Heroes & Gods

Album review

Before becoming the smoothest soul singer of the 2000s, Rahsaan Patterson lived a very different life. Between 1984 and 1987, the Bronx singer was one of the child stars of the series Kids Incorporated. After his adolescence, he earned his stripes as a backup singer and lyricist (Color Club, Brandy, Tevin Campbell) and signed a contract under his own name with MCA in 1997. At 23, he finally took the plunge into the world of neo soul. But it was with After Hours, his third album produced independently in 2004 after the bankruptcy of his old label, that the singer really progressed and secured his name. It is difficult to not think of Stevie Wonder, his major influence, throughout the length of After Hours. However, the New-Yorker sufficiently hones his craft and skillfully masters the sound of his era to break such a weighty connection. Two respectable albums followed, Wines and Spirits in 2007 and Bleuphoria in 2011. Then there was nothing. In 2019, neo soul is nothing but a distant memory. But at 45, Patterson believes in the genre and proves with Heroes and Gods that he still has something to say. The album is nothing revolutionary but works to polish what he already knows: an R&B that respects traditions (he covers Don’t You Know That? by Luther Vandross), perfectly balanced and never over-indulgent. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz