Hmmm, someone as gifted as Prince? I'll probably have to say Lenny Kravitz, in terms of instrument ability as well as composing and performing and all of that. Babyface is up there too, but he's more of a songwriter. Dave Matthews is also very talented, albeit not an instrumental virtuoso. Can't believe Prince didn't close with Purple Rain though.
With the India Arie vs. Alicia Keys thing, Keys is more flashy and well, more in tune to the hiphop fashion sense and the general enviornment of hiphop/r&B, hell, she even talks the part, lots of slang and the way she carries herself as well.
Arie on the other hand, to me, is the next coming of Tracy Chapman, and thats a good thing. Her style is different from Keys in that it is more acoustically grounded, it's at a different audience maybe. Less dance, more lyrical stories with her songs.
The "pretty" issue though, is one that is of little concern to anyone who listens to music with ears unaffected by what they see visually. Both girls have exceptional talent and don't rely on the good old roland TR808 for their drum samples, ya know...
boom..chick...boom boom boom boom..chick...boom boom...boom..chick...alright, well, lets not get carried away now.
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