Sy Smith - Psykosoul + (2007)

Sy Smith's debut album, Psykosoul, is a musical story: tales of the ups and downs, ins and outs, and inevitable bittersweet feelings of relationships. The album is definitely worth a listen and fits perfectly into the genre of "nu classic soul." Smith's slick style of writing over organic yet urban tracks showcases a brilliant marriage of classic soul and hip-hop. Anyone who bought The P.J.'s soundtrack album will have witnessed her ability before. Her brilliant cover of Edie Brickell's "What I Am" was featured on the soundtrack and rounds off this debut. The standout track is called "That Ring," interpolating Donny Hathaway's classic "Someday We'll All Be Free" to great effect. Each song tells a story about relationships; however, Psykosoul cannot be described as monotonous and will become an album left on "repeat" in your CD player. Sy Smith, the singer, the songwriter, the producer, the actress, deserves to be around for years to come.