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Hip-Hop & R&B Music
- New Reviews
5 Discs = Classic | 4.0-4.5 Discs = Impressive |
3.0-3.5 Discs = Noteworthy
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4.0 out of 5 discs |
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Mary J. Blige
Growing Pains
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Mary J. Blige
continues to bring it on practically every album she
releases these days. And Growing Pains is no
different. She busts out with the highly energetic and super
sassy "Work That" to lead off the album. Then, like a
well-produced mixtape, it seamlessly segues to the equally
groove-happy "Grown Woman" featuring a decent rap from
Ludacris. We are then delighted with the first single "Just
Fine," a simple ditty with a happy-go-lucky Mary expressing
herself like only she can. "Feel Like A Woman" is a slower
cut that basically tells men to treat her like a lady. "Stay
Down" is a more serious track about pushing on through the
tough times and not giving up so easily. Those same
sentiments are reverberated on the songs "Talk To Me" and
"If You Love Me." "Hurt Again" is a smooth track that
discusses the inner battle between being in love and not
setting yourself up for a broken heart...yet again. Usher
has the album's only other cameo appearance for the
straightforward "Shake Down." "Till The Morning" has an old
school bounce to it, with lyrics from Mary to match. "Roses"
is one of Mary's most powerful songs of recent memory,
essentially saying that it takes more than just the little
things to make a relationship work. "Fade Away" speaks about
losing a love and having trouble facing the world again and
moving on with all the heartache consuming your spirit.
"What Love Is" is a very deep and analytical song about the
different emotions and moods that truthfully depends on your
current status with love. "Work In Progress (Growing Pains)"
is a self-explanatory track about Mary still being just as
imperfect as the next person. Mary gets a little abstract
with the simple yet cryptic track "Smoke," leaving room for
the listener to draw their own conclusions on what she's
really talking about. The subdued power ballad "Come To Me
(Peace)" closes out the album on a positive note. Growing
Pains is definitely closer to her classic material even
though it doesn't quite reach those heights on it's own.
Nevertheless, MJB brings us another solid effort to enjoy
until the next album comes out. And with a formula that is
obviously working, Mary J. Blige will certainly bring it
once again. |
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4.5 out of 5 discs |
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Jaheim came out on the
scene pretty strong, selling double platinum with his debut
album Ghetto Love and then platinum with Still
Ghetto. And when his last album Ghetto Classics
only managed to go Gold, things looked a little troublesome.
This is especially true since Ghetto Classics was
just as good as its predecessors, but Jaheim didn't get the
push he deserved from his label and failed to chalk up the
numbers he used to get in his prime. Now with Atlantic
Records as his new label home, Jaheim hopes to re-up and
capture the attention of his original fan base and millions
more with his new album The Makings Of A Man.
He keeps the formula the same for the most part, resorting
to mid-tempo grooves and slow cuts for the majority of the
album. After professing his worth with the intro track
"Voice of R&B." Jaheim lays it down with "Hush," a song
about keeping an affair with a homie's girl on the low.
"Have You Ever" rides out with strong background vocals,
simple piano work, and lyrics about speculating on what
could have been and rethinking what has already been done.
"Lonely" is a reworking of Bobby Womack's "If You Think
You're Lonely Now," using the infamous hook for the song but
changing the lyrics to reflect Jaheim's own tale of scooping
up the next girl and her man is the one sitting at home all
alone! "Life of a Thug" is a depiction of Jaheim's life in
the form of an autobiographical song, describing all the
trials and tribulations that he's faced over the years and
his ultimate redemption from those trying times. He
questions why a lover doesn't realize a good man when he's
right in your face on the song "Just Don't Have A Clue." For
the track "She Ain't You," Jaheim borrows the melody and
background from The Delphonics' classic "La La Means I Love
You" for another reworking where he talks about his former
girl still having his heart and wishing he could still be
with her instead of anyone he's been with since losing her.
