Mica Paris progressed considerably with her second album,
Contribution, obviously benefitting from stronger production and better material overall. While hip-hop and house elements assert themselves more,
Paris' vocals were still in a traditional R&B vein. This neo-soul approach -- hip, up-to-date production combined with down-home, earthy soul singing -- almost put
Paris on an artistic level with fellow British neo-soul divas
Lisa Stansfield and
Caron Wheeler.
Paris' singing is generally more confident and assured than before, and she soars on everything from the imaginative "South of the River" to a haunting
Prince song ("If I Love U 2 Nite") to an unapologetically sentimental remake of
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "More Love." Like "Where Is the Love" from
So Good, this '60s Motown classic tests what
Paris is truly made of -- and makes it clear that she's striving for depth and substance, not superficiality. Rapper
Rakim of
Erik B. & Rakim is featured on the title song, and the driving "Just to Be with You" was produced by
Mantronik (one of rap's unsung heroes). Ironically, higher quality didn't mean higher sales for
Paris --
Contribution didn't do as well as
So Good. ~ Alex Henderson