulates, and "Soul Brothers" now wears the patina of a contemporary southern soul classic.
And who can forget the YouTube video preview to "Soul Brothers Moonshine," in which the guest stars of Boom Boom Room including Jeter Jones, Avail Hollywood, Vick Allen and their significant others congregate at an elegant bar and radiate star quality to the strains of "Soul Brothers"?
I certainly haven't forgotten it. That's why I've been taken aback by the two years of relative quiet since Boom Boom Room appeared and the lack of career mileage (especially concert-touring) garnered from all of P2K's well-deserved hype.
Now comes P2K's sophomore album Pour It Up, not to be confused with Rihanna's 400-million (is that even possible?), YouTube-viewed single of over a decade ago.
The title song "Pour It Up," a surprisingly in-your-face, well-produced, dancefloor jam featuring the grainy vocal assistance of Rhomey, sets the tone for the set: confident but at times uncomfortably brash---less lovable, less comfy---than the music from Boom Boom Room.
The album's most popular and previously-released track, the T.K. Soul-assisted "When You Work It," is similar. It's hard to find fault with its vocals, melody or instrumental track, but it doesn't ingratiate itself into your good graces in the way, for instance, the more affable "Trucker Hustle" from Boom Boom Room did.
On the other hand, "That Book," featuring Lacee and also previously released as a single, does hark back to the more humble, domestic charms of P2K's first album, and it has aged well. Ditto for "In The Kitchen," recounting "Mama in the kitchen/Cooking.../Johnnie Taylor playing in the background".
And POUR IT UP reaches a high point with "Just Can't Help Myself," in which P2K delivers a veritable clinic in fine vocalizing, and "Pay To Play," which successfully blends P2K's tender side with his new and more aggressive tone.
Guest artists include Lacee, T.K. Soul, Rhomey, J-Wonn and ERealist. On first glance, Pour It Up marks an artist in transition, a litle less sure of himself conceptually perhaps (not necessarily a bad thing), exploring new themes and sounds while grappling with himself and his artistic identity.
Listen to all the tracks from P2K's POUR IT UP album on YouTube.
Listen to P2K's new POUR IT UP album on Spotify.
DBN notes: As of July 31, 2021, P2K had not made this album available on the major retail music platforms. It can currently be accessed through various streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited, etc.
2018 Multi-Award Winner See Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index!
February 1, 2019:
February 1, 2019: Originally posted on Daddy B. Nice's Best Of 2018 page.
Daddy B. Nice Announces THE WINNERS of the 2018 (12th Annual) SOUTHERN SOUL MUSIC AWARDS.
Best CDNominees:
Dhis Him----Jeter Jones
The Masterpiece----Sir Charles Jones
I'm Doing' My Thang----Ms. Jody
Welcome To The Boom Boom Room----P2K DaDiddy
Pieces Of My Soul----Miss Lady Blues
Parking Lot Love Affair----O.B. Buchana
Kitty Whipped----David Brinston
Soul 2 Soul----King Fred
Ladies Night----Carolyn Staten
Pinky Ring Music, Vol. 1----Highway Heavy
Working With The Feeling----Tucka
Drank Of My Love----Crystal Thomas
Stroke That Cat----Val McKnight
Lonely Tears----Big G
Southern Soul Music----Corey Rudolph
My Southern Soul----Donnie Ray
I Bluez Myself----C-Wright
Good Damn Music----Solomon Thompson
Magic One----The Magic Show
Best CD: Welcome To The Boom Boom Room by P2K DaDiddy Listen to P2K & Vick Allen singing "Caught Up In The Middle" from the CD WELCOME TO THE BOOM BOOM ROOM on YouTube.
Re-Posted from Daddy B. Nice's New CD Reviews
November 1, 2018: P2K DADIDDY: Welcome To The Boom Boom Room (P2K Dadiddy/CD Baby) Five Stars ***** A Can't Miss Debut. Pure Southern Soul Heaven. He's from Shreveport, Louisiana, the last place in America you'd want to live, but the first place in America you'd want to go into a dive, punch a jukebox and listen to popular music. Shreveport was the station we Northerners tuned into in the middle of the night to listen to the wild stuff the northern stations wouldn't play during the day before going off-air. Shreveport was the birthplace of radio-aired R&B and rock & roll in the fifties and, along with Jackson, Mississippi's Malaco Records, Shreveport jump-started contemporary southern soul with Suzie Q Record producers Stan and Lenny Lewis in the late nineties.
Nor is Shreveport's P2K cut from the same cloth as the typical southern soul singer. He lacks the range and power befitting the gospel-singing backgrounds of many, if not all, of the genre's top vocalists. And yet, something about P2K's first southern soul record, "The Boom Boom Room," which dropped in October 2017, made it stand out. Comedian Eddie Murphy had memorialized "boom boom room" in his movie "Life," the idiom meaning not only a club devoted to the prurient pursuits of grown folks but the names of actual venues in the USA (a burlesque joint in St. Louis, for instance).
