Sometime after the turn of the century, Cody ChesnuTT suddenly appeared with a slice of everything soul called The Headphone Masterpiece (2002). And indeed, it was both - something he’s done all by himself (through his headphones) and definitely a masterpiece. And then… nothing. While almost everybody with a copy of “The Headphones” started thinking that this will be the only thing they will cherish from the guy, exactly ten years later he was back with Landing On A Hundred (2012). This time it was all studio mastery and a new lease on life music, more precisely, everything. Oh, he didn’t lose his touch either.
And then, quiet again. At least seemingly. Actually, he met TwillightTone, by a strange coincidence and through Kanye West and Bon Over (what a combo!). So TwillightTone produced Cody’s newest offering coming to us after “only” five years - My Love Devine Degree. Actually, the album was 18 months in the making and absolutely worth the wait. What makes it probably the strongest Cody ChesnuTT album so far is first the fact that he and TwillightTone covered practically a complete gamut of what can be called soul music - from the Afro-funky Africa the Future through Bob Marley Redemption Song style This Green Leaf, to some something that could have come straight from the cannon of a genius like Marvin Gay, Bullets in the Streets and Blood and So Sad To See (The Lost Generation).
The latter two are also a good example how Cody’s lyrical palette has expanded too - his observations are astute and precise and focused on everything he sees around him. But then, in naming all the names, ChesnuTT always adds an element or shifts the musical focus. Bullets in the Streets and Blood has that What’s Going On vibe, but its instrumentation is minimal, focusing on Cody’s guitar work and is backed by modern beat structure, while So Sad To See (The Lost Generation) continues the social observation but is backed by a musical track that could be a missing track from Marvin’s Let’s Get It On. And if This Green Leaf is not reggae enough for your taste, Shine on the Mic will be.
All in all, surely this will come down as one of the best soul albums of the year. Or a few years. Or until sometime close to 2020, when according to his timing so far we can expect the next Cody ChesnuTT album.
