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Rainbow
Mariah Carey, 1999
CD, Columbia CK 63800
It is always a thrill watching pop stars evolve before our eyes, transforming their sound, style, and personas. Mariah Carey has steadily "grown up" in the public eye over the course of a decade, shifting from pop to a hybrid of pop, R&B, and hip-hop styles one could call "hip-pop-soul." Along with genre changes, Carey has taken on a more sexualized visual persona and has become more outspoken about her multiracial heritage and struggles for artistic freedom. Her ninth album in ten years, Rainbow is, as its title suggests, a diverse portrait of an artist still growing.
The record is an ambitious mix of smooth ballads and trendy mid-tempo numbers that partially chronicle Carey's personal struggles in life and relationships and their gradual resolutions. The album reflects Carey's ongoing desire to deepen her artistry and remain commercially relevant for new generations of listeners attuned to hip-hop and teen pop. Carey, who coproduces and cowrites virtually all of her material, coproduced one track with long-time associate Jermaine Dupri, but adds a host of new coproducers including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who give the record a consistently soulful flavor; trendy hip-hop producers Master P, DJ Clue, and She'kspere Briggs; and pop producer David Foster. She also has a slew of guest cameos...