While P2K's "Boom Boom Room" wasn't the debut of a super-charged vocalist in the vein of a Wendell B., Pokey Bear or Tucka, the vocal did have personality, and that distinctiveness was augmented by the unique production, a carnival ambience that hinted at aspirations of becoming a novelty hit on the order of the Louisiana Blues Brothas' "My Sidepiece"
Then...three months...six months...and another couple of months passed without anything being heard from the young man from Shreveport. Fans could be forgiven for writing off P2K as a one-hit wonder. Until, that is, "Caught Up In The Middle" dropped in June of 2018.
**********
Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Preview For. . .
-------JUNE 2018-------
3. "Caught Up In The Middle"-----P2K featuring Vick Allen
Who would have thought someone in southern soul music could ever come up with something fresh to say about being "caught between two" in a love triangle? But P2K, heretofore a one-shot recording artist ("Boom Boom Room") and a host/impresario on the chitlin' circuit, does, and with a companion single, "Child Support," also out, he's obviously a promising southern soul songwriter. Naturally,  Vick Allen comes to the plate and hits this song out of the park. This track WAS going to be #1 before being knocked off by "Johnny James".
Listen to P2K featuring Vick Allen singing "Caught Up In The Middle" on YouTube.
**********
If "Boom Boom Room" hinted at the arrival of a promising new songwriter/producer, "Caught Up In The Middle" made the point with the authority of a fist slammed on the desk. Melody, tempo, lyrics and production all clicked. P2K's vocal displayed more variety and maturation. And soon it became obvious what P2K had been doing between "Boom Boom Room" and "Caught Up In The Middle". He'd been in the studio crafting a new fifteen-song, debut album.
Now it's here--Welcome To The Boom Boom Room--and it's a revelation. The album isn't just an interesting debut by an intriguing new singer/songwriter. It's nothing less than a survey of contemporary southern soul music, its themes, sounds and stars. The previously unknown P2K, aka Keith Taylor, exudes the authority of a dude who's been on the scene for years.
Most southern soul debuts contain a popular single or two. Quite a few feature guest appearances by current southern soul headliners, but no debut in recent memory comes close to the extraordinary V.I.P. list of major guest artists or the bounty of new and potential hit singles on the scale of Boom Boom Room.
Sir Charles Jones appears. Jeter Jones contributes on no less than three of the tracks. The aforementioned Vick Allen is featured, as are southern soul veterans Nathaniel Kimble, L.J. Echols, Avail Hollywood, Crystal Thomas and Cupid. There hasn't been such a cavalcade of original southern soul tunes since the first Beat Flippa compilation. And yet--and this is the telling point--these heavyweight collaborations don't sink into hype like capsized dinghys out to sea as so often happens with collaborations. What attracted these guest artists to P2K Dadiddy is the across-the-board excellence of his songwriting, which raises all boats.
Proof? Look no further than "Soul Brothers, Moonshine". The scene in the bar in the YouTube video with Vick Allen, Avail Hollywood, Jeter Jones and P2K proclaims via their knowing smiles and camaraderie that these guys are feeling "it," "it" being their success in carving out viable careers doing what they love.
 Actually, "Soul Brothers" is a little different from all the other songs on the set in that it's done in pure Sir Charles Jones style. Even Charles' ubiquitous horn fillip from "Is Anybody Lonely?" is used throughout. "Soul Brothers" is so steeped in Sir Charles' style that I can only assume it's Taylor's homage to the King of Southern Soul. All the other songs have a distinctively new sound which can only be defined as pure P2K.
These are not window-dressing collaborations, with the artists showing up for drop-a-dime verses. Each artist is integrated into the tapestry of the song from beginning to end, and each vehicle is especially suited to the artist, almost as if Taylor wrote the song with that artist specifically in mind.
For example, Avail Hollywood is featured on "Drinking & Thinking," a tune that allows Hollywood to shine in a format aptly suited to his themes and preoccupations. Similarly, L.J. Echols is featured on "Dime From Behind," an easy-going, rocking-the-cradle-tempo-ed vehicle that perfectly meshes with L.J.'s mojo.
Many of these songs are not on YouTube. When an artist publishes through CD Baby, he or she can specify whether or not they want CD Baby to publicize all the tracks via YouTube videos. P2K has chosen not to do that, and I'm not going to analyze the pros and cons of that decision here. It's the artist's decision, and I note it in passing only to explain the absence of links in this review.
