We back with another one!

A crooning singer from Miami, Florida. This man has to be one of my sleepers. He is far from boring but is definitely an underrated artist that people out of the South have trouble remembering. In Addition, I believe he is the perfect "transition" artist. He feels old yet contemporary. Proper yet risqué. Familiar yet fresh. It's almost as if a producer dusted off an ol lost 60s Soul acapella tape and remastered it with then contemporary R&B sounds. This is the artistry of Michael Sterling.

The crooner got his start in the late 70s as a guitarist for a range of artists including the Reggae group, Inner Circle ("Bad Boys"). After he finished touring, he returned to his hometown where he initiated his solo career. The man also started his record label, TSOM Records. A devotee to the musical arts, he has produced for local artists such as 2 Live Crew, Poison Clan, MC Shy D, etc. Although not a big name, he had a longstanding career to which he was active from the mid 80s to the mid 2000s. So, it's clear that the South truly did support and backed his music. This is evidenced by a popular Crunk & B song that sampled one of Sterling's biggest hits(listed under Examples) IYKYK.

His saccharine, soft falsetto is insanely enticing. Sterling's usage of his voice is as melodic and resonant as the strings of a well-played guitar, each vocal note carrying a certain warmth and richness. His soundscapes are beautifully crafted. I often felt a sense of uncanny listening to the production. It's almost as if the songs were some time warp type s***. I didn't know at times if his music was distinctively decade based. As aforementioned before, he appears to be transitional. He had the sweet yearnings of a 1960s Soul artist, the slick soundscape of an 80s Boogie frontman, yet had the risqué appeal of a 90s Contemporary R&B new jack. An artist that continued tradition yet added freshness to the artform of crooning.

Examples:

Shout out to my brehs that be holding the South down.

Starting album to listen to:
Trouble (1990)

For those that are enamored and enticed by:
Lorenzo Smith
Gerald Alston
Keith Washington
Gerald Levert
Eric Gable
Glen Jones
Christopher Williams
Miles Jaye
Alexander O'Neal

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listened to the first song so far and its fire

it sounds retro and modern at the same time

Fr. It's really weird how he's able to express that balance. He clearly was a student of the game

@SOLARIS

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Lil Jon, Usher, and Ludacris definitely did the song justice for the Crunk era

And this DJ Khaled track in 2016