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"U-Turn (feat. King George)" P2K DaDiddy: 4-Star CD Review!
See the chart.
Originally posted on Daddy B. Nice's CD Reviews.
March 1, 2024: P2K DADIDDY: U-TURN (The Album) Four Stars **** Distinguished effort. Should please old fans and gain new. U-Turn (The Album) celebrates the hit song that transformed P2K DaDiddy's southern soul career, "U-Turn" contrasts P2K's vulnerable, guy-next-door vocalizing with King George's strong, fluid, charismatic baritone. It's not only a great piece of songwriting (Keith Taylor aka P2K) but one of the most uniquely produced songs of the year, courtesy of Kang 803 (King George, etc.). "U-Turn" was recently feted in the 17th Annual Southern Soul Music Awards as "a masterpiece of production," its majestic and reverberating chords etched permanently in the consciousness of the 2023 southern soul fan base."
On first impression, the thing about U-Turn (The Album) that'll make you say "Whooahh!" is the phenomenal line-up of guest artists. It's a set of collaborations---and artful, relevant guests at that: King George, Big Mel, Marcellus The Singer, Urban Mystic, Frank Johnson, Magic One, Bad Newz, not to mention southern soul's pre-eminent "wailer," Big Pokey Bear. And bringing something new to P2K's sound, the powerful-piped West Love partners with P2K on one of the most intoxicating tracks, "Can't Make 'Em Drank".
The A-list of contributors, I suppose, shouldn't be a surprise. DaDiddy's first album and debut---Welcome to the Boom Boom Room (2018)---boasted a similar list of star-studded contributors: Jeter Jones, Sir Charles Jones, Cupid, L.J. Echols, Nathaniel Kimble, Avail Hollywood, Crystal Thomas and more, with the Sir Charles-influenced and dominated "Soul Brothers Moonshine" being that CD's "U-Turn" and, for that matter Sir Charles Jones being that CD's King George. In short, P2K is doing what he "do," mixing creativity and market-based networking (which require two different sides of the brain, let me tell you) in a dazzling way few creatives can.
That's not to say DaDiddy's faultless. His last (and sophomore) album Pour It Up was a mis-step. That's especially evident now, in the glare of the new album's illuminating success. U-Turn (The Album) may not equal the sheer wealth of material in P2K's debut, Boom Boom Room, but it's close. Pokey Bear, Marcellus The Singer and West Love all deliver strong, enthusiastic vocals outside their usual ken not to be missed by their fans.
Tracks that otherwise might be overlooked include "Good Time," a duet with Frank Johnson ("Hate On Me");
"Party Tonight," a quintessentially southern soul track featuring Urban Mystic; the sentimental, anthem-like "Here We Go Again," with Big Mel; and the hip-hoppy, wryly-written "Ya Girl, My Wife," with Bad Newz. And in case you're wondering if P2K can do it alone, check out "Full Tank Of Gas".
--Daddy B. Nice
Listen to all the tracks from P2K's new U-Turn album on YouTube.
Buy P2K's new U-Turn album at Apple.
Listen to P2K's U-Turn album on Spotify.
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Send product to:
SouthernSoulRnB.com
P.O. Box 19574
Boulder, Colorado 80308
Or e-Mail:
daddybnice@southernsoulrnb.com
Hard copies given preference for CD reviews.
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January 21, 2024:
17th Annual Southern Soul Music Awards
Best Southern Soul Production:
Runner-Up in the "Best Collaboration" category, "U-Turn" was a masterpiece of production, its majestic and reverberating chords etched permanently in the consciousness of the 2023 fan base.
P2K DaDiddy & King George ----- “U-Turn” (produced by Kang803)
Listen to P2K & King George singing "U-Turn" on YouTube.
Buy P2K's "U-Turn" at Apple.
See the chart.
Listen to P2K singing "U-Turn" on YouTube.
August 27, 2023:Daddy B. Nice's Profile: P2K DaDiddy. How in the world did the artist come up with his name? I've asked him twice over the half-decade since he appeared on the scene, and twice he's rebuffed me. Seems so rude, you know? I mean, he could say, "I don't want to tell you because it's...too silly of an origin, or...too explicit, or...too obvious (the old "if you don't know, I can't tell you...").
