Review by Shani Elliott
Photos by Edith Williams
Time revealed that El DeBarge is definitely back! It has been sixteen years since DeBarge released his last cd, Back on Track and this time I think he plans to stay the course. He released his cd, Second Chance in August 2010. I recently attended a private show at BWX presented by Baltimore’s Magic 95.9 FM and Washington DC’s 102.3. DeBarge wowed the women, as he has always done in his career. He started the show with his current single featuring Faith Evans, “Lay With You”. He quickly took the crowd down memory lane to his days with the group, DeBarge, performing “Stay With Me”. Then, he reminded us, why we would never forget his music. DeBarge mixed a hip hop legend, Biggie Smalls’ song “One More Chance” into the performance. While DeBarge was on a musical hiatus, hip hop artists sampled his music in the 90s, keeping his sound alive.
DeBarge continued to serenade the audience with classics, such as “All This Love” and “Time Will Reveal”. He paid homage to his brothers, Bobby and Tommy DeBarge, whom were members of Switch, an R&B/Funk Band. He crooned two of their classics, “There’ll Never Be” and “Call Your Name” as the crowd sung along. DeBarge danced and proved that he still possesses a flawless falsetto. He brought us back to 2010, with his performance of the title track of the new cd, “Second Chance”. Moments later, we were transported back to the ‘80s with “I Like It”, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Charts. Everyone was given a second chance to reminisce. I remember my childhood crush on Taimak, the star of Berry Gordy’s film, The Last Dragon and the music video for “Rhythm of The Night”, as DeBarge sang it wrapping up the show.
DeBarge recently completed a national tour with Mary J. Blige in October. So, what does the future hold for El DeBarge? DeBarge’s return has been welcomed with two Grammy Awards nominations for Second Chance, for Best Male R & B Vocal Performance and Best R & B Song. He will also be playing himself in Jumping The Broom, a movie to be released in 2011. We may also see an El DeBarge tour next year. You can keep track of DeBarge’s shows and success at www.eldebargemusic.com.
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