Bilal Sayeed Oliver was born on 23 August 1979 in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and by the age of 11 he was choir director at his mother's church, forming a group at 14 to perform gigs at the Blue Moon Cafe in Philadelphia. He graduated from the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and then attended New York City's The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and he frequented jam sessions set up by the professors and students. At one such event, he met Aaron Comess, a musician from the pop-rock band Spin Doctors, and the two went on to improvise together at Comess's home, which produced a demo that was later heard by Interscope Records, who signed Bilal to a record contract. In 2001 he released his debut album, '1st Born Second', featuring productions by Dr. Dre and J Dilla, and it peaked at number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The album received universal acclaim from music critics, and garnered rave reviews from publications including The Village Voice, Chicago Sun-Times, and USA Today. He managed to gain a sizable following and high attendance at his live shows, as well as much acclaim and respect from his peers, and the soulful feel of his music caused him to be labelled as "neo-soul", although he dislikes the term. In the following years Bilal appeared on projects by other artists, while recording and developing his follow-up album, once again helmed by Dr. Dre and J Dilla. These plans proved to be changeable, and the final result, 'Love For Sale', was built around live instrumentation and a vibe completely new and different from its predecessor, which was not what Interscope were expecting, and so they rejected his offering.
Unwilling to start from scratch, he continued to push for its release, but as it neared completion it was leaked in its entirety on the internet. Interscope then shelved the album indefinitely, hinting at the same time that it saw little commercial potential in it. This sent Bilal into a period of distress, and he considered quitting music, but after 'Love For Sale' received over half a million downloads on the internet, he began touring, despite there not being a proper release to promote, with his concerts inspiring awe among audiences. In 2008 he began recording his next album, and after nine years without a properly released record, he made a comeback on 14 September 2010 with 'Airtight's Revenge', released under independent record label Plug Research. He describes it as a retrospective album, that explores his experiences and things he has learned since his last release, but it's also very experimental, blending jazz, hip-hop, electronic, rock, soul, and blues into one raw, genuine collection of music. It was a great comeback after the bitter disappointment of his pervious work being rejected by his record company, and so here is the 'Love For Sale' album for you to listen to, and see if you can hear what Interscope obviously couldn't.
Track listing
01 Something To Hold On To
02 You're All I Need (Feels Like Heaven)
03 Gotsta Be Cool
04 Make Me Over
05 Get Out Of My Hair
06 Lord Don't Let It
07 All For Love
08 Hands Of Time
09 Hollywood
10 White Turns To Grey
11 Sorrow, Tears & Blood
12 Sweet Sour U
