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Artist
Ra-Re Valverde
12+ albums
Neo-Soulsoulrnbsexyunderrated
about
Right away, music pundits, radio station programmers and audiences alike will listen to Ra-Re Valverde and proclaim the ushering of a"neo-soul" empress. Not exactly a misnomer, but perhaps the "neo-soul" term may be too limiting. The soul is undoubtedly there! And if the newness is prevalent, it's because of Ra-Re's youthful outlook, the fact that she's contemporary—but her heart, her passion, her outlook is that of a soul singer from generations past. To look at her myspace page, one could glean that her diverse mix of musical heroes are Prince, Sarah Vaughn, Bjork, Miles Davis, Bobby McFerrin, Stevie Wonder, John Lee Hooker, Joni Mitchell, and an endless trove of artistic brilliants. You see, Ra-Re is an unabashed New Yorker—born and raised in the Bronx, yet resides in Harlem; encompassing what that wonderful city may have to offer. Hence, the name of her debut album, the independently release of A Beautiful Mess. The album is a bold and soulful effort, undeniably eclectic, and lyrically introspective. It's a 14-song musical portfolio from a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, producer and visionary—who may be doing something that's a bit left of center, yet still commercial or accessible enough to be embraced by the masses. Ra-Re (meaning sunrise-sunset) came up with the album's title simply as a description of her life. "The title A Beautiful Mess represents the balance between the many ups and downs that life has to offer, and finding the beauty and color in it
