World Outside My Window
If the Canadian music industry took its time waking up to hip-hop, it's still in a deep sleep when it comes to homegrown R&B.; Crooner Glenn Lewis banged his head against the wall for years in his home town of Toronto without a hint of recognition before finally decamping to Philadelphia and promptly signing a major-label deal. Lewis's debut, 2002'sWorld Outside My Window, is a big-budget epic that bridges the gap between gooey R&B; and the neo-soul ofD'AngeloandMaxwell. Drenched in strings and warm, elaborate production, tracks like "Don't You Forget It," "Simple Things," and "It's Not Fair" eschew worn-out R&B; clichés while still drawing on the soulful roots of the genre. Nowhere is this heard better than in Lewis's own voice, a smoothStevie Wondersound-alike that's already got the nod from the man himself. Now if Lewis could only get that respect in Canada.--Matt Galloway