Double Up (Parental Advisory) [PA] - R. Kelly > Reviews > Double Kelly's usual standard? Not really

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Good tunes, bit of experimentation
Disadvantages:	A lot of standard Kelly songs, experimentation doesn't always work !  !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Let me set one thing straight, music isn’t my life. This is a statement used by so so many teenagers but it doesn’t apply to me, I can happily survive without music, I just don’t want to. Also when it comes to music I’m not the type of person who will say, “I only listen to emo/rock/indie/hiphop/r&b(etc.) music” I don’t see the point in trying to class my music tastes, I listen to whatever I like. I’m not anti the music industry, I’m aware how they select the music they want us to like and while some people may see this as a problem, I don’t I think they have good taste. I don’t feel the need to listen to just underground, unestablished music, or just chart music, I listen to what I think sounds good, and at the moment that is the undeniable king of R&B, Mr R. Kelly. So now I will stop boring you with facts about my music tastes and move to what the actual review is about, R. Kelly’s latest album, Double Up.

So what do we expect from R. Kelly? And is it in this album? Sex. Definitely included. Some sucking up to the ladies. Plenty of this. Oh, and Kelly just acting like a player. Yup, that’s here!! The album includes everything you expect from Kels, and yet it isn’t exactly the same as every other album, thank gawd!! This album feels very experimental, R. Kelly has collaborated with artists from all over America, all known for their different genres of music and Kelly has used their distinguished styles and worked with them…. which in most cases works really well.

So lets look at the tracks individually!!

TRACK ONE: The Champ (featuring Swizz Beats)
“I make music for the hood first, ‘cause that’s where I’m from. That’s why the hood is always first to help me overcome.”
All albums NEED a strong opening and this is one strong opening. It is a relatively short track but full of energy and opens up the album very well. The song comprises of Kelly singing quickly over a very strong instrumental about, well being a champ, it is a very egotistic track, but hey, isn’t this his 13th album, I think he deserves to boast just a little bit. Now this track isn’t to everyone’s taste, while the instrumental is strong I can imagine it being a bit too bitty for everyone’s taste, I like its use of violins and choir voices, but at times this is faded so Kel’s is just singing which makes it not the easiest track to listen to.

As I have done in some past reviews, I will be rating this according to my iTunes rating. While this is a strong opening as I said it is a bit too bitty, and I would call it average.
Rating: ***

TRACK TWO: Double Up (featuring Snoop Dogg)
“I’m ‘bout to double up. And you know I’m ‘bout to double up, double up”
Snoop Dogg is known (in my mind anyway) for his smooth tracks, and this is a pretty smooth song, but doesn’t disappoint us with a weak beat, nope the beat is a good strong one. The song is nice to listen to, rhythmic and tuneful, as for the lyrics, well we all know what a “player” Kelly and Snoop reckon they are, as you may (or may not) be able to tell from the title it’s about doubling up women. So yes it is another womanising track, this is probably the point where I ought to go all feminist about it, but I’m not really that type of person, it is the type of track you learn to expect from this genre of music and when it comes to these songs, if they sound good then I’ll turn a blind eye to the lyrics.
Rating: ****

TRACK THREE: Tryin’ To Get A Number (featuring Nelly)
“I got a lot of cash and I’m willing to spend it all”
When this opened with Nelly’s trademark “Ooowee” I smiled, I like Nelly’s rhythmic, laidback music, and this song doesn’t disappoint, it has that cool, BBQ-like electronic beat keeping the track together, and Nelly doesn’t disappoint with his voice, however R. Kelly seems to be trying to imitate Nelly which I just find strange, not so keen on. Lyrically the song is about getting a woman’s number and just acting like players (bet you would have never guessed that from the title!!) as I find with many of Nelly’s songs the lyrics aren’t exactly mind-blowing, mainly just average, it is about the delivery rather than meaning.
Rating: ***

TRACK FOUR: Get Dirty (featuring Chamillionaire)
“Hey hey I’m Hollywood” That is about as complex and meaningful as the lyrics get!!
I’ll openly admit that I never fell for Chamillionaire’s first track, a bit too heavy for me, but I can see that he is talented (well talented as saying words in a decent rhythm, which while it sounds easy, isn’t that easy, but nor is it that difficult), still he has appeal and I do think it is clever of Kels, or his management team to get him working with one of the most hyped up artists of the moment, its good marketing. The song itself is alright, slow beat, decent instrumental, very typical of Chamillionaire’s other work, lyrically I’m not really listening to the lyrics, it’s the type of the song you don’t really take much notice of them, but it is really two dudes boating about their “luxury” lives. I don’t think much of the track, we’ve heard enough of Kels boating, its time for something different me thinks!!
Rating: **

