Album Review: Raheem Devaughn – The Love & War Masterpeace

Artist: Raheem Devaughn
Album: The Love & War Masterpeace
Release Date: 3.2.2010

As the title suggests, The Love and War Masterpeace explores the war of love and, conversely, humanity’s unfortunate love of war. Devaughn’s vocal delivery is colorful and strong without being laborious or overbearing. Most notably, this album feels “very Raheem”, very true to the artistry he exhibits on previous projects. This, his third studio album, is narrated by the illustrious Dr. Cornell West and is flavored with a live-band sound that opposes the overproduced R&B that plagues the airwaves of today; there is no focus on beats or overzealous producers shouting over his tracks, he leaves that where it belongs – in the hip-hop world. This album is refreshingly familiar in the sense that Devaughn evokes styles and sounds of past musical eras.

Bulletproof, Devaughn’s socially conscious lead single led the way for this new project, featuring southern rapper Ludacris for a song off the beaten path that challenges urban listeners with a message and a meaning. I Don’t Care brings a great new sound as the followup, presenting Devaughn with a funky big band backdrop on a single that’s evocative of the Frankie Beverly and Maze sound. The album takes a mature turn on songs like My Wife but gets even more serious on Black and Blue, a plea to women everywhere dealing with abusive partners. For the lover in you, Garden of Love appeals to the intimate moments while remaining subtle and smooth. The song does a great job of setting the mood and closes with a melodic reprise, an attribute rarely heard on today’s R&B. On behalf of men everywhere, I’d personally like to thank Mr. Devaughn for B.O.B., an unabashed rebuttal on behalf of our gender in the war against the use of electronic devices as sexual replacements (ladies, take note!). Another highlight on the album is Fragile, which is really Devaughn’s most shining moment as a crooner on this project; the vocals are carefully controlled and soothing. As we discussed in our interview, Nobody Wins A War is an epic song discussing the state of the world and can be translated on both personal and global scales. The message is strong and joins the voices of Jill Scott, Chico DeBarge, Dwele, Rudy Currence, Anthony Hamilton and many more in an R&B/Neo-Soul collective – the first of its kind for this genre. The only song that didn’t quite fit for me was the Wale-featured Greatness. The track just seems a bit much, overproduced and too many conflicting elements.

This guy knows what he’s doing. I mean, in an industry plagued with mediocrity he dares to step forth and put out what some might consider a classic album, or very close to it. Indeed, this is his masterpiece, the best and most consistent album in his catalog to date, further proving his ability to get progressively better with time. The Love and War Masterpeace is a project where all the elements work together to tell the story, the lyrics, the vocals, the band – it all works on mostly every track with few exceptions. Whether it’s the confident horns on I Don’t Care, the somber guitar strums on Black and Blue, the haunting background vocals on Nobody Wins A War, or the compassionate tone on tracks like Fragile and B.O.B., this album delivers fully. It’s a testament to the fact that GOOD MUSIC is still being made these days, if you know where to find it.

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Sound-Savvy rates The Love & War Masterpeace with 4.5 out of 5 platinum headphones.