Among the songs that have posted on YouTube are P2K's collaboration with Jeter Jones on the matter-of-fact, refreshingly un-whiney "Child Support," his collaboration with DJ Trucker on the beguiling, steel-drum-accented "Trucker Hustle," and his duet with Cupid on the toe-tapping "Zydeco Love."
But currently unposted songs such as "Email" with Crystal Thomas, "Body Rock" with Nathaniel Kimble, "Grown Folk Music" with Lai and "Juke Joint" with Jeter Jones are equally deserving singles. Excepting "Boom Boom Room," P2k goes solo on only "That's What I Like," "Good Thang" and "My Time Now".
"That's What I Like" and "My Time Now" are close to being personal testaments, and the latter, the exit track, is a celebratory summing-up from an artist who knows he's got the goods and he's put in the work. I don't want to jinx him, but P2K will be hard-pressed to ever duplicate this magnificent first effort.
--Daddy B. Nice
Buy P2K Dadiddy's WELCOME TO THE BOOM BOOM ROOM at CD Baby.
******************
September 2, 2018: Debut Album Alert! Buy P2K's Welcome 2 Da Boom Boom Room album at CD Baby.
Welcome 2 Da Boom Boom Room TRACK LIST:
1. Boom Boom Room
2. Soul Brothers (w/ Sir Charles Jones & Jeter Jones)
3. Trucker Hustle
4. Caught Up (In The Middle) (w/ Vick Allen)
5. Child Support
6. Juke Joint (w/ Jeter Jones)
7. Zydeco Love (w/ Cupid)
8. Dime from Behind (w/ L.J. Echols)
9. Body Rock (w/ Nathaniel Kimble)
10. That;s What I Like
11. Drinking & Thinking (w/ Avail Hollywood)
12. Grown Folk Music (w/Ljai)
13. Good Thang
14. Email (w/ Crystal Thomas)
15. My Time Now
Daddy B. Nice notes: WELCOME TO THE BOOM BOOM ROOM is a distinguished debut by Shreveport native P2K (Keith Taylor), replete with creative songwriting, supported by a stellar cast of Southern Soul vocalists (Sir Charles Jones, Vick Allen, L.J. Echols, Jeter Jones, Nathaniel Kimble, Crystal Thomas, Avail Hollywood and Cupid) and foreshadowed by a pair of already-charted singles.
Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Preview For. . .
-------OCTOBER 2017-------
…5. "Boom Boom Room"----P2K DaDiddy
New, laid-back sound from a new artist.
Listen to P2K singing "Boom Boom Room" on YouTube.
***********************************
Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles Preview For. . .
-------JUNE 2018-------
…3. "Caught Up In The Middle"-----P2K featuring Vick Allen
Who would have thought someone in southern soul music could ever come up with something fresh to say about being "caught between two" in a love triangle? But P2K--heretofore a one-shot recording artist ("Boom Boom Room") and a host/impresario on the chitlin' circuit--does, and with a companion single, "Child Support," also out, he's obviously a promising southern soul songwriter. Naturally, Vick Allen comes to the plate and hits this song out of the park.
Listen to P2K featuring Vick Allen singing "Caught Up In The Middle" on YouTube.
********************************
Another single from the album, P2K's "Child Support," was featured on the Beat Flippa compilation Premeditated Love.
Listen to P2K singing "Child Support" on YouTube.
Listen to P2K featuring Cupid singing "Zydeco Love" on YouTube.
Buy P2K's Welcome 2 Da Boom Boom Room album at CD Baby.
***********
To automatically link to P2K's charted radio singles, awards, CD's and other citations on the website, go to "P2K" in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index.
***********
--Daddy B. Nice
About P2K Dadiddy
P2K DaDiddy is the performing name of Keith Taylor from Shreveport, Louisiana. The artist's first single, "The Boom Boom Room," appeared in the fall of 2017, followed by a series of singles (highlighted by "Caught Up In The Middle," a duet with Vick Allen) in 2018. His self-published debut album, Welcome To Da Boom Boom Room, came out in August of 2018.
Honorary "B" Side
"Caught Up In The Middle (w/ Vick Allen)"
|
|
Soul Brothers (Moonshine)
CD: Welcome 2 Da Boom Boom Room
Label: P2k Dadiddy / Smg
|
Caught Up In The Middle (w/ Vick Allen)
CD: Welcome 2 Da Boom Boom Room
Label: P2k Dadiddy / Smg
|
Boom Boom Room
CD: Welcome 2 Da Boom Boom Room
Label: P2k Dadiddy / Smg
|
Child Support
CD: Welcome 2 Da Boom Boom Room
Label: P2k Dadiddy / Smg
|
Juke Joint (w/ Jeter Jones)
CD: Welcome 2 Da Boom Boom Room
Label: P2k Dadiddy / Smg
|
|
