Jacovia

Going by the lyrics to the 12 numbers on Cove-rt Operations, local soul singer Jacovia sounds like he likes to get busy with the ladies. And while horniness has long been a prime mover in rhythm and blues, without the graceful soul of a Marvin Gaye, it usually adds up to sexual minus the healing. Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to Jacovia by comparing him to such a genius as Gaye, but Gaye and other giants of the genre could write memorable tunes, or had someone with that talent to supply them with material. Jacovia, on the other hand, shares a trait with many of his contemporaries: massed gospel-ish vocals, mimimalist (post-Prince, Timbaland) production and OK machine-made grooves, but no real songs to speak of. But when you’re lining up a soundtrack for shagging (with a song run like this set’s “Nasty Girl,” “Sex Yo Body,” “Crazy” and “So Hard”), who needs to be the next Stevie Wonder?