Dahveed

Great Voice! Love to hear more! - Indie-Music.com

He has a very soothing voice; I love the sound. The Lyrics are great! - Russell Simmons;Music Mogal, Author

I was rather impressed by this piece, Musically the energy is infectious; had me nodding my head from the first note, and the instrumentation is elaborately played. Melodically the verses compliment the instrumentation well, and the vocal delivery is heartfelt and sincere.

Good luck, and I look forward to hearing more! - Taxi

By Skott Freedman

On his debut release Planet Dahveed, Randolph Small, a.k.a. Dahveed, invites the listener into a world of R&B, hip-hop, and enough soul to get the oldest granny rockin'. The Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist possesses a voice reminiscent of Stevie Wonder (who Dahveed cites as an influence), with an impressive falsetto he's not afraid to venture into on this 16-track release.

Dahveed's voice is seasoned in its delivery, freely gliding up and down the scale with remarkable precision. What I like most about this album is its natural progression from song to song while avoiding the trap of having the songs blend into each other. In this aspect Dahveed succeeds as a talented producer (in addition to composing and performing all the tracks).

"Tell Me" is an infectious number about rekindling a romance featuring layered background vocals. Dahveed braves the a capella avenue on “How I Feel” and has the voice to make it work where other singers might be vulnerable. The background vocals tended to get a bit excessive at certain points, however, and could’ve used more solo lines. The curiously 80s-tinged "I Still Love You" was a welcome surprise, taking a break from the beats and baring a more pop side right down to the keyboard synths.

The only marring segments on the album were the sprinkled "interludes" in which Dahveed and a woman exchange longings, words of hurt, and goodbyes in a conversational style as scripted as an episode of “Reba” (“I was watching BET today and I saw her. Yeah I saw her. You could’ve told me ok?”). One interlude in particular that I can only describe as pseudo phone sex would have my Grandma Ethel blushing. Dahveed should stick to doing what he does best: singing.

The album closes with the positive "Give to the World," an inspiring song that soothes the soul and leaves the listener all starry-eyed from orbiting Planet Dahveed.
- Skott Freedman

Randy,
Darryl Duncan here. Just wanted to let you know that I received and listened to the album. Thanks for sending me a copy. Man I am impressed...very impressed. You have some very nice songs on this album. I liked a lot of them, but my favorites are "Na Na" and "Good Love", in fact, you should consider pushing "Good Love" to local stations. I think you'd have a good chance of getting it played. Congratulations on the album. It is a nice piece of work and I hope it does well for you. Keep in touch.

-Darryl Duncan - Darryl Duncan, GameBeat Studios, LLC