TRACK FIVE: Leave your name
“Told myself never again. Sleeping while the club is crunk. Don’t make no sense to be that drunk”
This song is easily my favourite on the album, it has already found itself a place in my “25 Most Played” playlist. It follows an answer phone scenario, but you see Mr Kelly seems to be able to record a really long recording, by the time you’ve heard it all you’ll have forgotten what you were calling about in the first place, and for some reason he seems to think it is the place to pour out his heart (mine is just “This is Rach, leave your message”!!). Still it is a really nice track, a good R&B instrumental/beat thing, cool and calm, but I can imagine some people would find it quite irritating, there is something about it that could really annoy some people, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there you go, it’s my favourite track.
Rating:*****

TRACK SIX: Freaky In The Club
“Trying to get you somewhere and grind. ‘Cause you’re so fine. And I just want to have a little time.”
This song has more of a funky beat to it, it’s still very R&B, but funky, danceable R&B, just hearing it, even lying here on my bed I’m already moving my hips, it is that type of track. Lyrically while it is talking about women getting “freaky in the club” it isn’t really in an offensive way, Kelly pulls the track off with a little bit of charm. It is the type of track you can imagine being played at a summer BBQ/party, it has that laid back vibe and is, well a really good track, it reminds me of Slow Wind from TP.3 Reloaded, but is slightly more fun.
Rating:****

TRACK SEVEN: The Zoo
“It’s like Jurassic Park except I’m your sexasourous babe”
Sex. The whole album is really about sex, but this song specifically is just, well sex. The song is a very smooth R&B track, but still fun, well how could it not be with lyrics like “I’m your sexasourous”!! There is not really much else to say about the track, it is typical Kelly song, we get to appreciate his beautiful voice and well laugh at some of the lyrics.
Rating:****

TRACK EIGHT: I’m A Flirt Remix (featuring T.I. and T-Pain)
“She looking at you and I walk by. You turn your head she wink her eye, I can’t help it if she looking for a platinum kind of guy.”
In the words of Westwood, “Just proves ladies love a man who can sing”, not that I listen to Westwood particularly, he annoys me no end, but I though it was an appropriate thing to say about this song. So as you can tell this is the first track from the album to be released and is all over the radio and it features two of my favourite guys, the charming T.I. and quirky T-Pain who make this track just that extra bit jazzy. It is a good track if you haven’t heard it then make your way over to YouTube and watch the video.
Rating:****

TRACK NINE: Same Girl (featuring Usher)
“So man, you tellin’ me you know her. Do I know her? Like a pastor know his work”
I think this track is either being released or has been released (I don’t know, I don’t really listen to the radio that much), and it is a very catchy tune, I’ll be honest the first time I came across it I wasn’t that impressed, but it has really grown on me. It is over a really nice piano type instrumental with a nice beat and all that, so basically the tune is great!! Lyrically it is about two men who discover they are both dating the same girl, so while they were all going on earlier about having two girls (Double Up), now they feel betrayed that a girl is doing similar, well I never!! Still, a song with both Usher and Kels, two of the best in the industry, it just can’t go wrong. They both have amazing voices, I’m not usually that fussed by men singing, but they are both good, and together they make this a fantastic track, even if the morals are plain dodgy!!
Rating:*****

TRACK TEN: Real Talk
“See what your problem is, your always running off at the mouth telling your girls your mother****ing business”
This song reminds me of the “skits” you often find on hiphop/r&b tracks, although it doesn’t explicitly call itself that, but to me it feels very bitty. R Kelly is having an argument with a silent person, maybe she is using sign language or something. It is over a very simple instrumental that every so often fades out to leave Kelly doing some acapella style singing. Personally I don’t like it, it doesn’t feel much like a song, though it is long enough and everything, plus it is also full of swearing, I’m not against swearing, but sometimes people just swear so much it feels empty and just pathetic.
Rating:**

TRACK ELEVEN: Hook It Up (featuring Huey)
“Kels I see you pimping in the club with the baddest chick, if she got a partner tell her she should get with this”
Well we find a decent track again, this one has a great instrumental, it is really strong, strong beat, you’ll have to listen to it to know what I mean. Still the tune is catchy, lyrically it is all about women (what a flipping surprise!!), and hooking up with hot women and stuff, the lyrics are pretty simple, nothing too fancy. It’s a good track, not amazing, but good.
Rating:***

TRACK TWELVE: Rock Star (featuring Ludacris and Kid Rock)
“Rocking to this guitar is about to have me crowd surfing”
Now this is a different track, unsurprisingly enough it has a rock style instrumental, mixed with a hip hop beat which makes for a fun, strong instrumental to work with, and boy do they work with it. I like Ludacris’ work, he doesn’t follow the lead, he does what he wants to, so he really suits this track. You might worry that Kelly would get lost on a rock instrumental but he is a strong artist and works the track well, I can do nothing but applaud him. I like the difference in this track, it isn’t like the others, it is independent and strong, there are several independent tracks on the album but this is so different that it just stands out.
Rating:****

