There's no denying Michael Jackson's influence on rising popstar B. Howard. The way B. Howard styles his curly hair, wears big-framed shades,pops his shoulders when he's dancing, and sings in a whispery, nasal vocal tonereference the late king of pop's "Off The Wall" and "Thriller" eras.
It's especially evident in the video for B. Howard's latestsong, "Dancefloor." It has the suspense of "Thriller"'s opening scene, and modernized special effects and choreography of "Rock With You."
It makes sense. B. Howard grew up around the Jackson family. His mother, Miki Howard, was one of the strongest female R&B voices of the 1990s.
"Dancefloor" is a feel good, dance record founded on therhythm of the bass rather than the drums.
Producer Teddy Riley describes B. Howard's sound as realmusic. "I think people take more to his energy more than his music and whenthey start hearing the music they are so surprised," said Teddy, who has workedwith Michael, Janet, and Dr. Dre. "I can only say you are in for a great, greatmagical project. I think it's really going to blow your mind."
B. Howard, who has produced music for Ne-Yo, Missy Elliott,Trey Songz, and other urban stars, launched his solo career last year in Japan with the release of his album, "Genesis,"on Universal Music Japan.
The album's first single, "Super Model," helped the project impactthe Billboard Tokyo album charts. The 6 Point Entertainment set includes contributions from some ofthe most respected names in music.
"Dancefloor" is produced by Grammy Award winning musiciansJames Poyser, Questlove from The Roots, and arranger Benjamin Wright, whoconducts his orchestra on the song.
"B. Howard is an extraordinary talent," Questlove said. "[He's]someone who is new and different, but at the same time can be consideredclassic," Poyser added.
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