Jaheim hangs up his player status for the love of his life
on the album's lead-off single "Never." "I've Changed"
features the dynamic rawness of Keyshia Cole alongside his
ghetto bravado, but the ridiculously child-like delivery of
the chorus ultimately kills the song. Jaheim gets real on
"What You Think Of That" where he describes realizing the
true essence of a woman who was disrespected and
unappreciated by a fool who didn't know what he had. "Make A
Wish" is a smooth yet simple song about giving his girl
whatever she wants and dreams of having, something every
woman wishes were true! The album closes with the tender cut
"Back Together Again," a tribute to his parents who are now
reunited in Heaven. Jaheim took his time with Makings Of
A Man, and it truly shows in practically every track. If
this doesn't convince the masses that he is the real thing,
then this will certainly prove that people don't know true
R&B talent when they see it...let alone hear it. |
Jaheim
The Makings of a Man
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 1 out of
5 discs |
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The Dream
LoveHate
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The Dream a.k.a. Terius Nash is the
latest phenomenon sweeping the R&B world, whether good or
bad. He's written monster songs for Rihanna ("Umbrella"), J
Holiday ("Bed"), and others. He's even managed to get under
the skin of Chris Brown for the song "Bed," a song that
Brown says was originally his, but The Dream says the song
was only being considered for Brown but was ultimately given
to Holiday. Even Mary J. Blige has mentioned that she was
considered for "Umbrella" but personal obligations and
commitments caused the deal to fall through. So for somebody
with highly sought-after compositions, it would lead one to
believe that the songs must be stellar on The Dream's debut
album LoveHate (actually, it says Love Me All
Summer, Hate Me All Winter on the album cover).
Unfortunately The Dream would probably be better off putting
down the mic and picking up his pen again. As evidenced by
the debut single "Shawty Is The Sh!t," The Dream has very
little singing skills, much like others who still frequent
the music charts (think T-Pain). And just like his
counterparts, this was truly a waste of time and I wish I
could demand my hour back for listening to this album. His
second single "Falsetto" is ten times worst than "Shawty...",
sounding like an experiment gone terribly wrong. There was
not one redeeming song on this album, so there is no need to
pick each track apart. Let me put it this way...LoveHate
is a definite candidate for either 'Accidental Comedy Album
of the Year' or 'Coaster of the Year!' Any questions?
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4 out of 5 discs |
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Beanie Sigel
The Solution
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Beanie Sigel returns
to the mainstream after bubbling on the underground with a
few independent albums since his 2005 release The B.
Coming. He's re-signed with Roc-a-fella, he's made
amends with a lot of his former crew, and blessed us with
another major label contribution with The Solution.
He starts off the album with the rawness of "All Of The
Above" featuring R&B crooner R. Kelly with production by the
super-hot team The Runners (who are best known for "Hustlin'"
by rapper Rick Ross.) Cool And Dre drop a nice beat for
Beanie on "Bout That," while Styles P trades verses B. Mack
on the hard-hitting "You Ain't Ready For Me." Beans summons
up some mainstream reggae flava from Rock City for a little
'head nod' music on "Go Low." Jay-Z makes his presence known
on the song "Gutted," but Beanie holds his own. Philly's Own
sounds a little misplaced on the lackluster Rockwilder-produced
"Pass The Patron" featuring Peedi Peedi (he'll forever be
Peedi Crakk to me), Diddy, and Ghostface Killah. He gives a
lot of different hood tales on the songs "I'm In," "H.H.E.H.,"
and "What They Gonna Say To Me." He stretches his
experimental muscle for the rock-infused, Ozzy Osbourne-assisted
"Judgment Day," a track that has the potential to please the
rap-rock fan base. Mac and Brad reunite as Scarface gives
yet another rare lyrical donation for "Bridge" featuring
rising R&B superstar Raheem Devaughn. "Dear Self" is a
conversation Beans has with himself, first pointing out all
the wrongs he's done throughout his life, and then pointing
out that his conscience has been there the whole time and
walked in the very same shoes while everything went down.
"Prayer" featuring Raheem Devaughn is the album closer and
is Beanie's way of acknowledging his wrongs and hoping his
God forgives him for his shortcomings. The Solution
definitely has a lot of classic Beanie Sigel throughout,
with a couple tracks falling short on the Mac meter.
