Parisalexa's "2 Real" is an undeniably great album

The singer lets loose on "4 Playin'" when she says, "See in the past I've had to dip I get fed up triggered Can I just put the tip in head ass nigga. Oh you don't really like to kiss or give head? Well tell me what the fuck I look like in your bed (I gotta go)." This song continues a tradition of bold and sexually confident women in popular music like Adina Howard who helped to spark a change in lyrical content during the mid-1990s with hits like "Freak Like Me" and "T-Shirt & Panties."

I told you guys last year that Parisalexa was the something special. Her latest album "2 Real" was released May 8, and is nothing short of great!

Her first release "Bloom" was a grassroots organic effort which caught my attention in 2018. It was one of those albums that was an indie music fan's dream. You know how you felt when you first got hip to The Internet, Dwele, SZA or even Esthero (remember her?).

"Bloom" had its own bit of attitude but for the most part it was laid back compared to Parisalexa's latest "2 Real." It's colorful from start to finish with a bigger and brighter sound.

The singer lets loose on "4 Playin'" when she says, "See in the past I've had to dip I get fed up triggered Can I just put the tip in head ass nigga. Oh you don't really like to kiss or give head? Well tell me what the fuck I look like in your bed (I gotta go)." This song continues a tradition of bold and sexually confident women in popular music like Adina Howard who helped to spark a change in lyrical content during the mid-1990s with hits like "Freak Like Me" and "T-Shirt & Panties."

"Chocolate" takes me back to 2001 when India.Arie sang about not being the average girl in your video. Parisalexa sings "Mama said I was a queen before I was a teen. Look in the mirror now and I would agree. Before I didn't know that I'm gold and I'm out of control. Look at me now and I'm the girl of my dreams."

Parisalexa continues her uplifting message, in a much more rawer way than Arie would've when she sings the hook, "See 'em tryin' to bite this. Can't get like this. You can't bottle it, fraudulent. Pretty smile, brown skin, ass fat, waist thin. I'm confident, covered in chocolate."

She keeps that theme of self-love in the body positive "Slimthick." Parisalexa loudly says "How's it feel to look like this. Like I just hit a couple licks. All the haters getting dismissed. I'm slim, I'm thick, I'm a real bad bitch." In the same song she pays homage to the "bottom heavy girls." She tells them to, "Hold it down all around for the whole entire world. Girl I love how you were made, so be brave when I ask you if you like yourself, girl I want you to say yeah."

A refreshing thing about this album is that it is counter programming to so many projects in the hip-hop and R&B genre that has a mean spirited, complaining and negative vibe. Is "2 Real" entirely positive? No, but it seems to always get back to a positive result with each song.

The most passionate performance on the album is "11:11." Parisalexa brilliantly colors the song with the poetry of her lyrics that read, "And I been wishing on airplanes that fly in the night. And I know they ain't the same things as stars but the light, illuminating the darkness is like our love life. Can you show me where your heart is, cause this can't be right."

My personal favorite song on "2 Real" is "Troubled Waters." If you're a fan of Brandy especially during her "Full Moon" days, you should like this record. "Troubled Waters" is an upbeat song done with the same loving spirit Parisalexa had on "Bloom."

Being a person who has listened to music from various eras it's cool to hear hints of an artist that reminds you of the greats from the past. In "2 Real" you can hear things that take you back to the times when SWV, Kelly Price, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Amerie, Juvenile and even Sir Mix-A-Lot ruled the charts.

"2 Real" has the sound of a hit album. Its audience just has to find it. Parisalexa reported to her followers on Instagram that the album earned 90,000 streams during its first week. For an indie artist that is a satisfying feat.

Every artist has room to grow. Parisalexa is the type of artist that can do what artists like Stevie Wonder, Prince and Outkast did before her. She can change the direction of what people think music made by young "chocolate" artists is supposed to sound. Music needs artists to further expand the sound and imagination of what is possible. Without those artists everything that you hear will be an imitation.

Legends create and rarely imitate. I know I've said that Parisalexa reminds me of various artists of the past. The catch is that she isn't going out of her way to be them. Heck, she may not have even listened to all of them. Sometimes we just have things in common that connects us to others that we know nothing about. Nonetheless Parisalexa is an artist that I can see being as big as any during the middle and end of the decade.

"2 Real" is available on Apple Music at: https://music.apple.com/us/album/2-real/1508011346

"2 Real" is available on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/ParisAlexa/e/B07KBFCH3B