Estelle | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Estelle unwittingly launched her career from Londons beloved Deal Real record store and scored her first hit as a headliner with the autobiographical hip-hop anthem "1980" (2004). Just as Estelle summarized the song as "the beginning of her life," the single poised the singer, rapper, and songwriter for stardom and sustained success that culminated with "American Boy," an international smash hit -- number one U.K., number nine U.S. -- that made her second album, Shine (2008), a cross-continental Top Ten entry. That flirty disco-funk throwback single also made Estelle a Grammy winner for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, yet she has evaded stylistic and one-hit-wonder pigeonholing with later works such as All of Me (2012), True Romance (2015), and the contemporary reggae-oriented Lovers Rock (2018). Exposed to traditional African music, gospel, and rap via family members in her native West London, Estelle Swaray got her start in Londons renowned hip-hop record store Deal Real. Her fellow employees encouraged her to take a chance and get on the mike on-stage; soon she was playing numerous local clubs and appearing with the likes of Roots Manuva and Rodney P. Local hero Skitz asked her to appear on his 2000 album, Countryman, which led to appearances on albums by the likes of the 57th Dynasty and Blak Twang. She made her solo debut in 2003 with the "Excuse Me" 12" on the Paradise Isle label, but her breakthrough came in 2004 when "1980" was released by the V2 label and reached number 14 on the U.K. pop chart. A street-level mixtape series called Da Heat and charting singles "Free" and "Go Gone" helped build a loyal following. In October 2004, V2 released her debut album, The 18th Day..., which featured her three hit singles and peaked on the U.K. chart at number 35. She won the 2004 MOBO Award for Best Newcomer. Although The 18th Day... was not released in the U.S., one of its contributors, John Legend, fostered a cross-continental deal with major-label Atlantic for Estelles next album. Issued in April 2008, Shine became her biggest hit, reaching number six in the U.K. and breaking into the U.S. Top 40. Its success was driven by "American Boy," a collaboration with will.i.am and Kanye West that topped the U.K. chart. In the U.S., it went Top Ten and won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration on its way to a double-platinum certification. In February 2012, following numerous singles featuring the likes of Kardinal Offishall, Nas, and Rick Ross, Estelle released album number three, All of Me. It went Top 30 in the U.S., but it would be her last release for Atlantic. Estelle subsequently established a boutique label through BMG Rights Management and continued with the February 2015 release of True Romance. The album contained the inspirational "Conqueror," performed with Jussie Smollett in an episode of the television series Empire, and her most successful single since "American Boy." After the 2017 retro-soul single "Womans World," Estelle made a full return in September 2018 with the contemporary reggae set Lovers Rock. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: Da Heat, Part 2 (Mixtape Edition): A Diamond in the Rough Released: 2003 Tracks: 17 Duration: 42:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Intro (00:21) 2 Excuse Me (bootleg version) (05:11) 3 Do Your Thing (02:59) 4 Kojos Uncle (00:38) 5 Feelin (03:48) 6 Kojos Cornershop (00:23) 7 Beautiful (03:09) 8 Tek It Off (remix) (03:57) 9 P.ublic S.ervice A.nnouncement (00:43) 10 Change (03:30) 11 Air I Breathe (04:15) 12 DJ Holla! Holla!!! Holla! (00:12) 13 Over (03:34) 14 P.ublic S.ervice A.nnouncement (01:53) 15 Do You Mind (03:08) 16 P.ublic S.ervice A.nnouncement (00:20) 17 Got This Locked (04:01) |
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: The 18th Day... Released: 2004-10-18 Tracks: 14 Duration: 57:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 1980 (03:59) 2 Dont Talk (03:39) 3 Dance Bitch (03:47) 4 Change Is Coming (04:01) 5 Go Gone (03:23) 6 Free (03:30) 7 I Wanna Love You (03:55) 8 Maybe (05:45) 9 Crazy (03:54) 10 Hey Girl (06:15) 11 All Over Again (04:06) 12 Dance With Me (03:41) 13 On and On (03:47) 14 Im Gonna Win (03:43) |
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Shine Released: 2008-03-31 Tracks: 12 Duration: 47:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Wait a Minute (Just a Touch) (03:41) 2 No Substitute Love (03:33) 3 American Boy (04:45) 4 More Than Friends (04:24) 5 Magnificent (03:56) 6 Come Over (03:41) 1 So Much Out the Way (04:04) 2 In the Rain (04:08) 3 Back in Love (04:01) 4 You Are (03:30) 5 Pretty Please (Love Me) (03:58) 6 Shine (03:49) |
| Shine : Allmusic album Review : The debut album from London native Estelle, 2004s The 18th Day, stalled at number 40 on the U.K. chart. Uneven and tentative but not without a handful of major standouts -- like the wistful and animated "1980," where she displayed her MCing chops, and the Mary J. Blige-worthy slow groove "Dance with Me" -- it wasnt enough to further her labels support. Estelle proposed a John Legend-produced follow-up, which V2 did not approve, so she relocated to the U.S. and secured a deal with Atlantic through Legends Homeschool boutique label. Capping a cunningly punitive turn of events orchestrated by a once-shunned artist (i.e., "How ya like them apples?"), "American Boy" -- a flirty disco-funk track featuring Kanye West and production from will.i.am, who re-heated the beat from his own "Impatient" -- took a swift route the top of the U.K. pop chart. When Shine was released, just after the chart feat, the song had yet to make as much of a splash in the States; regardless of how the single or the album fares from a commercial standpoint, Estelle can at least be proud of having made a second full-length that builds upon and far outstrips her first. Wyclef Jean and will.i.am produce two songs