I've got a handle on "Dadiddy". It comes from "Doo-wah-diddy," most commonly known today as the words accompanying the legendary, underground-comic artist R. Crumb's perennially high character "Mr. Natural"---which in turn was rooted in black folklore and music. But Keith Taylor, the man behind the name, was just a twinkle in his parents' eyes at the time.
If you google the "urban dictionary," which I just made the mistake of doing, you'll find an entire list of meanings, from "illegal substance" to "someone who changes his name to hide guilt or bad luck" to "a black man who has sex with men on the down-low while maintaining a macho facade".
P2K is even harder to fathom. The Urban Dictionary cites "shortcut for pay to kill," The Free Dictionary cites "passport to knowledge". The Abreviation Finder cites "parents to kids," and in French slang it's an abreviaton for "pas de quois" meaning "you are welcome".
What we do know is "P2K DaDiddy" began well before Keith Taylor's emergence as a southern soul recording artist. The moniker dates back to his extended years of deejaying as a young man in Shreveport, Louisiana. He tells us so in his interesting YouTube video "The Man Behind The Music".
A fascinating and advantageous duality informs P2K's work. On the one hand, he is a "creative," writing and arranging his own music---music, it should be noted, that avoids the bombast and high energy of much southern soul, concentrating instead on delicate, mid-tempo melodies designed to lodge in the brain long after listening. (Scroll down to "About the Artist" for specific singles.) Even the vocals are unconventional, deceptively unschooled and vulnerable.
On the other hand, P2K is one of those rare, calculating artistic types who can plot and plan and mingle and jingle with other artists and industry types with disarming felicity. Go to one of P2K's very first videos, the Sir Charles Jones-dominated "Soul Brothers (Moonshine)". Creatively, it's a classic P2K song, albeit heavily influenced by the Sir Charles Jones style. Yet commercially, this video snippet (one minute and 23 seconds) couldn't contain more southern soul firepower. P2K has managed to bring together Jeter Jones, Vick Allen, Avail Hollywood and other notables and their significant others to an elegant "happy hour" to the strains of "Soul Brothers". The only person missing is Sir Charles, who is represented with brief segments of two previous videos, one in the woods and one, if I'm not mistaken, in a Dallas bar.
Many artists could do one or the other---write/sing the damned song or promote/sell the damned song---but not both. Selling drains most artists of their creativity; performing drains most artists of any urge to sell. It takes rare men and women to combine those two sides of the brain, and---provided they have talent and persistence---they inevitably become who they want to be.
This is the path P2K treads. The talent and creativity were all there in his award-winning debut album Welcome To Da Boom Boom Room. (See "About the Artist" below.) The marketing savvy was obvious in the star-studded cast of guest vocalists P2K invited to collaborate. And the music backed it up. The album was solid, as were the singles that soon followed. (I always think of "Bottle After Bottle".)
And just when some time had passed (the pandemic years) and it looked like he might possibly be a flash in the pan, the final factor for success---persistence---came to the fore. P2K lassoed southern soul's hottest artist, King George, to be a featured vocalist on his incandescent new single, "U-Turn". The single was choice, went viral and quickly became P2K's signature song, eclipsing anything from the past. Published earlier this year (2023), "U-Turn" has changed everything for P2K, catapulting the artist into a full-time, constantly-touring southern soul star.
And he's not done yet. A follow-up, "Gotta Do Right," once again featuring a vocalist on the rise (FPJ), will be gracing Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 Singles in September '23. Musically and lyrically, "Gotta Do Right" mimics the style of "U-Turn" yet plows enough new creative ground to be original and interesting in its own right. (Think Jeff Floyd following up "I Found Love On A Lonely Highway" with "Lock My Door".) You get the good vibes of "U-Turn" while you're chewing and savoring on the new hook. It takes a certain degree of sophistication and expertise to pull that off and P2K's got it.
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For the latest updates (including biography, discography, album sellers, CD reviews and contemporaneous reports) on P2K scroll down this page. To automatically link to P2K's charted radio singles, awards, CD's and other citations on the website, go to P2K Dadiddy in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index.
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--Daddy B. Nice
About P2K DaDiddy: 4-Star CD Review!
Keith Taylor aka P2K DaDiddy grew up in a gospel and blues-oriented home in Gloster, Louisiana, a small town near Shreveport, Louisiana. Musically inclined, he learned how to play various instruments and as a teenager began deejaying in all the clubs in the Shreveport area under the name P2K DaDiddy. Southern soul was the popular music in the clubs, and Taylor soon expanded into marketing and promotion, where he began dreaming about taking the music to another level in his own particular way as a recording artist.
