By Fawn Renee

Not many artists are afforded the opportunity to redeem themselves. The road from hell back to creativity and peace of mind isn’t an easy one, but El DeBarge’s triumphant return to the music scene at the 2010 “BET Awards” was only the beginning of life’s second chance for one of R&B’s most distinctive and soulful voices. DeBarge’s sultry falsetto, made popular from a trail of hit singles in the 80s and 90s, resurfaces virtually unscathed after a two-decade battle with drug addiction. The performer, who was jailed for two years after a 2008 drug-possession arrest, said he waited until he was clean to release new music. On his new album, Second Chance, the crooner’s long-awaited return to the music scene, DeBarge gets loyal fans get reacquainted with the voice they know and love, and gives a new generation of R&B singers a lesson in reinvention and resiliency, many of whom have only heard DeBarge’s songs chopped and looped by their favorite Hip-Hop/R&B artists, such as Notorious B.I.G, Mariah Carey, etc.

 On Second Chance, a 49 year-old DeBarge works with some of music’s most notable hit makers, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface, Mike City, Michael Angelo, Mishka, the Avila Brothers and Ron Fair, while keeping it current with features from some of Hip-Hop’s most coveted artists and producers. The album opener, “Lay With You,” features Faith Evans, another timeless voice; providing the perfect complement to DeBarge’s polished harmonies. With its casual groove, infused with Rhodes keys and a mesmerizing horn section, the song sets the tone for the rest of the album: a masterful blend of nostalgia and stimulation.

In that same vein, some of the album’s most alluring tracks come from singer, songwriter, producer Mike City, who wrote and produced the aforementioned “Lay With You;” as well as “Serenading,” a sexy track, which does an excellent job of revealing the lower end of DeBarge’s three-octave vocal range, and the laidback “Close To You,” which takes advantage of the rhythmic formula that has become somewhat of a staple for DeBarge.

Hip-Hop/R&B producer Polow Da Don assimilates El DeBarge into his world seamlessly on “Heaven,” the most modern track on the album, from a production standpoint. The song features the signature percussion and horns prevalent in much of Polow Da Don’s production, which gives DeBarge’s vocals a slight makeover. Similarly, “5 Seconds,” which features Fabolous, does an excellent job of polishing Fab’s delivery, as he takes on the challenge of merging into DeBarge’s era; a task unbecoming on the 50 Cent assisted “Format.”

While the album is largely a celebration of DeBarge’s road back to music, love and life; he does not neglect to take the listener through the valley along the way. “The Other Side” is an ethereal track, co-written and produced by Jimmy Jam & Terri Lewis, laden with melancholy as it addresses his drug addiction and road to recovery. Here he sings, “It’s a shame something you love so much can make you hurt that much, on the other side.” The album’s title track “Second Chance (which is up for two Grammy nominations),” is a beautiful, self-reflective song, that illuminates the crooner’s successful journey through “the other side;” DeBarge’s explicit display of redemption. 

Suffice it to say, El DeBarge is back-refreshed, rededicated and ready to take his place once more among the most notable R&B stars, young and old. Second Chance tells the story of both a man, and an artist’s, road to redemption, through lyrical substance and musical evolution.  This alone sets him apart from his musical peers and allows music a second chance to resurrect its long lost classic appeal to human beings through emotion.  
4.25 out of 5

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