Pitchfork

It's been about three years since UK hip-hop artist Estelle Swaray released her full-length debut, The 18th Day. That album spawned Pitchfork's #48 single of 2004, the warm, soulful "1980". Estelle's Will.I.Am-produced return, "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)", is colder and more eccentric. A wispy three-note hook evokes the doorbell ring at the center of Amerie's still-great "1 Thing", while some old-timey brass picks up on the gramophone dance-pop of the Real Tuesday Weld's "Bathtime in Clerkenwell". Like fellow pre-Lily Allen UK rapper Ms. Dynamite, Estelle raps about actual issues: "Just because I'm kissin' don't mean we undressin'." There have been catchier "Just a Touch" songs, but "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" should get plenty of reinforcements when new album Shine arrives next year-- including collaborations with Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Mark Ronson, Wyclef Jean, and Homeschool Records chief John Legend.

Stream:> Estelle: "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" (Windows Media)

Stream:> Estelle: "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" (Real Media)
[from Shine; due February 2008 on Atlantic/Homeschool]