His first southern soul single was "Welcome To The Boom Boom Room," inspired by after-hours "hole in the walls," which P2K called the "boom boom room". The single 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.
It was an auspicious debut, loaded not only with a lot of great songs but a plethora of well-known guest artists. The album was the recipient of the prestigious Best Southern Soul CD of The Year in 2018, beating out fellow Shreveport-area artist Jeter Jones' DHIS HIM and Sir Charles Jones' THE MASTERPIECE. Both artists guested on the P2K album, uniting with P2K on the anthem, "Soul Brothers Moonshine". (Scroll down to "Tidbits" for New Album Alert and New 5-star CD Review.)
Two years of relative quiet ensued. Then, in 2021, three years after his debut, P2K released his sophomore album, Pour It Up. The set was anchored by another high-profile collaboration, "When You Work It" with T.K. Soul. Lacee, J-Wonn and Rhomey also guested on tracks. In my "New Album Alert" (Tidbits #5) I noted that the set was "confident but at times uncomfortably brash---less lovable, less comfy---than the music from Boom Boom Room".
"And while" (I wrote) "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, the album marks an artist in transition---a litle less sure of himself conceptually, exploring new themes and sounds while grappling with himself and his artistic identity. Not necessarily a bad thing."
P2K appeared to take a similarly ambivalent stance. Although POUR IT UP appeared on streaming services, including Amazon Music Unlimited and Spotify, Taylor never offered the album for sale (even in mp3 mode) on any of the major retail platforms.
Then, in 2023, lightning struck. P2K DaDiddy, already a maestro of social interaction and collaboration, penned what most fans regard as his masterpiece, teaming up with southern soul's hottest young performer, King George, on the single "U-Turn". The song, written by Taylor and produced by George's label Ace Visionz, broke at the beginning of the year and went viral, netting DaDiddy his first million-viewed YouTube hit. And unlike the relative lack of career mileage (especially concert-touring) garnered from P2K's well-deserved Boom Boom Room hype five years earlier, 2023's "U-Turn" catapulted P2K DaDiddy into the top ranks of successfully-touring southern soul artists.
Tidbits
August 19, 2023: 1.
P2K on YouTube:
Listen to P2K and T.K. Soul singing "When You Work It" on YouTube.
Listen to P2K and King George singing "U-Turn (Performance Video)" on YouTube.
Listen to P2K singing "Do Right Season" on YouTube.
Listen to P2K and Vick Allen singing "Caught Up In The Middle" on YouTube.
Listen to P2K and FPJ singing "Gotta Do Right" on YouTube.
Listen to P2K talking about his life in "The Man Behind The Music" on YouTube.
2.
Debut Album Alert! Welcome To The Boom Boom Room
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.
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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.
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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.
3.
Welcome To The Boom Boom Room CD Review
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.
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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.
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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.
4.
Best Southern Soul CD 2018: Welcome To The Boom Boom Room
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.
5.
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.
Honorary "B" Side
"Soul Brothers (feat. Sir Charles & Jeter Jones)"
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U-Turn (feat. King George)
CD: Bottle After Bottle (The Single) Label: P2K DaDiddy
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Soul Brothers (feat. Sir Charles & Jeter Jones)
CD: Welcome To The Boom Boom Room Label: P2K DaDiddy
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Bottle After Bottle
CD: Bottle After Bottle (The Single) Label: SMG Music
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Caught Up (In The Middle) feat. Vick Allen
CD: Welcome To The Boom Boom Room Label: P2K DaDiddy
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Gotta Do Right Now (feat. FPJ)
CD: Gotta Do Right Now (The Single) Label: P2K DaDiddy
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Just Another Day
CD: My Music My Friends: Southern Soul Compilation Label: Slack Traxx
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Sample or Buy My Music My Friends: Southern Soul Compilation
My Music My Friends: Southern Soul Compilation |
Trucker Hustle (feat. DJ Trucker)
CD: Welcome To The Boom Boom Room Label: P2K DaDiddy
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Child Support
CD: Welcome To The Boom Boom Room Label: P2K DaDiddy
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Welcome To The Boom Boom Room
CD: Welcome To The Boom Boom Room Label: P2K DaDiddy
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