Bilal's sophomore album came NINE years after his debut. So a lot of people were anticipating his re-emergence. But his album was released on an indie; it had a distinctly electronic feel, and his vocal approach was noticably different. He sounded more subdued, and the screaming that was a bit of a calling card was mostly absent. Plus there weren't really any songs on Airtights Revenge that, for the neo-soul crowd (which remained his core audience despite his rejection of the "genre"), could compare to Soul Sista or Sometimes. I was going to shows when Bilal was performing the Love For Sale stuff and after Airtight's Revenge was released, and the songs that still got the biggest response, and still do to this day, are those two from his debut.

Vocally, he can do just about anything D'Angelo can, and better. But his songs don't seem to resonate with his own audience as much as D's do. I'm not even sure he knows who his audience is at this point, or what they want from him. Or even cares. I think he really needs an executive producer, and/or to lock himself in with say Robert Glasper, Shafiq, Flying Lotus and Thundercatt. Let them handle the music, get some assistance with the writing, and allow Bilal to just focus on showcasing the gift that makes him one of the greatest treasures in all of contemporary music...his voice.


>d'anglelo was sexier.
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>d'anglelo was seen as a bandleader and had a mythology
>of the guy that could save "real music" from the evils of hip
>hop.
>
>he just seems cooler.
>bilal's weirdness is off putting, d'anglelo's weirdness is
>almost charming.
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