TRACK THIRTEEN: Best Friend (featuring Keisha Cole and Polow Da Don)
“Maybe I’m just a little paranoid, can you blame me just look at her”
Now this is a fun track, it imitates a conversation between Kelly, his wife/lover Keisha and his best friend Polow Da Don. It works well as Kelly sings, Polow raps and Keisha just does her female singing so it is easy to distinguish between the three of them, and they work well together. The song is about Kelly being suspicious of an affair between Keisha and Polow, as well as just other stuff stuck in to help imitate a conversation. It is a good, fun track, but you have to listen to the lyrics, rather than with some songs where you don’t have to follow them, this isn’t necessarily bad, it just depends on what you like.
Rating:****

TRACK FOURTEEN: Rollin’
“Yellow, ice, cash, money”
This song opens up quite aggressively with “Ha ha, Kels, I’m back n****s, what you though I was gone, no!”, then it follows an angry type of hip-hop beat. And I don’t like it. I find it far too “gangsta” for Kelly, I don’t like this angry side of him. This song is all about swearing, oh no, it’s all about rollin’, whatever that means, being a player and stuff. I don’t like it, obviously it might be to your tastes if you like the whole gangsta type of rap, but I figure most people who like this wouldn’t really be looking for it on a R. Kelly album, but hey, maybe that is where I’m wrong.
Rating:*

TRACK FIFTEEN: Sweet Tooth
“Girl I’m about to give me a cavity”
Thank you very much Kelly, we’re back to the standard Kelly ground. Another R&B beauty where Kelly compares some female to a selection of sweet deserts. It is nothing special in R. Kelly terms, but it is a nice tune, you could easily fall in love with this tune, reminds me very much of the Chocolate Factory album, but maybe that is just the reference to sweets [[=
Rating:***

TRACK SIXTEEN: Havin’ A Baby
“Well I can’t believe I’m going to be a father, in nine months a child will be born, baby you’re pregnant in April which means we’re having a Capricorn.”
Another R&B, smooth track, over a nice piano instrumental, it’s got a nice tune, that’s a certain. As you may be able to guess it is about having a baby, which apparently is a good thing, see if I found out I was having a baby I certainly wouldn’t be singing about it, but maybe that is just an age thing!! It is nice though, tune wise, it also features a female singer, who I can’t identify, she has an annoying angelically high voice which gets on my nerves. It is a decent song, and also is able to make me laugh, particularly at the point where the woman is supposed to be giving birth and Kelly is sing “push” again and again which makes me laugh for a start then suddenly the woman sing “I’m having a baby” in such a way I can’t help but burst out in laughter, obviously I don’t take babies as seriously as they do!! I find the song cheesy but it is still a nice tune.
Rating:***

TRACK SEVENTEEN: Sex Planet
“Tell me are you ready girl to take a trip out of this world”
No prizes for guessing what this song is about. Another typical R. Kelly song where sex is described as something else, this time it’s not in terms of sugar, or animals, nope now we’re talking about outer space. The song is nothing special really, nothing original, not to say it isn’t a nice song, it just isn’t an amazing song.
Rating:***

TRACK EIGHTEEN: Rise It Up
“See I just want to help you make it right, walk with you, holding the candle light”
R. Kelly begins by dedicating this to victims in Virginia, then the song continues with a supporting song about strength, getting through hard times, and the fact that Kelly is there. It is an optimistic song, think The World’s Greatest, in fact it is very similar to The World’s Greatest, so nothing original, and yet, it is a great song, I suppose a good song doesn’t have to be original to make it so.
Rating:***

BONUS TRACK: I Like Love
“No matter where I go there’s one thing I know. It’s all about love”
I don’t expect you will be particularly surprised by R. Kelly’s admission here, from the past songs it is kind of apparent that Kelly quite likes love and to be loved and stuff. This song is very different from the others on the album, it is done in a reggae style, Kelly introduces it by saying he isn’t trying to prove he can sing reggae, which possibly means he is but he’s trying to hide the fact that he is so no one criticises him or something. It works though, it is a fun reggae song, I’m not really a reggae music listener so I can’t compare, but I like it, it sounds alright to be, quite funky and stuff, though the lyrics are, well rubbish, you can listen to it and hear yourself.
Rating:***

So there we go, my review of the album. Overall I would say this album is average in comparison with the rest of Kelly’s music, it seems almost the same, he has experimented with other genres, but on the whole his best songs are the ones where he goes back to his normal format, often when he experiments it doesn’t really work, though as you will see some of them do. Is it worth getting? Yes, of course it is, while it may be average in comparison to the rest of his work, Kelly is one of the best artists about, in the R&B genre anyway, so as albums go, it is a very nice album. You can get it from all the normal CD places, or go crazy and technical and download it!!