February 2010 ~ BLACK ICE MOVEMENTZ

The Love & War MasterPeace is the third studio album by American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter Raheem DeVaughn, released March 2, 2010 on Jive Records. The album was also released as a deluxe edition with an additional disc of bonus material. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2008 to 2009 and production was handled primarily by Kenny Dope. The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 45,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, The Love & War MasterPeace received generally positive reviews from most music critics.
Production for the album was handled primarily by Kenny Dope, with contributions from producers Ne-Yo, Stereotypes, and Lil' Ronnie.^[1] In a press release, DeVaughn explained his naming the album, stating "I named the album The Love & War MasterPeace because I feel that where I am as a person and where we are as a people, we are all trying to master that internal peace and happiness in a very strange time."^[1] In an interview for Vibe, he described the album as "half socially conscious, half love".^[2]

The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 45,000 copies in its first week.^[6]

Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Billboard writer Gail Mitchell praised the album's themes and music, writing "Drawing from a palette rich in R&B, hip-hop and jazz, DeVaughn has crafted a powerful, thought-provoking album".^[7] About.com's Mark Edward Nero gave it 4 out of 5 stars and commended DeVaughn for his ambition, calling it "an ambitious soul album straddling the line between politics and entertainment".^[8] Giving it 4½ out of 5 stars, Allmusic writer Andy Kellman cited The Love & War MasterPeace as "one of the most grippingly conscious major-label R&B albums of the last 30 years", viewing its love-themed songs as "imaginative and excellent" and praising its socially-conscious material.^[4] The Washington Post's Sarah Godfrey called it "a masterpiece" and compared DeVaughn to soul musician Marvin Gaye, writing "like Gaye, he can deliver songs for both babymaking and movement-building".^[5] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe praised DeVaughn's vocals and called the album a "smartly executed set".^[9] Detroit Free Press writer Brian McCollum gave the album 3 out of 4 stars and wrote that it "dances a careful line between oldfangled soul and commercial R&B".^[10] Despite viewing its thematic concept as flawed, Washington City Paper writer Ben Westhoff praised its "wild ambition" and musical quality, stating "it instead works in the realm of the lush, the dark, and the dramatic, striving for a chiseled-in-granite sound. There’s not a note out of place here; the music is at times sweeping and blustery, at other times cautious and foreboding".^[11] The Philadelphia Inquirer's A.D. Amorosi gave the album 3 out of 4 stars and viewed its skits by Dr. Cornel West as "confident and paternal", while writing that the album "finds DeVaughn embracing his political side with a sociocultural vision that's subtle, sharp, and never loses track of its contagious songcraft".^[12]

Track listing

Dr. Cornell West Intro
Bulletproof (feat. Ludacris)
The Greatness (feat. Wale)
I Don't Care
Black & Blue
Mr. Right
Dr. Cornell West Interlude
Fragile (feat. Malik Yusef)
My Wife
B.O.B.
Bedroom
Microphone
Garden Of Love
Dr. Cornell West P.S.A.
Nobody Wins A War (feat. Jill Scott, Bilal, Anthony Hamilton, Algebra, Chrisette Michele, Shelby Johnson, Ledisi, Citizen Cope, Dwele, Chico DeBarge & Rudy Currence)
Revelations 2010 (feat. Damian Marley)