Cee & Bekah - The Soul Movement Originals
2010, The Movement Fam Records
Cee & Bekah are 2/3 of The Movement Fam, an urban collective from Australia who dropped everything, sold everything they owned, and made their way to Toronto to find a market more open to their off-the-beaten path blend of hip-hop and soul. Cee provides the rhymes while Bekah sets forth with a powerhouse R&B voice that has been compared favorably to that of Alicia Keys. Cee & Bekah's The Soul Movement Originals is a master class in how two tried and true genres can be blended in a fashion that avoids commercial cliché while managing to sound very commercially accessible in the process. Cee's brother, and fellow Movement Fam member Notion, produces.
Cee distinguishes himself with a hard edge rhyming style steeped in sharp intellect and insight, playing the fire to Bekah's soothing rain. The two combine admirably on songs such as the incredibly catchy "The Charts" and the almost lyric ballad "Do It All Again". "Somebody" is a standout track, with both at the top of their respective games, but with Cee standing out in particular for a talent at stringing words together in a fashion that is a sort of magical, poetic prose. Notion sits in on "Ain't No Mountain", "Scream At Ya Muthf" (also featuring Tommy Gunnz), "Take This Feelin'" and "Never Going Away" (also featuring The Understudies). Other guests include Jessica Kaya on "Tomorrow (I'll Be Gone)", KrisblaiR on "Perfected Rawness", GNZ on "Free" and Cesar Comanche on "Beautiful Struggle".
Cee & Bekah make the most of their talents on The Soul Originals, effectively blending two genres that are often combined but not often this well. The album has its slow movements, but across 20 tracks, Cee & Bekah get it right more often than not. Cee & Bekah are building their cred in Toronto, but don't expect their sphere of influence to stay local for long. The duo plan several releases both on their own and with The Movement Fam over the next couple of years. Bekah has already appeared on an album by K-Dee, and it's only a matter of time before Cee & Bekah (or The Movement Fam as a whole), breaks big.
Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)
Learn more about Cee & Bekah at www.myspace.com/ceeandbekah or www.themovementfam.com. The Soul Movement Originals is available digitally from Bandcamp and iTunes.