Nevertheless, any current or former fan shouldn't have too
many problems with The Solution. |
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2 out
of 5 discs |
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When I first heard the
news that Chingy was back in the fold with Ludacris and DTP,
I was genuinely happy that he came to his senses and
realized that he needed them in order to have a chance at
relevancy in Hip-Hop. Then I heard "Fly Like Me." Sure, he
has Amerie on the track to lighten up the mood, but Chingy's
lyrics and the production was suddenly suspect. Then I heard
the rest of the songs on Hate It Or Love It. And I
can easily tell you that nobody's gonna love this one. The
beat for the title track sounds like Swizz Beatz's
13-year-old nephew recorded it on the Korg Triton Extreme 61
Music Synthesizer Keyboard that his uncle bought him for his
birthday. Sound ridiculous? So does Chingy on this album. He
resorts to the voice of a 70's pimp for his verses on "Check
My Swag." "Kick Drum" has to be the second song recorded by
Swizz Beatz's nephew with his first of many songwriting
credits as evidenced by Chingy's kindergarten rap lyrics.
Even Ludacris and Bobby Valentino can't save this sinking
ship with their assistance on "Gimme Dat," with even more
perplexing chords and downright annoying licks from Chingy.
Things go from bad to worst on "All Aboard" featuring Steph
Jones, a song that sounds like a jumbled mess to say the
least. Trey Songz collected an easy paycheck for "Spend Some
$," especially since his chorus is about the only good thing
about the track. Chingy tries his hand at the 'hyphy' sound
with "2 Kool 2 Dance," oddly one of the only decent
offerings on the entire project. Once again, the beat and
chorus do more harm than good on the otherwise okay track
"Lovely Ladies." "How We Feel" is the album standout, all
thanks to R&B soul singer Anthony Hamilton providing a
decent chorus (an obvious rarity on this album!). "Roll On 'Em"
is a hard-hitting cut featuring Rick Ross that holds its
own, while "Blockstar" closes out the album on a horrible
note...rather....a couple of horrible musical notes. Despite
having major industry help from both the Hip-Hop and R&B
world, Hate It Or Love It ultimately turned out to be
an ill-fated project that suffered from preposterous
production and moronic lyrics by Chingy. And to think...he
originally left DTP because he thought he would be better
off! |
Chingy
Love It Or Hate It
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4.5 out of 5 discs |
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Katt Williams
American Hustle
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When you watch
American Hustle, get ready for an experience like now
other. American Hustle is a meshing of a cinematic
intro with the side-splitting comedy of Katt Williams and
company. The feature starts with Katt getting ready for a
important Hollywood meeting to discuss movie possibilities
starring the up-and-coming superstar. He ultimately passes
on the ridiculous movie pitches and ventures out back on the
road with fellow comics Red, Luenell, and Melanie Camacho.
The four comics and Katt's dog hit the road for 20-city,
40-show tour that eventually culminates to the final show in
Chicago. And it is at this point that viewers are treated to
the feature-length concert footage of Katt Williams. The DVD
closes with Katt Williams sharing the stage and the mic with
Chi-Town's own Da Brat and everybody's favorite honorary
pimp Snoop Dogg.
Packaged as a theatrical comedy, American Hustle
evolves mostly around Katt's stand-up, a routine that can
basically be deemed Pimp Chronicles 2. The material
is original and will have you laughing out loud. Although we
are treated to a handful of stand-up scenes from Red,
Luenell, and Melanie, it would have been nice to actually
see more of their routine, if not their entire sets. But the
material that we are treated to is nothing short of
hilarious, with Luenell giving the funniest anecdotes of the
three. And of course Katt's spin on life, love, and
relationships is on par with everything else that the
budding star has showcased, including its predecessor
Pimp Chronicles 1. With extended footage of the skit 'Brokebeak
Penguins', his spoof of the movie 300, and about a
dozen outtakes, this DVD is unique in its presentation and
captures the ingenious comedic styling of Katt Williams. Any
fan of Katt Williams will not be disappointed with
American Hustle. |
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