1st Born Second Six Years On

There was a time when it looked like a cadre of “neo-soul” singers would lay waste to R&B, reclaiming the space for the experimental soul of the 70s. ?uestlove from the Roots was fond of the Star Wars metaphor in the late 90s, telling many eager ears that Lauryn Hill was Princess Leia, D’Angelo was Luke Skywalker, etc., taking rhythm and blues back from the Dark Side. Instead, we got Keyshia Cole and Rihanna.

But Philly’s Bilal fit in their somewhere with his 2001 debut, 1st Born Second. I used to relish the brother’s live shows in NYC, known for their kamikaze style: he often had a bit to drink and smoke beforehand, and I’ve seen him alternately 1. drop his pants Marvin Gaye-style, 2. dry-hump a sister onstage like Akon ain’t got no rhythm, and 3. threaten to rob Prince of “International Lover” closing out an all-star 1999 tribute.

Interscope shelved Bilal’s followup last year, Love for Sale, supposedly for leaking onto the Internet. (An imaginative response, that.) I didn’t know what to expect at the Elysée Montmartre last Friday, Bilal performing to a packed crowd without the benefit of having dropped a new record in six years. (Even 1st Born Second, solid in parts, was no multiplatinum smash.) His kamikaze style and dredlocks gone (though he did spark a blunt during the melancholy ballad, “All for Love”), Bilal put in a riveting 11-song set. Though he cynically introduced both “Somethin’ to Hold On” and “All for Love” as MySpace hits (available, thanks to his label, only on his page), Bilal brought the goods. He dedicated “Reminisce” to the late J. Dilla, mixed in the Soho house classic “Hot Music” and “Umi Says” (scatting!) as segues, and saved “Soul Sista” – the silky midtempo single that stands as his biggest hit – for the end. Ten o’clock, show over.

The bigger surprise was opening act Nneka. The main difference between seeing Bilal at Joe’s Pub in NYC and seeing him blocks away from the languidly spinning windmill of the Moulin Rouge is Nneka. This Nigerian-born, German-bred singer-songwriter with acoustic guitar chops wouldn’t have opened for Bilal in the States because she’s unknown there (so far). Her Victim of Truth came out just last year, and for a half-hour she strummed her guitar with Sven (her German rhythm guitarist) to heartfelt entreaties like “Stand Strong” and “Your Request.” I just saw Ayo (a similar acoustic-guitar songstress of Nigerian/German heritage) profiled in Vibe this month, over a year after her European début, so maybe America will be hearing about Nneka one day. Or, those in the know could download her music, check out her MySpace page, watch her YouTube videos (like “Africans,” below) and stay ahead of the game.