An open letter to Cherub –
Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber don’t stop! When I listen to your music I get it. Yes, it is on the surface party music. It is the pimped-out-wanderlust-fantasy-come-true of two young men from Tennessee. Two guys, who at some point met, became homies, and somewhere along the way gelled into what we know of today as Cherub. But behind, or beneath the party music there lives the heart and soul of your humanity, of what is near and dear to both of your hearts: family and friends and having a damn good time. With your debut album I partied with you, and I shared your music with as many people I thought were cool enough to appreciate it. There were many. Yes, Man of the Hour was indeed some blunt smoking funky sex music. I lit candles to it, and poured drinks aplenty, and as I seduced them one and all, you guys were serenading their feminine libidos (by the way, a Cherub song can be KY Jelly too), and for that I thank the both of you.
But this new joint, this album MoM & DaD, well it’s different. If Man of the Hour was putting down your pimp hand and poppin’ ya colla’ then MoM & DaD is by various degrees different. Different in a good way. This one is mature, while still playful. It’s the good stuff in the locked liquor cabinet.
The first song, “What I Want” is reflective, and has a maturity which sets the tone, it says in quiet whispers, “Yeah, we’re having fun, but we still know where the fuck we come from?” And whether or not we’re sky high on some good dro or chasing ass, when the smoke clears and the crowd is long gone we’re still grounded, blessed and thankful. Up next is “Dear Body” and “You, Me, and Jodeci” I get the feeling these two songs had a ménage à trois with Prince’s Dirty Mind album before they wrote themselves into existence. The next three tracks “La Casa Del Obispo”, “XOXO” and “Monogamy” sound like a return of the salaciousness I admired on MOTH. Up next, the song “Roxxy” is bathed in the Dirty South vibes that spawned Goodie Mob and Outkast, although they don’t do rap music it has that trunk thumping attitude and swag. And then we stumble upon one of my favorite tracks, “Doses and Mimosas” and this one is a crass finger-fuck to all the haters and naysayers you’ve met along your climb to fame and big $$$’s. There is nothing like a good kiss-my-ass song to get the adrenaline going. Then we have “Hold Me” Ft. Dominic Lolli, which is the last fast dance before the album falls into chill mode, where the next song, “Lyndenberries”creeps into nostalgia and holds a lighter up. It is here that we know you guys are so appreciative of what has come your way. Or rather this dream is what you have both chased down doggedly and manhandled into reality. The song, “All” (Ft. Natalie Prass) is all seduction, this song is a dab of Chanel No. 5 behind her ear or it’s powerful hands pulling off her panties. It’s the kind of song you want to call up in the middle of the night just to hear it breathe against your love muscle (heart).
And finally we arrive at the last song, “Don’t Forget Me” it may be the final song on MoM & DaD, LP, but I suspect it’s only the beginning. Peace. Continue reading “Cherub // MoM & DaD”