each, while the remainder is divided between a wide-ranging cast including Mark Ronson, Jack Splash, and Swizz Beats, all of whom produce one track. Through it all, Estelle is the main attraction and is never upstaged or out of her depth, whether she is trading lines with Cee-Lo or Kanye West, switching between singing and rapping on "More Than Friends," or swapping out blissful rocksteady reggae for nerved-up glitz-pop. Most impressive is "So Much Out the Way," where she does the work of at least three vocalists of varying modes, all over a Wyclef concoction that alternates between tautly snapping jazz-funk (courtesy of Louis Johnsons bass from Grover Washington, Jr.s "Hydra") and Wall of Sound soul (transformed from Bob Marleys "So Much Things to Say"). Not many vocalists could possibly navigate all this terrain without losing a beat, but Estelle has no trouble pulling it off with her versatility and easy-to-like personality. Her second act is ceaselessly enjoyable, one of the finer R&B albums to be released in 2008. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: All of Me Released: 2012-02-28 Tracks: 15 Duration: 41:42 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Life (03:28) 2 International (Serious) (03:56) 3 You and I (00:38) 4 Love the Way We Used To (03:33) 5 Cold Crush (03:18) 6 Dont Break It (01:17) 7 Break My Heart (04:17) 8 Thank You (04:12) 9 Who We Are (01:02) 10 Wonderful Life (03:32) 11 Found My Way... (00:26) 12 Back to Love (03:47) 13 Blue Skies (00:20) 14 Speak Ya Mind (04:28) 15 Do My Thing (03:28) |
| All of Me : Allmusic album Review : "American Boy" put Estelle in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100, but none of the three subsequent singles from Shine touched that chart. The trend continued with a short series of A-sides during 2010 and 2011, with "Break My Heart" the exception. That song missed the Hot 100, but it actually fared slightly better on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart than "American Boy," likely due to the presence of hot-as-ever rapper Rick Ross. This sums up the singer/rappers predicament. Shes in danger of being considered a one-hit wonder -- one who is probably too mature and R&B-oriented for enduring pop-star status, yet shes so closely tied to a big pop hit that its something of a hindrance in the climate of 2012 R&B/rap radio. A couple of those failed singles, including "American Boy" retread "Fall in Love" (featuring Nas), did not make it onto All of Me, a concise album at 40 minutes -- just over a tenth of which consists of several interludes, segments from an intense discussion about romantic relationships. After an opening pair of tracks where Estelle reverts to her old self as an enjoyable MC, the album settles into a sequence of songs that covers a wide variety of emotional states within the framework of a romance. In the strikingly moody "Break My Heart," as in "please dont," Estelle vividly expresses the apprehension of entering a relationship with trust issues. Despite its downcast tone, its the albums standout by a sizeable margin, and its also where Estelle sounds most natural. The liquid midtempo jam "Cold Crush," something of a throwback to early-80s synth funk à la the System, could be a sleeper summertime hit on adventurous radio stations. Much of what remains is pleasant and executed with finesse, yet not as memorable as the majority of The 18th Day or Shine. The appearances from Chris Brown and Trey Songz may qualify as the least necessary collaborations of 2012. Its unfortunate that the closing "Do My Thing," featuring boisterous Janelle Monáe interplay, organ, horns, and handclaps, wont get nearly as much attention. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: True Romance Released: 2015-02-17 Tracks: 11 Duration: 45:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Time After Time (03:49) 2 Conqueror (04:27) 3 Something Good / Devotion (Passion interlude) (06:10) 4 Make Her Say (Beat It Up) (02:38) 5 Time Share (Suite 509) (04:50) 6 The Same (04:23) 7 Fight for It (04:01) 8 Silly Girls (03:26) 9 Gotcha Love (03:25) 10 She Will Love (03:40) 11 All That Matters (04:06) |
| True Romance : Allmusic album Review : More concise than her three previous albums but just as varied as any of them, True Romance is Estelles first independent full-length after phases with V2 and Atlantic and a 2013 trio of themed EPs. Five of these 11 tracks were issued separately, several months ahead of the albums February 2015 release date. Among these are some of her boldest songs, like "Make Her Say (Beat It Up)" -- all pummeling drums, sub-bass, and Estelles droning commands, vulgar enough to purge a certain portion of her fan base. The celebratory "Something Good/Devotion," more broadly appealing, takes it back to early-90s house like Crystal Waters "Makin Happy," all the way down to the synthesized horns, while the latter half is contemporary and slinkier. Estelle works through several additional emotions and tries on (and returns to) almost as many styles. Theres a lavish and large-sounding empowerment anthem ("Conqueror"), a classic-sounding soul throwback ("Silly Girls"), a seductive and explicit trunk rattler ("Time Share [509]"), some sunny reggae ("She Will Love"), and a handful of dissimilar ballads (topped by the low-key bliss of "Gotcha Love," with a possible nod to the theme for Good Times). Patched together and seemingly out-of-character as it is, the singers fourth album does have more going for it than her third one did. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: Lovers Rock Released: 2018-09-07 Tracks: 14 Duration: 48:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 So Easy (03:59) 2 Meet Up (02:38) 3 Really Want (02:46) 4 Better (03:19) 5 Dont Wanna (03:09) 6 Queen (03:37) 7 Slow Down (03:31) 8 Aint Yo Bitch (04:09) 9 Sweetly (03:15) 10 Karma (04:06) 11 Lights Out (03:23) 12 Love Like Ours (03:55) 13 One More Time (03:24) 14 Good for Us (03:05) |