Album Review: Keke Wyatt, Unbelievable

Keke Wyatt


Unbelievable (released June 14, 2011)


Keke has been fighting for redemption for what seems like an eternity.


After showing a ton of potential in duets with Avant in the early ’00s, Keke’s career was derailed by label politics and personal drama. She shocked us all by re-emerging Jean Grey-style last winter with Who Knew?, one of the best R&B albums of 2010. She looks to keep the momentum going with Unbelievable.


You can’t blame her for striking while the iron is hot. These days, the only “R&B” songs we get are when Rihanna decides not to sing in her accent and Ne-Yo’s Michael Jackson impersonations. Clearly there’s room for improvement.


Keke made her name with remakes, and Unbelievable is filled with familiar tunes. The most surprising is a soulful cover of Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven.” The original emoted the pain of Clapton losing his young child. Keke is well acquainted with pain and her rendition is absolutely stirring. No one can question Keke’s pipes, and that’s especially true as she boldly tackles the gospel staple, “His Eye is On the Sparrow” – a capella! Not too many artists are willing, or capable, of that feat but Keke handles it expertly.


About a year ago, I wrote about the R&B supergroup The Queen Project, which was comprised of Kelly Price, Deborah Cox and Tamia. Since they decided to drag their feet on releasing an album, Keke snatched up their song, “Mirror,” joined Kelly and recruited Tweet to do the honors. The contrasting vocals blend pretty well as the ladies sing about confronting their troubles face to face. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the original but honestly, that was a tough act to follow.


Miki Howard’s “Love Under New Management” also gets an upgrade for the millennium, and Keke’s version is just as emotionally charged at its predecessor. She also covers the ’80s classic “Saturday Love” but Ruben Studdard totally steals the show here, sounding even better than the original’s Alexander O’Neal, that ol’ Keith Sweat wannabe. But I digress…


Unlike the relatively strong remakes, results are mixed for Keke’s original material. The midtempo, radio-friendly “Travel the World” is a perfect showcase for Keke – a great balance of commercial appeal and actual talent. “Miss Your Plane” is a neat take on the usual “please don’t leave me” tale, as Keke prays for traffic trouble and flight delays to keep her lover near.


But then things kinda get bizarre. The title track is mechanically fine but suffers from some of the weirdest metaphors I’ve EVER heard, as she proclaims her man is as unique as “talking animals” and, my favorite: “You’re like a unicorn in my backyard just running wild.” Who wants to be compared to My Little Pony? “Tap Out” is also way too over the top, as Keke turns her bedroom to the UFC’s octagon. I can think of a billion things sexier than MMA.


Unbelievable is a bit uneven, but Keke’s underrated vocals make even the strangest songs worth a listen. Her appeal to both the old school and the younger set shows that she’s determined to capture every available ear on her road to redemption. You can’t fault that determination.




Best tracks: “Travel the World,” “Tears In Heaven,” “Mirror”


3.5 stars out of 5