fosse music

Song of the Day: “Give It To Me Right” – Melanie Fiona

She’s opened for Kanye, signed to Hova’s Live Nation venture [Roc-Nation], is buddy-buddy with ?uestlove, and has the pipes to dry up Amy Winehouse’s career once and for all. The Guyanan singer-songwriter, raised in Toronto, ON, is putting the finishing touches on her debut album, The Bridge, as we speak. Melanie Fiona is like a millennial Patsy Cline. Her first single, “Give It To Me Right” is a sultry, self-righteous ladies anthem, boasting a beastly, whip-snap Zombies sample [“Time of the Season” – how has it gone this long without being sampled?). The track is built on its jazzclub sighs, organ-led background, and smoky alto vocals, all fit for a Bob Fosse routine. Jazmine Sullivan is my favorite of the resurged-retro-soul genre (that includes Adele, Solange, Amy, Duffy, Raphael, …), but after hearing this joint, I’m eager to see if she can keep her slot as top wailer. This is one hell of a first single, if you ask me.