Tyrese

Description

Personnel includes: Tyrese Gibson (vocals); Shelene, Peter Gunz (rap vocals); Troy Taylor (various instruments, background vocals); Glenn Mosley, Ewuart A. Wilson Jr., Nate Love, Big Mike Clemmons (various instruments); Jake (guitar, keyboards, bass, programming); Michael J. Powell (guitar, percussion); J.C. Whitelaw (guitar); Trevor Job (keyboards, bass, drums, percussion, programming); Ray Watkins, Vernon Fails (keyboards); Lawson A. Turner (bass); Paul Allen, Ron Otis (drums); Before Dark, Marc Nelson, Juanita Wynn, Jake, Kevin Scott, Keesha, Karen Anderson, Stephanie Cooke, Tiffany Carlin, Fundisha Johnson, Valerie Pinkston, Terry Bradford, Willie Wheaton (background vocals). Producers include: Jake, Chad "Dr. Cuess" Elliott, Al West, Khaliq, Ali. Engineers include: Ben Arrindell, Ken Deranteriasian, Michael Teelucksingh. "Sweet Lady" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Funk guitar, '70s soul string arrangements, hip-hop-inflected beats and sophisticated electronica-derived mixing techniques all play a part in the musical pastiche that is Tyrese's self-titled debut. While the album falls squarely in the contemporary R&B mold, and is bound to appeal to fans of the genre, Tyrese skillfully avoids many of the style's cliches. Though his voice is smooth and flexible, he never engages in R. Kelly-style histrionics, preferring to play it cool and communicate the emotions of the songs without over-extending himself. While all the tunes here are carefully produced and arranged, there's an agreeable grittiness that sets Tyrese apart from many of his contemporaries.