MENTAL COMBAT

Omar - Sing if You Want To

Need some soul in your life? I mean some real contemporary soul. Its hard to bypass a new offering from the UK’s Omar. He’s been blessing the circuit for well over 14 years since his excellent debut track ‘There’s Nothing Like This’ in 1992. He has been lying low for a few years, but its all worth it after a listen to this stunning return. Not least for the fact that the legendary Stevie Wonder is on the delightful ‘Feeling You’ or that Angie Stone turns up on ’All For You’. The rather frenetic almost broken beat tune ‘It’s So’ shows a new capability for Omar to ride some offbeat percussion whiel still keeping his own groove.

Readers here might be interested in the posse cut 'Gimme Sum'. Yeah, Omar has a posse jam with Common (Omar was on ‘Electric Circus'), Rodney P & newcomer Ashman. The hip hop connections most likely stems from Omar’s brother, the Skratch Professor, being a onetime deejay champion at a very young age & now helping out with the albums production by adding some heavier beats. Don’t despair if you want the warm soul, for its here in spades. In fact there’s quite a varied sound & I can’t determine which track I like best, the conga enhanced ‘Kiss It Right’ or the finale of ‘Ghana Emotion’ in which he contextualises his parents birthplace, their new house in Ghana & therefore his heritage through the music. It’s an incredible track, lyrically & musically & likely to make anyone stop in their steps. An incredibly rewarding album that is leagues ahead of the contemporary American sound & cements the fact that British soul seems to still have an edge over the over-produced American style.

• Omar's website.

• MP3: OMAR - Gimme Sum ft Common, Rodney P & Ashman. 192kbps
• MP3: OMAR - Ghana Emotion. 192kbps