Cassie: The new Ciara?

She is really the most restrained singer. On Long Way to Go she barely even bothers to sing, the whole thing is just an excercise in barely-there remoteness.

― I know, right?, Thursday, 23 October 2008 23:59 (Yesterday)

The bitch can't sing. Let's just call it what it is.

She's obviously got a limited voice, but she has a directness of tone that comes through over the pretty merciless processing that's sometimes used on her voice (which, btw, sounds amazing in super-synch multitrack)

Official Girl is a bit More Than A Woman, but way more concise, same feeling of lift though and maybe a little slinkier than the usual Cassie track.

like, there's some really loose lines working under the ice sheets of synths

Also Brainwasher, i think we should just realise that we really do not have the same taste in pop music

oh wait, sorry, i just re-read upthread, you like this one...

I actually like Cassie, I'm just not going to pretend like she's this amazing vocal stylist or whatever.

either is anyone, but any other singer wouldn't really work in these songs, and that's a large part of their charm for me.

despite her thin, technically limited voice, cassie's vocal presence is immensely powerful and compelling, and part of what makes her material so addictive is trying to get to the heart of what the hell she's even doing to make it so

i think what i'm drawn to most is the stillness of her voice - it's magnetic

good word, stillness

Y'all are too much for me.

lol!

nb: brainwasher started this thread! and has been as cassie-fan-club as anyone all over it

saying pretty much what i just said!!!

She doesn't have a very strong voice, but she's got tons of charisma, and the production is all-around excellent. I hope she stays around for a while.

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Thursday, August 3, 2006 7:01 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i can't wait to listen to the acapella on repeat over some basic channel beats

― a name means a lot just by itself (lfam), Sunday, August 6, 2006 7:31 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^did this ever happen?

Latest news: Working on new tunes with Pharrell and Darkchild. Album release first quarter or spring 09. Go figure.

pharrell and darkchild? i am filled with trepidation

Sadly not too surprised that "Official Girl" isn't blowing up (I wonder if Lil Wayne helped or hurt...I prefer the version without him, much like I prefer the T.I.-less version of another should-be hit, "Lovin' U Long Time")

Rumor is that "Thirsty" will be the second single...

Billboard wrote this in January:
And although a first single hasn't been released, Cassie assures it will be "a club record -- something fun and danceable." Possible contenders include the Seven-produced "My House," the flirty "Thirsty" and the concept track "Push It," on which Cassie sings, "Want you to light me up / keep me on my toes / gotta hold it steady."

"My House" and "Thirsty" have both leaked; "Push It," to my knowledge, has not...Maybe it could be the second single? I'm not sure if Bad Boy would release "Thirsty," which has been making the rounds for quite a long time now (and would also probably bomb).

Oh, and something more interesting: Cassie just released this new vid. The song, called "Sell It," sounds awesome--fun and slinky like "Activate":

i really love 'thirsty' but it wouldn't be my choice of single...though given how badly the whole thing's going, hell, why not. it certainly sounds different enough that it could catch on.

it's horrible to think that when/if official product actually gets released, half the leaks will probably have been cut...so many great songs just discarded.

xpost - sounds like sa-ra

Interview on Hip Hop DX: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/lifestyle-features/id.1262/title./p.1

