Canada 2008
Mixtape: Ayah - The Problem Woman
Ayah - The Problem Woman Mixtape (Free Download)
Most of y'all know that I generally don't like R&B music, and let's face it: the genre has been stagnant for years now after the death of neo soul and the introduction of pro Tools assisted divas with an absence of talent and class.
However, maybe once a year a voice comes along that makes me do a double take and reintroduces me to the genre that I've spurned. In 2008, that voice is Ayah. The Toronto native has been making a name for herself up North. At the age of only 22, she's already aligned herself with DJ Jazzy Jeff and and a bevy of producers for her debut album which drops sometime this year.
But female voices are a dime a dozen, but its her attitude that carries her through. Her mixtape, based on Marvin Gaye's 1972 soundtrack to the blackspoltation flick Trouble Man has an ear to the past, but dosen't harp on it and lets her true sound shine through. With a attitude that Butta from Soul Bounce calls "sweet but street," Ayah might just reinvent the R&B genre as we know it.
