Following
Something Forever and
the Slakadeliqs' genre-hopping The Other Side of Tomorrow,
Byram Joseph knocks out a sequel to 2008's
Soul Movement. This time, the musician and producer known as
Slakah the Beatchild involves fewer guests -- five, to be exact -- as he continues to develop into a fine vocalist in his own right. Although it contains six fewer cuts than the first
Soul Movement, it's just as lengthy, almost an hour in duration. That's due in part to the nine-minute "Keep Up" -- an elegant, broken beat-like jam that features
Joseph and
Ayah volleying breathy lines and does not outstay its welcome. The other R&B-rooted collaborations stand out, too. "Number 1," a mellow but stimulating cut involving returned veteran
Glenn Lewis, is in a class with prime
Dwele. On "Love Fool,"
Slakah once again works with
Tanika Charles. Unlike their folk-pop collaboration on The Other Side of Tomorrow, it's a neo-Motown soul stomp -- a highlight and the penultimate track, placed between two of the album's most pleasant instrumentals.
Joseph also holds his own on "Something About Her," a cushiony groove with light string stabs. As expected, tracks with rapping evoke or directly reference a bygone era -- the early '90s -- most beloved by those born in the '70s. They tend not to shine as bright, but they're not disposable, with Torontonians
Spek Won and
Ian Kamau featured on "Miscommunication." On another rap cut, "Where's Yesterday,"
Joseph bemoans the state of commercial radio: "There's no real tracks, it's like a train wreck/These days, DJs play the same mess." A handful of the songs here certainly deserve more prominence than airplay through savvy public radio DJs.