album review: little jackie, the stoop

normally i send album reviews to soundsxp.com, but they don't review hip hop or r&b. so, friends, here it is, my latest obsession, little jackie.

LITTLE JACKIE, THE STOOP

S-Curve Records

Take hip-hop themes of poverty, racism, and sexuality. Sprinkle on pop rhythms. Add old-school R&B backbeats and silvery vocals. Blend til smooth. 

This is the winning recipe behind Little Jackie, the refreshing combo of singer Imani Coppola and programmer Adam Pallin. Proving that you attract more flies with honey than vinegar, Little Jackie’s debut album The Stoop masks sharp-tongued lyrics with sweet, easygoing melodies.

The title track invites the listener to Little Jackie’s corner of Brooklyn, which “ain’t no Beverly Hills.” But this isn’t some angry polemic of life in the ghetto; instead, we’re treated to a celebration of a brownstone paradise, where piano and trumpet create a danceable groove, and Coppola’s vampish voice assures us “it ain’t all hard up in the hood… sittin’ on the front stoop, it’s all good.” 

That “all good” mentality prevails throughout the eleven tracks on the album, led by Coppola’s provocatively femme attitude on the mic. Songs like “The World Should Revolve Around Me” and “Guys Like When Girls Kiss” are cheeky, seductive, and instantly endearing.

With its genre-bending and -blending, Little Jackie offers something for everyone. Coppola sings that “there’s only one of me in the galaxy,” and The Stoop is certainly a strong argument in her favor.