Stuff about new album:
DX: Yeah, I ask because I read somewhere that you said, paraphrasing, I want people to see more and I want them to see my talent. What steps have you taken so that people do see beyond it and see the talent on this new album?
Cassie: I really pushed myself. I’ve gone back and…doing a record in one night isn’t the same thing as it was before. Like, if I do a record, I’m compassionate. There’s no way around it. Now, I really need to focus. So, I can do something and then I hear it later, and I’m like, "Shit! That doesn’t sound right." Then, I have to go back and spend six more hours on it because there needs to be something else there, something’s missing. I don’t know. It’s just taking that extra step and that extra mile to really want to win. Like, you really, really want people to know that you have that in you. I didn’t get here off of just drinking water and eating bread. I really, really worked hard.
DX: Who did you work with on the new album?
Cassie: When it first started, I was working with B.Cox and Jim Jonsin and who else? A few others. I worked with Rodney Jerkins. Then time passed and I started working with Mario Winans and Puff in the studio. Just recently, I got in the studio with Pharrell and did some stuff with Kanye [West]. There’s a little bit of everything. Oh, and Danja did the single and a couple of others.
DX: So, have you been rhyming more or singing?
Cassie: Singing! [Laughs] I cut that rapping thing out really quick.
DX: Why?
Cassie: It was fun for that one record and I wrote on that record so it was just a cool experience. It wasn’t really anything that I was super serious about. I don’t think anyone was like, "Wow! She can spit!" [Laughs]
HipHopDX: So, how would you describe the sound on this new record?
Cassie: The sound is, you know…it’s hard to even explain because at this point, I’ve recorded so many different records. Some which are on totally different opposite ends of the spectrum and we’re going to pick songs in probably like a few months. So, it’s kind of hard to explain the direction. But, the main direction of the songs that I really love is that they’re just big records that people will love to sing. I have a couple that are a little sensual and a little bit more grown up. I’m not saying I grew up and I want to be gratuitous or anything. But, there are songs that are for my age group and there are songs that are for an age group a little younger, because I have a younger fan base too.
...
DX: What about musically? How has that been?
Cassie: Musically? You’d have to hear the music. My problem is I’ve had a lot of songs leaked. But, at the same time, it’s helped me kind of figure out what people want and what they like. There’s a few records that have shown me exactly what people want to hear from me. So, it’s a gift and a curse at the same time. But, I don’t know. I’ve never really been criticized on my songs like that. People will be like, "Wow! She always picks a great song!

oh, and does anyone know what's going on with Ryan Leslie's album?

What the fuck?! :( She could release all the leaks and still have the best album of the year!

YES:

official girl
2 the morning
in love with the dj
sometimes
thirsty
my house
over it
is it you?
turn the lights off

― lex pretend, Thursday, August 7, 2008 4:40 AM (3 months ago) Bookmark

do mp3s of this exist? if so, could someone make this album and upload it here (lex? tape store?)

Yeah, Lex and I put together a compilation of the leaks from the new album and some bonus tracks off of the s/t. I'll upload it and post a link.

if it were released it would easily be somewhere in my top ten with erykah and tvotr and whoever. the degree to which cassie murks danity kane/pcd/anyone else doing this spacey fragile r&b is staggering.

gimme a minute.

thx bro

i think cassie fanboys will really love the hilson album

or should at least

fair enough. nothing hilson's done has stuck with me yet, but my r&b tastes are mercurial, and only fairly recent, so i'm not the best barometer.

i'm curious as to what else gets classed as "micropop" a la I know, right's designation. is it a distinguishable subgenre? stillness of voice, lack of soaring emotions or vocal dynamics, intricate production....

part of me thinks Danity Kane should fall into it, but there are only 3ish songs off their album that seem worth my time, so perhaps they're micropop gone wrong.

i think of lots of danja stuff

blackout, "official girl", "return the favor"

I guess AIB and Lex have all these tracks...but mine so far:

Cassie - I am...Classy Undercover Hoe

I Am
1. Is It You?
2. Sometimes (feat. Ryan Leslie)
3. Official Girl
4. Don't Go Too Slow
5. My House
6. Nobody But You (feat. The-Dream)
7. I Don't Love You Outro

Classy Undercover Hoe
1. Activate
2. 2 The Morning (feat. Yung Dro)
3. Turn the Lights Off
4. In Love With the DJ
5. Thirsty
6. Addiction
7. Sell It (Outro)

OH, and GOOD NEWS:

MVRemix: With regards to the one’s that have already leaked, do you have plans to use those or put them elsewhere?

Cassie: You know what? I love every single one of the songs that has gotten leaked, so if [there are] any that I want to keep - I’m just gonna go back into the studio and re-vamp them and have fun with it. ‘Cause I’ve gotten good feedback on a lot of the records and that helps a lot too. Even though it’s a gift and a curse; the whole song leaking thing, it helps me try to figure out what people want to hear and what they like. So I’m definitely gonna go back in with some of the songs. I did a record called “Nobody But You” that I did with Tricky and [The] Dream and that got leaked. I’m keeping it because I really liked that song.

