Originally published December 8, 2002 on HighBias.com
Britons Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart, an established songwriting duo (Michael Jackson, Glenn Lewis, Jill Scott, Dru Hill), have adopted the monikers Songstress and Floecist for their debut as Floetry on Floetic. The vocalist and rapper have created a sophisticated urban CD loaded with appealing and contemplative ballads.
Many of the songs bear the earmarks of neosoul auteur D’Angelo (especially those produced by Darren Henson and Keith Pelzer), displaying thick, offbeat melodic lines and harmonies. The combination of compelling lyrics and innovative musical textures is the stuff of greatness (though, after repeated listening, D’Angelo’s influence becomes too much of a good thing).
Floecist’s poetic rhymes and delivery elevate the songs, examining the many facets of romantic love without resorting to clichés, and she spits a hard rhyme in tracks like “Opera.” In the seductive “Say Yes,” Songstress communicates her desire for her lover by awakening the imagination as she sings “You make me so, so…so, so…so, so, so, so…” The vocalist expresses her vulnerability in the outstanding “Getting Late,” and the duo sing in tandem as they kick “Mr. Messed Up” to the curb.
It will be a challenge for Floetry to create a follow-up CD that exceeds the quality of Floetic, but Ambrosius and Stewart have the talent to deliver.
Will Leon 