Sapphire

Performer: Teena Marie
Artist: Smokey Robinson; Kurupt; George Duke; Gerald Albright
Producer: Ronald Williams; Bryan Williams; Teena Marie...
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Teena Marie (vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming); Smokey Robinson (vocals); Kurupt (rap vocals); Gerald Albright (saxophone); George Duke (piano). 2006's SAPPHIRE is not only Teena Marie's best release in some time (even trumping her fine 2004 "comeback" album, LA DONA), it may be her best album since her early '80s heyday. Lengthy and sprawling, yet packed with superb songwriting, vocal performances, and production, Marie proves she is still one of the strongest talents on the contemporary R&B scene, her age (50) and her race (white) notwithstanding. SAPPHIRE boasts vintage smooth-soul tunes ("Cruise Control" is sung with the architect of smooth soul himself, Smokey Robinson), bumping dance-pop ("Make It Hot"), and even nods to G-funk ("Love Is a Gangsta"), proving Teena Marie can keep it as fresh and real as any R&B upstart from the 2000s.

California-born R&B singer Teena Marie started out on Motown Records in the '70s, where she was matched up with labelmate Rick James on her debut album. Her blend of pop, funk, and R&B caught on quickly, and here move into disco/dance wasn't far off. Her greatest success, though, came in the '80s after a much-publicized legal battle with Motown and a subsequent move to Epic, for whom she recorded her huge R&B/Dance hit "Lovergirl."

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.3

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