En Vogue triumphs!

Undoubtedly En Vogue's best work (followed closely by Born To Sing, Masterpiece Theatre and SoulFlower), this album shows that En Vogue is capable of being sassy, sexy, funky, strong, fun, diverse and able to tackle any genre. Their voices never sounded better (check out "My Lovin' You're Never Gonna Get It", "Free Your Mind", "This Is Your Life", "Yesterday" and "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" to name a few) and they seem to have found their nitch and style that suits them best. 'Funky Divas' showed En Vogue for what they are; beautiful, stylist, fashionable, professional singers on the cutting edge who seem perfect! Of all the En Vogue cd's, 'Funky Divas' is one you must have. It embodies what En Vogue is about. Everything from R&B, Rock, Dance, Reggae to Soul - even a Beatles classic is featured on this album - which En Vogue cover effortlessly.



En Vogue. Very possible the best girl group of all time!

Free your mind - don't be so shallow!

In the year 1992 four Funky Divas arrived on the scene. The first time I heard the song, Free Your Mind I was hooked. The words of this song are still so true to this day and I related to them on another level.



This is written about how ones perception of another race or color are clouded by the outside and not looking at the person as a whole. This line here tells it all, " Before you can read me you gotta learn how to see me".



The song is about how store clerks flock to watch the black women in the stores and how it makes them feel being watched because they use cash even though they have credit too. Some may have their hair straight or curled and neither means they do drugs or sell dope.



Black sisters change their mind just like everyone else and wear high heels and funky clothes and should not be viewed as someone with less value than those who dress stylish or conservative.



Other phrases like how they can date other races and colors but they still like their own kind. This sums it up for me, " Oh now attitude why even bother, I can't change your mind you can't change my color". Prejudice is still alive and well here in the year 2001.



This song brings me out of my funk, lifts me up with the message to free my mind and kick up my heels to this tune. Turns out Funky Divas has lots of songs that are worth listening to. Hip Hop Lover is over five minutes being the longest cut also on Side A right before Free Your Mind.



Desire is all about fantasies and trying to keep them in control every hour of the day.



This is Your Life is about the lesson of listening to what others say and how to find your dreams. You got to live it your way is repeated in this song and how to share your feelings.



My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) this song recites a love and hate relationship that goes nowhere. What she really wants is respect and tells him he is wasting his time.



Giving Him Something He Can Feel the tune that ends the first side are the words of Curtis Mayfield. How to tell the man that you love that this love is real is a nice ballad for slow dancing and keeping close by touching the one you love.



Give It Up, Turn It Loose is a tune about not wasting time playing games when in love and how to turn it around and get past the old and on with the new. " Don't blame it all on love, in time good things will come" and how to be positive and not dwindle on the past.



Hooked On Your Love is another tune with the words and music by Curtis Mayfield.



Love Don't Love You is about how love was in the beginning and that there needs to be more than love to make a satisfying life, people change and " Love don't care".



What Is Love is about how complex the word love is and how modern technology can do so much but no one can explain the word love.



Funky Divas is a great uplifting mix of tunes for those who enjoy rhythm and blues, soul, and some rap and hip hop jamming. It really does not matter if you are currently in a relationship or not this has a benefit for all races and either male or female that like to dance and get in the groove will want to listen to this in a group, alone or blasting in your car. This is sure to open your eyes and Free Your Mind to all the issues the Funky Divas have faced.

Perfect combination.

En Vogue came out about a time when the world really needed some fresh new faces that could really sing, versus all the obligatory dance tracks and syrupy ballads sung by most soloists at the time. We really needed a group that really made us want to be singers, standing in our mirrors with the hairbrush, lip-synching to whatever was on the radio. En Vogue was definitely that group.



Their debut album Born to Sing (a marvel in its own right) was just a precursor to this album that really put En Vogue on the map. Cindy, Dawn, Terry, and Maxine became household names; you could say any of their names and instantly people knew who you were talking about. And they totally deserved it with their perfect fusion of rock, pop, soul, gospel, and every other genre of music.



The faster joints are the ones that get you really jumping in the club. EV showed their hip-hop heads that they were funky with the aptly titled "Hip Hop Lover". The girls seemed as if they were having fun finding their funky side with this song, and it ended up being a lovely uptempo number. "It Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Lady Sings" shows off Dawn's rapping skills, which were actually impressive, as well as the girls' soaring vocals that are still virtually unmatched to this day! "What Is Love" does just that, shows off the soaring that only EV could do while still capturing the beat of the song! "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" is a tight beat-thumping song that had all of us singing along like crazy, and still captures my attention to this day. "Free Your Mind" is perfection at its finest, with its rock-laden beats and guitars and rock-themed video to match, and still the EV vocals that we love so much.



All groups have to have ballads on their album and EV definitely does not disappoint. Check out two classic remakes of Curtis Mayfield's work from the movie Sparkle: "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" and "Hooked On Your Love". On the former, Dawn shows off her true soul that only she could do, and the background vocals are just as impressive. On the latter, Terry shows off her pipes as well, and the vocals are terrific. "Desire" flows so lovely with its reggae feel and lovely vocals. "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" has that old-school feel but still comes off sounding innovative. Maxine gets her time to shine on this song and EV backs her up well. And on "Yesterday", a pre-Boyz II Men remake of the Beatles' classic, gives Cindy her time to really show off those Mariah Carey-esque airy vocals that we all love. And what a perfect way to end the album with "Thanks", a gospel number with lovely high-reaching vocals that only EV can do properly!



We also get two funny skits. The first one, at the beginning of the album before "This Is Your Life", gives you a backstage pass to EV's pre-performance jitters and and warm-ups, along with crazy one-liners and sarcasm. The second one, right before "Give It Up, Turn It Loose", has Dawn singing off-key (something I hear she had to really try hard to do) and the girls sounding too funny going "Dawwnnnn". I was really laughing at how Dawn sounded and how the others reacted. Classic!!



One listen to Funky Divas and you will know that En Vogue is nothing to be played with! This is where you can find perfection from EV in its purest form. Definitely a must-have for any real R&B collector.