NEW YORK (AP) — Marsha Ambrosius was tired of the demands placed on R&B stars, including the wear and tear of touring and the whims of the music industry. She found peace working in the shadows and writing for other artists. But Dr. Dre had a prescription to rekindle his desire for the stage.
“I didn’t want to do a project,” the Grammy-nominated artist said. “I checked off my bucket list, everything I wanted to do. And Dre said, I just want you to stay inspired. Let’s just create and see where it goes.”
Their musical journeys have led them to his new album, CASABLANCO, available now. Combining Ambrosius' songwriting and singing prowess with one of the biggest producers of this generation made this a highly anticipated project after years of teasing.
I haven't had the opportunity not only to create, but I have no limits, no boundaries. Dre really said, “Anything you want to do can be done,” said the British-born singer who wrote and produced the theme songs for each song. It breathed new creative life into me, knowing that I hadn't really done all that I was capable of doing until we created this.
The 11-track project is an opulent sonic collage, masterfully fusing jazz and hip-hop, a compound that only Dr. could blend. CASABLANCO, a play on the luxurious lifestyle of the iconic film Casablanca and the Moroccan city, marks the singer's fourth solo studio album, following 2018's NYLA. (The “A” in the title was replaced by Dre for represent the grain of hip-hop sound.)
Fully produced and mixed by the architect of The Chronic with support from Erik Blu2th Griggs, Focus and Dem Jointz, the album was recorded over two weeks in 2021 while much of the world was still captive by the pandemic of COVID-19 and while Dre was recovering from a brain aneurysm. Signed to Dre's Aftermath label via Interscope Records, the duo have a long history of collaboration, most recently officially joining forces on his 2015 album, Compton.
CASABLANCO stands out from today's trap-beat and atmospheric R&B, both in sound and construction. Eight of the 11 songs are over four minutes long, with three tracks exceeding five minutes, featuring substantial instrumental breaks and creative, non-traditional arrangements of verses, bridges and choruses. Jazzy instrumentation precedes many tracks before transitioning into Dres' unmistakable hip-hop sound, referring to the combination as tux and Chucks.
I thought, “What if it was for one night instead of all night?” ” Ambrosius said. This always brings us back to why we made this record: if we had one more album to make, what would it be? So, I felt like it was a one-night-only moment that could ultimately turn into an eternity. And that's what happened for me.
While Best I Could Find recalls Stevie Wonder's Innervisions, Cloudy With A Chance Of Real is a dramatic yearning for her lover, as she sings, “It feels like it's someone else's, living this pain through me/And I carry the weight of this falling rain, and it's so lonely.
She sings: It was this fog, this mist, this uncertainty, what will happen if I can't love you the way I want to love you, or what if you don't want to receive what my love because of the current situation in the world, in reference to the pandemic.
Despite a strong solo career with songs like Far Away and Late Nights & Early Mornings, singing choruses for major artists like Kanye West, Nas, and Nipsey Hussle, and writing for H.E.R. and Alicia Keys, many fans still associate him with to the Floetry duo.
Floetry (Ambrosius and Natalie The Floacist Stewart) emerged during the neo-soul movement of the early 2000s, finding success with songs like Say yes,To be late” And SupaStar with Common. Ambrosius, 46, understands fans' nostalgia with this music.
We were young, fearless and did not conform, said Ambrosius, who also wrote Butterflies by Jackson. I'm happy to say I've made some timeless classics. And 24 years later, with Dr. Dre and CASABLANCO, I have the same feeling I had then, I still have today.
Follow Associated Press entertainment reporter Gary Gerard Hamilton at: @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.