By Janelle Henderson
It’s Tweet again — and she’s more soulful than ever. The acoustic guitar-playing, neo-soul-writing Charlene Keys, better known as Tweet, emerged in 2002 with her racy song “Oops (Oh My)” and continues to create her brand of music for lovemaking. After much anticipation and a three-year wait, we finally get to hear what she’s been up to: falling in love yet again.
Her sophomore effort, “It’s Me Again,” is very similar to her debut “Southern Hummingbird,” with its smooth sound and soulful beats, but shows increased depth and growth as a writer and a woman by sharing more of her life experiences, and exploring topics beyond the joys and pains of love. While these stories encompass most of the album, she also discusses her life as a single parent, teaming up with daughter Tashawna on “Two of Us.” With a voice rivaling Tweet herself, 15-year-old Tashawna thanks her mother and says, “If I had one wish when I’m through growing / it’s to be just like you.”
The most interesting production on the album is “Cab Ride,” which samples from the theme song of the 1970s classic show “Taxi.” In the song, Tweet is asking the taxi to take her to her lover’s home. The soft, melodious ballad is a reflection of the genius of the album’s executive producer Missy Elliot, who never fails to sprinkle her music with unexpected twists.
Tweet also offers women the secret to a man’s heart as she sings on her playful “Sports, Sex, and Food” that you need to “know football, basketball too / know all the playas / know all the rules … / know how to hook up a meal / learn a new move / the way to his heart is sports, sex and food.”
However, Tweet has the same problem as most contemporary soul artists: the up-tempo party songs lack the same life the rest of the album effuses. In typical party fashion, “We Don’t Need No Water” commands everyone to get out on the dance floor and “strip down to your underwear” because the party is so hot. These songs also feature Missy Elliot, who is beginning to go down Usher’s unfortunate path of talking over the record.
With lukewarm reception to her first single “Turn Da Lights Off,” Tweet’s hardest obstacle will be making her presence felt with the abundance of competing female R&B singers out now, including Faith Evans, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Amerie and Brooke Valentine. Yet, unlike most of those artists, Tweet is one whose music will be felt long after she’s gone because of her inspired lyrics and ability to make you feel the ecstasy and heartbreak of a great love. “It’s Me Again” is one step on the path of legend in the making.