MVRemix: You’ve mentioned your frustrations at leaked songs, and as a music consumer, I wonder how you and the label don’t keep tighter wraps on material. How does it get out of your guys’ hands so easily?

Cassie: You know I think right now people are so intelligent and so smart with technology and with computers and with everything that I don’t count anything out. So if we’re sending a song through email or whatever, it’s a risk. So now you just have to be more conscious and make sure that we’re making the right decisions if we’re sending it to people. Just to be careful who you’re sending it to and what email you’re using. I don’t really know how it happens, but it happens to every artist now.

classy undercover ho???????? really?????

lol, someone described cassie as a "classy undercover hoe" [sic] on a youtube video a few months ago.

haha ookay

hahaha congratulations, you came up with the only possible album title worse than "Connecticut Fever"

Voila:

<a href='http://www.mediafire.com/?oyykideomok'>;Connecticut Fever</a>

Activate
2 the Morning (Ft. Young Dro)
Official Girl (Ft. Lil' Wayne)
Is It You?
In Love With U
I Don't Love You
In Love With the DJ
Nobody But You
Thirsty
My House
Sometimes (ft. R-Les)
Turn the Lights Off

I didn't think to put Addiction on there, and I think Over It is in the folder from before we knew it wasn't Cassie. Don't Go Too Slow, When Your Body Is Talking and that other one are bonus tracks off of Cassie and aren't ever going to be on Album #2, so I left them be. If you want them, they're floating around the internet.

What's Sell It?

Yeah, I only kept it as "Connecticut Fever" because that's the title/cover that was floating around for a while. I was under the impression that it was legit.

xpost

It's just that video upthread with her in the studio

http://www.mediafire.com/?oyykideomok

Argh. Stupid formatting. Sorry.

thx

connecticut fever is a great name for a bootleg cuz it brings the lols

i don't have 'i don't love you'!!! which is a singularly enticing title for a cassie song, i have to say.

there's a song called 'soldier 4 your love' doing the rounds too. it's a really lovely stargate-produced track - almost does the whole cosmic ryde-or-die declarative epic thing which every chick's been jumping on recently (not hating, i've got love for 'right here (departed)' and 'halo' and 'us against the world', but it's definitely becoming a rather rote thing now) - anyway, 'soldier 4 your love' almost does it but cassie drags it halfway back to her own introverted territory, as is her wont, and it ends up as oddly captivating as the rest of her material.

i like basically all the hilson i've heard, but i was never that enamoured of 'energy' - really the only hilson tracks which i've had that "whoa must put on repeat 4eva" reaction to are 'the way i are' and an 05/06 mixtape cut called 'hands & feet', which i was hoping that the scherzinger would exhume for her solo career. it goes "well u got big feet/and u got big hands/so i already know what's up in ur pants/where'd u get that from, ur daddy? where'd u get that from, ur daddy?"

haha the only leak cassie singles out is 'nobody but you', which is my least favourite of the connecticut fever leaks by some way - it's fine but cassie doesn't quite overcome the 'love in this club' familiarity of the beat. it'd be better without the signature ravey synths, they get rather intrusive. still worth it for that bizarro lyric "you got me sitting right here with my back facing this man/you're tormenting me in my serenity".

the other week i read some blind item about "which B-minus list r&b singer has just had her second abortion b/c a condition of her relationship w/her A-list producer is no children" and half the comments were "cassie and diddy, duh" :(

lolz at "classy undercover hoe" btw

No thanks, Cassie hype kru.

― The Reverend, Thursday, March 27, 2008 2:54 AM Bookmark

I stand by this.

rev, if you can't stand by a classy undercover hoe in this world what can you stand by?

if anyone outside of the 5 ppl who read this thread would get it i would change my sn to "classy undercover bro"

new track! 'summer charm' has a 'stand by me' rhythm and is as amazing as everything this girl touches. i love her.

OMFG SHE'S SO GREAT

God, this is like fucking 60s girl group without the harmonies. So beautiful!

Ha, that male vocal really comes outta nowhere with like 30 seconds left, huh?