Deitrick Haddon Presents Voices of Unity – A Beautiful Soul

Detrick Haddon Presents Voices of Unity

Tyscot Records 2012

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Am I the only one who hears musical similarities between Deitrick Haddon and Prince?

This thought came to me once again only minutes into the companion CD to Deitrick Haddon’s new major motion picture, A Beautiful Soul.  The complex, hard-charging, and electric mixture of gospel, R&B, and hip hop evokes the passion of Prince in his periods immediately before and immediately after Purple Rain.  The palpable thrust of Haddon’s music and his ease with experimentation, while staying relevant to his audience, are also Prince trademarks.  

A Beautiful Soul’s current radio single, “No Betta,” trades off of the popularity of its lead vocalists, Haddon and Faith Evans, but the title track and “Love Did It” are the CD’s most compelling selections.  With a strong melody and banging beat, “A Beautiful Soul” muses on the goodness people have bottled up inside, a soul that, Haddon sings, was “never meant to be contained.”  “Love Did It” is comfortably flowing power pop that showcases Candy West’s lovely vocals.  Sean Hardin and Jor’el Quinn’s “Never Hurt Again” is also worth putting on the iPod.

Candy West is among a battery of guest artists on the project.  Others include Canton Jones, Kierra Sheard, the aforementioned Faith Evans, and Jason Champion.  Interestingly, some of the less established artists such as West and Adia caught my attention most especially because they are truly compelling singers.  Regula and Joint Heirs are other indie artists (with reviews on The Black Gospel Blog, I might add) who share their gifts on the project.

Many of the songs echo the film’s premise of the lost soul who has to endure a significant trial to find his way back to the Jericho Road.  For example, on “Go To Church,” Bam & Jabrea ask: “Is there room in the church for a sinner like me?”  “New Life” is the unshackled freedom to declare a new way of living after finding Jesus.

The A Beautiful SoulCD may have been inspired by the film, but it stands on its own.

Picks: “A Beautiful Soul,” “Love Did It.”