G.O.O.D Soul Food Volume 2… The AMAZING Grace Obika

div style=”text-align: justify;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_816E7vkb0Ds/SoPfvBB1OjI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/z1ygY502FYA/s1600-h/Obika5.jpg”img style=”margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 200px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_816E7vkb0Ds/SoPfvBB1OjI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/z1ygY502FYA/s200/Obika5.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369381179578726962″ border=”0″ //aSO One of the few good people @ the dMp put me on to some GOOD music sometime back in February by way of the very soulful sounding a style=”font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;” href=”http://www.myspace.com/graceobika” target=”_blank”Grace Obika/a. Now, from then til’ now, I’ve heard her being described as many things. ‘Beautiful’, ‘Talented’, ‘Gifted’, ‘Passionate’ all come to mind… One that suffices only too often is ‘DIVA’ amp; seeing that a ‘DIVA’ is a female version of a Hustler then by all means, she is a ‘DIVA’… She’s been writing songs for 12 years… Performing for 10… She’s written for L.A based group ‘Living Out Loud’… She’s supported for Marques Houston in concert… Performed for the Hollywood Film Premiere of ‘Amazing Grace’ in 2008… All that, while also being a Biomedical Science graduate (with honours) amp; she’s NOT even 24 yet… You’ve gotta respect her HUSTLE!br /br /Another word that’s been used to describe Grace Obika amp; one which I 100% agree with, is ‘DEDICATED’… ‘Dedicated’ to her first love, music… I heard this ‘dedication’ back in March, when I caught her performing @ a showcase in London. The painstaking care, precision amp; workmanship that she put into her performance which was in front of a crowd of 20 people at best, was, for the lack of a better word, AMAZING. Needless to say, she brought the house DOWN amp; needless to say, We love Grace Obika over here @ ‘We Plug GOOD Music’br /br /OK enough of my hype talk, let’s just get straight into the music like we usually do yeah?br /br /img style=”visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNTAxMzkyMjIxOTkmcHQ9MTI1MDEzOTIyNTkyNCZwPTI3MDgxJmQ9bWluaV9tdXNpY19wbGF5ZXJfZmlyc3RfZ2VuJmc9MSZvPTI3MmI1YWI4NTg3YTQ4YjM4YmU2YjJiNTkzZDkwMDU5Jm9mPTA=.gif” border=”0″ width=”0″ height=”0″ /embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/13/widgetPlayerMini.swf?emailPlaylist=playlist_814071amp;backgroundcolor=EEEEEEamp;font_color=000000amp;posted_by=artist_396383amp;shuffle=amp;autoPlay=false” width=”262″ height=”83″/embedbr /a href=”http://www.reverbnation.com/c./a4/13/396383/Artist/396383/Artist/link”img alt=”We%20Plug%20G.O.O.D%20Music” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/content/13/footer.png” border=”0″ width=”262″ height=”12″ //abr /img style=”visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/13/playlist_814071/artist_396383/t.gif” border=”0″ width=”0″ height=”0″ /a href=”http://www.quantcast.com/p-05—xoNhTXVc” target=”_blank”img src=”http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-05—xoNhTXVc.gif” style=”display: none;” alt=”Quantcast” border=”0″ width=”1″ height=”1″ //abr /This one’s called ‘Sugar Daddy’ and I like the sound of it very much. I dunno exactly what it is about this song that gets me everytime BUT I do love the whole Up-Tempo Contemporary feel to it. The production on this, as with all of her records you’ll hear today, is courtesy of John Robinson amp; a style=”font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;” href=”http://www.myspace.com/cliqueuk” target=”_blank”Clique Productions/a. The debate about the pros amp; cons of working with only one producer will forever rage on BUT I will say that the John Robinson + Grace Obika combination works in all kinds of ways! Check this next record out…br /br /img style=”visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNTAxMzkzOTA*ODkmcHQ9MTI1MDEzOTM5NDQ5MCZwPTI3MDgxJmQ9bWluaV9tdXNpY19wbGF5ZXJfZmlyc3RfZ2VuJmc9MSZvPTI3MmI1YWI4NTg3YTQ4YjM4YmU2YjJiNTkzZDkwMDU5Jm9mPTA=.gif” border=”0″ width=”0″ height=”0″ /embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/13/widgetPlayerMini.swf?emailPlaylist=playlist_814050amp;backgroundcolor=EEEEEEamp;font_color=000000amp;posted_by=artist_396383amp;shuffle=amp;autoPlay=false” width=”262″ height=”83″/embedbr /a href=”http://www.reverbnation.com/c./a4/13/396383/Artist/396383/Artist/link”img alt=”We%20Plug%20G.O.O.D%20Music” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/content/13/footer.png” border=”0″ width=”262″ height=”12″ //abr /img style=”visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/13/playlist_814050/artist_396383/t.gif” border=”0″ width=”0″ height=”0″ /a href=”http://www.quantcast.com/p-05—xoNhTXVc” target=”_blank”img src=”http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-05—xoNhTXVc.gif” style=”display: none;” alt=”Quantcast” border=”0″ width=”1″ height=”1″ //abr /This is that subtle soulful record that I could die for… amp; this woman’s voice is just so beautiful on the track… I can go on for days about how Grace Obika amp; John Robinson gel so much on this record… The instrumentals are so soft amp; gentle amp; they take the ‘passenger side’ long enough for the vocals to just shine… This song is one of em’ magical moments right there! It’s called ‘I’ll Be All’ amp; it’s got the ‘We PLug GOOD Music’ co-sign all over it BUT it may be just me so I want Y.O.U to tell me