Critical Noir: The Return of Rahsaan
By Mark Anthony Neal, AOL BlackVoices columnist
When Rahsaan Patterson dropped his self-titled debut in early 1997, there was very little wiggle room to establish him as someone that had a style distinct from some of the more celebrated neo-soul men like D'Angelo, Maxwell (who shared a similar hairstyle) and Eric Benet. But ultimately it was Patterson's music and his vocal prowess that established him as one of the more talented, if not recognizable, R&B singers to emerge in the last decade. Five years after his last release, Patterson returns with the independently released 'After Hours.'
With great tracks like 'I Always Find Myself,' 'Don't Run So Fast' and 'Burnin',' 'After Hours' isn't so much a comeback disc (his last, 'Love in Stereo' was released in 1999) as it is a new introduction to Rahsaan Patterson. Despite penning hits for Tevin Campbell ('Back to the World') and Brandy ('Baby') and solo recordings that were well regarded by critics, Patterson has always seemed to be on the periphery of contemporary R&B. For his part, Patterson is cool with some level of anonymity, admitting in a BV interview that "It's always nice to have the opportunity to reach more people (but) for me it's really about reaching the people that [the music] reaches period, the people that [the music] gravitates towards, the people who gravitate toward [the music]. Everything ain't for everybody."
With a supple and expansive tenor - he's been described as the "love child of Chaka Khan and Al Jarreau" -- Patterson is simply one of the most gifted vocalist-songwriters to emerge in the last decade. Indeed, Patterson possesses a voice so full of energy and emotion that the spirits are seemingly loosed every time he opens his mouth. For that Patterson takes no credit: "Growing up in church, singing in church, you just allow the spirits to come in and speak -- you speak on their behalf."
But in R&B's current state, Patterson's vocal honesty comes with a price. For example, Craig Seymour, author of 'Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross,' suggests that one of the great effects that Vandross has had on R&B music over the last 25 years is that he expanded the range of emotions that a black male singer could express. Of course, the price that Vandross has paid for such freedom is ongoing speculation and innuendo about his sexuality. Journalist Ernest Hardy perhaps says it best: "Naked emotionalism renders almost any male in American culture suspect, but especially if he's of the Negro persuasion, and most especially if the emotion is not exaggeratedly countered with macho or thug signifiers." And indeed this is an issue that Patterson has had to deal with throughout his career.
"I think it's funny that we as black people, still have [issues]," Patterson responds, and that "we are not in tune with the truth of who we are emotionally, and how vast we are." Patterson cites the Stylistics, the Whispers and Eddie Kendricks, artists who "emoted vocally in a very sensitive way, through their falsettos," as inspiration for his style. He adds, "It was never really anything that I tried to stay away from to keep people from thinking things. I sing my truth and I feel that I sing the truth of who we are and what we deal with internally, whether or not we express it verbally to anybody else." Patterson jokes, "I come across a lot of people and a lot of black men who do appreciate my music, but it's like their secret."
What Patterson doesn't joke about, is his appreciation for great vocalists. When asked who he would include on a dream tour that would include vocalists dead and alive, he quickly names Sarah Vaughn, Lalah Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Frankie Lyman, Lauryn Hill and Ronnie Dyson. Memories of Dyson, who died in 1990, particularly animate Patterson: "He had a beautiful [expletive] voice. Beautiful ... He was one of the first voices that I remember hearing that possessed this quality in a male voice that was different from even some of the falsetto guys that I mentioned before. He had this really independent spirit and freedom to just sing and express who he was." Rahsaan Patterson's latest release, 'After Hours,' is proof that such independent spirit and freedom still exist in contemporary R&B.
Jan. 19, 2005