New Music: Aloe Blacc - Love Is The Answer (produced by Pharrell)

I remember a few years ago this man was telling us how he needed a dollar, now he's doing songs with Pharrell.  Looks like he got that dollar and then some. Love Is The Answer is from Aloe Blacc's Wake Me Up EP, and I am REALLY feeling it. Aloe's voice has that powerful and gruffy Roy Ayers/Bill Withers vibe to it that I dig. As for the beat, (I hate to do it to you again, Pharrell, but...), it has the perfect blend of bounce and groove to it, but it kind of sounds like Pharrell borrowed from, stole from, paid homage to parts of Herb Alpert's 1979 jazz classic Rise.

It might sound familiar because Diddy also borrowed, stole, sampled, Diddy-ed elements of it for The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 hit Hypnotize. Great minds think alike, I guess. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal to me, but Pharrell kind of annoyed me when he played the Vanilla Ice card when he was questioned about his last allegations of musical theft (the eerie similarities between Robin Thicke's summer smash Blurred Lines and Marvin Gaye's classic Got To Give It Up). Here's what he told the Associated Press last month:

"If you read music, all you have to do is read the sheet music, it's completely different. [Marvin Gaye] is the king of all kings, so let's be clear about that, and we take our hats off to him. But anybody that plays music and reads music, just simply go to the piano and play the two. One's minor and one's major. And not even in the same key."

Now, I can understand than no artist wants their creativity questioned, but at the same time, don't discredit the intelligence of your audience. Just admit it, you like to borrow from legends. We get it, Rise and Got To Give It Up are infectious jams, you couldn't help yourself.

All of that aside, I really like this song, and if you value my musical opinion you will too. You're welcome.