I presume most in this community already know what I'm about to articulate. But if you don't know, then act like you know.Bilal is ridiculous.The first time I can remember hearing Bilal was on Common's "Funky For You." If you heard the song only on radio, you missed Bilal's astonishing performance in the coda. It was one of those moments where you knew that this cat was really about something.As someone who buys anything from the Soulquarian camp by default, I've heard plenty of Bilal. His first album, First Born Second (2001), is an exposition in soul. Operatic notes floating through time and space, anchored by grit, broken glass, and murky filth.But for all that First Born Second is, I actually like Bilal's guest performances even better. Certainly, he has the chops to carry his own songs, but there's something particularly liberating about his interpretations of others' repertoire. This performance is a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Can't Hide Love." Now, you really have to have a pair of cajones even to attempt this cover because there are few that can match Philip Bailey's range and EW&F musical pedigree. But even if you could, would you want to? A straight rendering of the original puts you in direct competition with the original, which is a losing proposition. On the other hand, a cover that is too different risks alienating not only EW&F fans, but perhaps the artists themselves. To this end, musicians have with covers the same problems that remixers have.No worries, though: Bilal *crushes* this. He respects the original, but makes the cover all his own with a performance that will make you want to flick on a lighter in the middle of your living room. And the vocals are flawless. In my estimation, *no one* in soul music right now laces background vocal arrangements better than Bilal; not D'Angelo, not Dwele, not Mint Condition, not even Prince. (If you want a comparable reference for Bilal's background vocals, think Marvin Gaye or Manhattan Transfer.)The result is straight church. One caution: do not listen to this with an ordinary set of headphones or speakers. If you do, you'll cheat yourself out of the full experience. An ordinary pair of speakers will cause you to miss notes Bilal is singing, but you can't hear them because your sound system does not have enough range to reproduce them accurately.Really.Testify (and act like you know).P&L,Soultronica(Note: The Randy Watson Experience is side project for Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and James Poyser.)