In honor of our having made it through the heat I thought it would be appropriate to chronicle some of the hottest records and/or recording artists I’ve come across over the years. I don’t just mean aesthetics, either. I’m talking about music that’ll sex the pants right off ya. I don’t have a set number in mind, so we’ll see where this list takes us.
First up: Brenda Boykin
Information on Ms. Boykin is surprisingly scant, so I can’t tell you much about her history or personal life. There’s a nice little bio here, but that’s about all I could find (I could never get the Myspace page to load). That’s okay though. Mystery is sexy, right? What I can tell you is that her first solo album, Chocolate & Chili, is quite possibly the sexiest record I’ve ever heard, and I don’t say that lightly. The music on the album is a mix of nu-jazz, swing, blues, and electronics, but it doesn’t fall prey to the trap of becoming scattered. There’s a definite mood to this album and each of those genres serves to enhance it. One of the first things that jumped out at me is how bass heavy the music is. If you’re one of those people that crank the bass you might want to dial it back a bit before putting this album on, lest you risk your speakers. It’s heavy. The second thing that jumped out at me was Ms. Boykin’s amazingly sultry voice. She’s one of the few vocalists that can manage soft, rough, sexy and mournful all at the same time. Listening to tracks like Talk With Your Hands, Chocolate and Chili, or Moaning, it’s hard to decide what to do. Cry? Drink? Hook up with a stranger? A mix of the three? Any of those choices would be a good fit.
Though facts are few, I discovered that Ms. Boykin has done a lot of vocal work for other bands. One of them was Home Cookin’, who released a fantastic pair of blues albums, one in the mid 90s and one in 2000. I only have their second, Afrobilly Soul Stew, but after listening to it I am very eager to get the first. It’s a testament to Ms. Boykin’s skill that her voice sounds equally at home with a traditional blues backing as it does with an electronic jazz outfit behind it. The blues don’t take away from the sexiness either. Just listen to Chains or her cover of Crying Time and you’ll see that feeling so bad never felt so good. I’m going to come right out and say it: Brenda Boykin is a strong contender for the Etta James throne. If that means anything to you, then you need to get this album.
It borders on criminal that Brenda Boykin doesn’t receive the attention her talent deserves. Chocolate & Chili is available on iTunes (look it up on Amazon and you’ll see that the iTunes price is a steal) as is Home Cookin’s Afrobilly Soul Stew. You can also find her work with Club des Belugas there. If you’ve got eight or nine bucks to spare you really can’t go wrong here. What else are you going to spend that money on? Food? It’s too hot out to eat anyway. Utilities? Lights just make things hotter. Do yourself a favor and go for one (or both) of these albums instead. And if anyone has recommendations for their own sexy music lists feel free to leave them in the comments!
Here you go:
I couldn't find any Home Cookin' samples, so here's something else from her solo album (and no, that's not her in the picture):
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