Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Estelle ft. Sean Paul - "Come Over"

I know I tend to write about songs or artists that have less exposure in the public domain, but every so often, a top forty song comes along that is so well deserving of its place that not only do I turn up my speakers when it comes on in my car, I sing along to it, and badly.
I fell in love with Estelle's vocals in her collaboration with Kanye West and his killer (and dare we say Daft Punk-esque production) on "American Boy," enjoyed her collaboration with John Legend, and nearly cheered when she unwittingly did me a massive favor and paired up with one of the few and far between crossovers from reggae into mainstream; none other than party starter Sean Paul.
Naturally, I was drawn to Estelle's accent (I can't be too inconsistent) and silvery voice, but I was also impressed by her versatility. I like to think she has the staying power to make it as an R&B songstress, though its admittedly a genre I know nothing about, and she has enough sass and sex appeal to hold her own against the boys of hip hop. Since all of those qualities in a lady do well over bright reggae rhythms, "Come Over" is an excellent track. On the gentler side, there are definite R&B tones, but the hammock friendly rhythms lend it an air of lovers' rock.
Then, over an already excellent track, and in true reggae MC style, Sean Paul's vocals were laid down after the album version of the track was released, like toasting over a dub original for one of those beach jams perfect in the freakishly warm Los Angeles winter.

Currently, the song is only available on the radio, or on demand at Estelle's Myspace.

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