Beauty and the Beat; Comparing Mya Harrison and Carl Thomas
             The truth is out. We listen to R&B and sometimes we like it. But do not get it twisted: half the stuff you hear on the radio is not R&B. It is usually some child of rap and pop whining vocals and not enough soul. Reality R&B, Love song, Soul music, call it what you want, these two singers got talent to the infinite power. And with two completely different styles they'll be taking over airwaves this summer.
             She is a 21 year old, grown diva-to-be, a classically trained dancer from DC and more of a woman than you think. He is a twenty something new jack crooner from Chi-Town, enjoying his first major success with a wrenching forget-me-not love song. Their personalities could not be more different. He talks loud with his hand gesturing wildly as to illustrate every syllable. She whispers, rarely making eye contact. He is annoyingly optimistic. She is maddeningly soft-spoken. He is flirtatious but not necessarily sexy. She is sexy but not forward. But there is a common thread here: Mya Harrison and Carl Thomas are dropping two of the hottest R&B albums for summer 2000.
             Imagine loving someone so strong, that, years after realizing you'll never be together, you still find yourself daydreaming about what should have been. Carl Thomas's runaway hit single, "I Wish," is a melancholy message based on a true story. But even if you can' relate, there is some old school-depth in Carl's Las Vegas-lounge act delivery. When he wails that line about wishing he had never met her, you understand
             him. His voice is not Luther Vandross- Flawless, and he has not reinvented the wheel when it comes to lyrics, yet that single word has the world open for Emotional, his debut album. And if his goal is to capture a moment he has done it with "I Wish." When it comes to a record that defines a season and instantly bring back a poignant
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