What do hip hop, folk, techno, R&B, pop and Latin beats have in common, other than they are all musical styles?
The answer is the unique and refreshing blend of rhythms on new artist Nelly Furtado's debut album Whoa Nelly, which was released Oct. 24.
With a sound similar to Erykah Badu, Furtado's sweet voice mixed with emotion as well as the rhythmic blends makes Whoa Nelly suitable and desirable to a wide variety of listeners.
Furtado sings from her heart, through attitude and experiences. It is an album you can pop in, hit the play button and listen straight through without skipping a single track. Every song has its individual identity unlike those albums where every song sounds similar.
The first song on the album, "Hey, Man," starts with a repetitive instrumental introduction consisting of an acoustic guitar along with Latin groove beats.
Her words sound powerful as she sings of her feelings towards suffering in a world where things are always going wrong.
She sings "And there's a shadow in the sky, and it looks like rain, and shit is gonna fly once again, and I don't mean to rain on your parade, but pathos has got me once again."
On the second track, ". . .on the radio," she combines the rhythms of R&B and pop.
You can hear the sounds of an acoustic guitar and scratches on a record.
It is a song speaking of her independence of breaking free from those holding her back from reaching her full potential and striving for her dreams. "Now that I've flown away I see you've chosen to stay behind me and still you curse the day I decided to stay true to myself."
"Scared of You," the last track on the CD, slows the album down while Furtado sings of a relationship gone bad. Her lyrics, in English and Spanish, can almost put her listeners in tears.
Variety continues throughout the entirety of the album but other favorites of mine include the smooth samba beats of "Legend," rap-based "I Will Make U Cry" and the horn tooting smooth bass of "I'm Like a Bird."
With a new blur between the lines of musical genres and a fresh voice and attitude, Furtado will make a name for herself with Whoa Nelly.
