Having already solidly covered Faith Evans’ debut classic “Soon As I Get Home” just a year ago, expectations for Jacksonville, North Carolina’s Mikhala Jené were set fairly high for fans of ‘90s smooth soul. Showing more range and vocal growth in recent months, there are aspects of Jené’s forthcoming EP, The Prelude, that definitely don’t disappoint.
The first song you hear on Jené’s The Prelude, is also the best from a traditional R&B perspective in the vein of Evans during the height of her Bad Boy Records years. Produced by Deputy (Rihanna, DJ Mustard, Wale), written by Jené, and featuring a nimble fingered guitar by Joel Whitley, the smooth soul proceedings are at once timeless and elegant, belying Jené’s tender years.
Having already solidly covered Faith Evans’ debut classic “Soon As I Get Home” just a year ago, expectations for Jacksonville, North Carolina’s Mikhala Jené were set fairly high for fans of ‘90s smooth soul. Showing more range and vocal growth in recent months, there are aspects of Jené’s forthcoming EP, The Prelude, that definitely don’t disappoint.
The first song you hear on Jené’s The Prelude, is also the best from a traditional R&B perspective in the vein of Evans during the height of her Bad Boy Records years. Produced by Deputy (Rihanna, DJ Mustard, Wale), written by Jené, and featuring a nimble fingered guitar by Joel Whitley, the smooth soul proceedings are at once timeless and elegant, belying Jené’s tender years.
With the possible exception of “Same Damn Thing,” the rest of The Prelude doesn’t quite showcase Jené with the immediacy of this particular cut, with the middle tracks lacking the ease, melody, and sturdy song structure that are all present without question on “Just Another Girl.” This song also offers Jené a lovely opportunity to show-off the various textures and strengths of her instrument and a level of mature restraint and training. Singing more straight notes and presenting a feathery upper register, she avoids overly relying on her melisma abilities as she had on her live take of Jhené Aiko’s “The Worst” just five months ago.
Coming right behind “Just Another Girl” for a well-deserved high-five is “Same Damn Thing.” The track is more contemporary, but isn’t wholly derivative of what passes for the clichéd radio ballad these days on urban radio, stepping outside of the box with a synthy funk transition and a surprising harmonic overdub on the vamp out. The unevenness of more trend chasing cuts like “Who I Am” and “Slow Down” shows that Mikhala Jené still has some musical growth to go to establish her signature sound, but this EP (along with cuts like “Little Things” and “Free”) offers some insight into a phenomenal singer-songwriter in the making.
By L. Michael Gipson