Comedian, radio DJ and "Craig David body double" Geoff Schumann is on stage. "Tonight ladies and gentlemen I am proud to introduce a legend, a piece of musical history, someone who's records are classics in the clubs."
Eh? We know MCs like to hype the crowd a bit but this seems a bit much for Marissa Anglin, the Anglo-Nigerian singer who's yet to release a debut single. What else should we expect from a joker? On comes, of all people, US soul legend Jocelyn Brown to further inaugurate Ms Anglin. Dressed in a red, velour romper suit it looks like our overweight granny from Michigan has just turned up to present her favourite singing niece.
She teases Marissa out from backstage, the first artist on the Black Kat label which has splattered most of London with its promotional stickers (obviously their backers Sony will graciously be picking up the cleaning bill).
Not that Marissa needs much support. Her confidence, grace, charisma and composure are immediately apparent. Her voice is sexy, slow, full of intonation and feeling. She's alluring and she knows it, singing "I use my charms to protect myself, just because I smile doesn't mean we'll get buckwild."
Marissa beats you to your own instant conclusion. "Don't compare me to Lauryn Hill" forms the chorus to her first track and she adds in Jill Scott and Erykah Badu for good measure. However the comparison between Anglin and Hill is unavoidable, at least on first hearing. The voices are so similar. It's only when she speaks and Anglin's down to earth London twang strikes out that the differences are realised.
Unfortunately while Lauryn Hill excels in songwriting, Marissa is a figurehead without a ship, standing alone and beautiful, vocally gifted but lyrically bereft. Her live band (nice touch) are tight, but the first single 'Name' doesn't provide enough catchiness to fulfil one of her label's founders on stage assertions that Black Kat are going to "take over the world".
Anglin's clearly talented, but then so are Shola Ama and Lynden David Hall, both recently downsized at their respective labels. Anglin's clearly head and shoulders above most of the UK's paltry R&B scene but on this evidence she's still lacking the quality to compete with the best from across the Atlantic.