what you think…br /br /We’ve got another beautiful piece of art from Ms. Obika right after the jump!br /br /img style=”visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNTAxMzk1NTA1NjYmcHQ9MTI1MDEzOTU1NTE1MSZwPTI3MDgxJmQ9bWluaV9tdXNpY19wbGF5ZXJfZmlyc3RfZ2VuJmc9MSZvPTI3MmI1YWI4NTg3YTQ4YjM4YmU2YjJiNTkzZDkwMDU5Jm9mPTA=.gif” border=”0″ width=”0″ height=”0″ /embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/13/widgetPlayerMini.swf?emailPlaylist=playlist_814085amp;backgroundcolor=EEEEEEamp;font_color=000000amp;posted_by=artist_396383amp;shuffle=amp;autoPlay=false” width=”262″ height=”83″/embedbr /a href=”http://www.reverbnation.com/c./a4/13/396383/Artist/396383/Artist/link”img alt=”We%20Plug%20G.O.O.D%20Music” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/content/13/footer.png” border=”0″ width=”262″ height=”12″ //abr /img style=”visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/13/playlist_814085/artist_396383/t.gif” border=”0″ width=”0″ height=”0″ /a href=”http://www.quantcast.com/p-05—xoNhTXVc” target=”_blank”img src=”http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-05—xoNhTXVc.gif” style=”display: none;” alt=”Quantcast” border=”0″ width=”1″ height=”1″ //abr /Now personally I don’t think enough has been amp; is ever said bout this woman’s song-writing abilities because let’s be honest, she does have some skill. a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_816E7vkb0Ds/SoPsSroFGkI/AAAAAAAAAJY/zgRD0D_S_Ww/s1600-h/Obika3.jpg”img style=”margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_816E7vkb0Ds/SoPsSroFGkI/AAAAAAAAAJY/zgRD0D_S_Ww/s200/Obika3.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369394986448394818″ border=”0″ //aMy case in point is all the 3 records we’ve heard right here… This one’s titled ‘Wood amp; The Match’… OK if you’re still stuck on how GOOD the musical arrangement on the track is, we will definitely come back to that… In fact Nah, let’s address it now, shall we? Singer/Song-writers constantly tell me that while writing lyrics is a major part of writing a song, nailing down a melody amp; gettin it to work with the lyrics is even more so important… Bearing that in mind, I have to pause amp; tip my hat off to Ms. Obika on this one because the melodies on this amp; how they are arranged… the hook… the bridge… the adlibing… the backing vocals… the perfectness of their positioning… dare I say, is sheer GENIUS! That ‘dedication’ I was speaking bout earlier? Hear it here!!!br /br /And now I want to share with you the 1st reason I fell in love with a style=”font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;” href=”http://twitter.com/graceobika” target=”_blank”Grace Obika/a amp; the music she creates… amp; the inspiration behind the title of this feature! This is scheduled to be the first single from her debut album ‘Rainbow’… While I’d like to take the credit for describing Ms. O as ‘The Amazing Grace Obika’, some one already beat us to that qualifier… Let’s listen to some more GOOD Music right after the jump ok.br /br /img style=”visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNTAxMzk2ODY1MjMmcHQ9MTI1MDEzOTY5MDg5OSZwPTI3MDgxJmQ9bWluaV9tdXNpY19wbGF5ZXJfZmlyc3RfZ2VuJmc9MSZvPTI3MmI1YWI4NTg3YTQ4YjM4YmU2YjJiNTkzZDkwMDU5Jm9mPTA=.gif” border=”0″ width=”0″ height=”0″ /embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/13/widgetPlayerMini.swf?emailPlaylist=playlist_814035amp;backgroundcolor=EEEEEEamp;font_color=000000amp;posted_by=artist_396383amp;shuffle=amp;autoPlay=false” width=”262″ height=”83″/embedbr /a href=”http://www.reverbnation.com/c./a4/13/396383/Artist/396383/Artist/link”img alt=”We%20Plug%20G.O.O.D%20Music” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/content/13/footer.png” border=”0″ width=”262″ height=”12″ //abr /img style=”visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/13/playlist_814035/artist_396383/t.gif” border=”0″ width=”0″ height=”0″ /a href=”http://www.quantcast.com/p-05—xoNhTXVc” target=”_blank”img src=”http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-05—xoNhTXVc.gif” style=”display: none;” alt=”Quantcast” border=”0″ width=”1″ height=”1″ //abr /’It feels so Right… Everytime I look into your eyes, I can feea onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_816E7vkb0Ds/SoPs-cybHUI/AAAAAAAAAJg/PCIcVdNUJqQ/s1600-h/5411_213637410197_726850197_7645028_4957441_n%5B1%5D.jpg”img style=”margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 200px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_816E7vkb0Ds/SoPs-cybHUI/AAAAAAAAAJg/PCIcVdNUJqQ/s200/5411_213637410197_726850197_7645028_4957441_n%5B1%5D.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369395738379492674″ border=”0″ //al my temperature rise… I want you here the rest of my life…’, sing it to me Grace, oh sing it to me please! I love off this song amp; you know what? I prefer the original version without Sway on it amp; no offense to Sway cos I’m a big fan of his amp; he doesn’t take away from the record in any way BUT Grace Obika totally owns this song that there’s really no need for a feature, at least NOT on this here! I’ve gotta show mad love to John Robinson over at Clique Productions for another brilliant piece of work…br /br /So Ladies amp; Gentlemen, there you have it… The Amazing Grace Obika (FYI I think we coined that phrase ourselves cos Sway jus says ‘Amazing Grace’ lol!)… Do tell us what you think cos you know we’re only half done until you leave your 2pence…br /br /Until the Next Time/div