Anthony Hamilton, You Made a Fool of Me | Track Review 🎵

Anthony Hamilton oozes with soul (and heartbreak) on his first new single of 2021, “You Made a Fool of Me.”

It’s been five years since 🏆 Grammy-winning R&B standout 🎙 Anthony Hamilton last released an album (💿 What I’m Feelin’, 2006).  Thankfully, the wait seems to be coming to an end as Mr. Hamilton prepares his latest, greatest masterpiece.  After impressing on his woke 🎵 “Mercy” back in December 2020, Mr. Hamilton moves beyond matters of social justice for matters of the heart on 🎵 “You Made a Fool of Me”. The end result is nothing short of a contemporary soul classic.

“You Made a Fool Me” is lushly produced, sounding idiomatic of both the neo-soul and adult contemporary vein of R&B.  Especially for us old souls, this is incredibly refreshing in 2021.  “You Made a Fool of Me” possesses the kind of production (🎛 Jermaine Dupree and 🎛 Ramon Montgomery) that always perfectly fuels the fire of Anthony Hamilton.  As always, Anthony gives an authentic, expressive, heartfelt, and nuanced performance.  One thing I’ve always ‘hearted’ about Mr. Hamilton is how he truly ‘gives his all’ in each and every performance.  Here, it is especially easy to do so given the circumstances constructed via the songwriting (Hamilton, Dupree, Montgomery, and 🎼✍ Manuel Seal).  Honestly, as the title suggests, [She] “made a fool of” [Him] and doesn’t care about him the way he cared about her.  It’s a classic case of unrequited love as well as C-H-E-A-T-I-N-G since she slept with another man – scandalous!  Hamilton perfectly captures the pain of his heartbreak on this three-and-a-half-minute contemporary soul gem.

Final Thoughts 💭

In my eyes, Anthony Hamilton can do no wrong.  “You Made a Fool of Me” gives him another gem where he masterfully preserves the sanctity of soul music.  Everything feels right about this cut: the vocals, the lyrics and theme, and of course, the production.  Even if that weren’t enough, the vibe – the aesthetic – is absolutely awesome.

🎙 Anthony Hamilton • 🎵 “You Made a Fool of Me” • 🏷 My Music Box / BMG Rights Management • 🗓 5.7.21

[📷: My Music Box / BMG Rights Management]