The-Dream, the R&B singer-songwriter responsible for hits from the likes of B2K, Rihanna and Usher made his debut in 2007 with “Love Me All Summer/Hate Me All Winter”, (just as his self-proclaimed title as the “Radio Killa”) references how he has been able to construct some of the biggest Pop hits of his time and has come up with a record which sees him drilling out the most catchy tunes which are bound to get listeners excited for the first time they hear it, but will get irritating due to the heavy airplay they are likely to receive.
1. “Shawty Is Da S**t”
Kicking the record off with what was known by most as “Shawty Is A 10”, you see that the Atlanta singer gets off to a great start as he leads people into one which has him getting into a freaky slow jam which has him concentrating his attention towards impressing the girls with a calm and seductive song (which was also his debut single) to show the general direction of the record.
**Four Stars**
2. “I Luv Your Girl”
He dips into another of his popular jams here, and I would say that this was a straight killer (unlike the moderate hit prior to it) as this one has him working in the way which brings out his best as he does things to Tricky Stewart’s hardcore club beats to get people lively whilst
he sooths you with his song about how he wishes to take a girl form the man she’s already with.
**Five Stars**
3. “Fast Car”
The first non-single on the album goes down well as it shows off his abilities and the manner in which he goes about making the music he does as it shows tha the performs a catchy one, which you probably won’t think much the first time around, but will have the hook stuck in your head for the rest of the day. However I thought that it was a bit too ‘Pop’ to actually enjoy all that much.
**Two Stars**
4. “Nikki”
This is one which switches up the approach of the artist and has him showing a little more of what he is able to do with Tricky Stewart doing a track which has him performing one where he deals with much darker content included and so it shows some variation and development form the artist as he displays his capabilities in terms of where he can take his songs.
**Four Stars**
5. “She Needs My Love”
For once you see that here The-Dream shows some of his southern influence in his music as this one really sounds to be in line with what R&B of the ‘Dirty South’ is about here, but with a little Pop twist as he adapts this to a songs which has him implementing the typical hook of the region (when it comes to Hip Hop and certain R&B) and the deeper, grungy sounds come through prominently in the verses to pull out this well-rounded feel.
**Four Stars**
6. “Falsetto”
This came as his second single and it made a big impact as it was one which really showed the extent to which his vocals can go with this nineties-styled slow jam which has him going about it in a very seductive manner for this very emotive song. It is a banger, and brings back times which the (mainstream) R&B had missed out for years,
**Five Stars**
7. “Playin’ In Her Hair”
Here you see more of this southern influence as he gets into some Snap & B for this particular one in order to get into something which would clearly be appealing for people into the club R&B sounds of the times, and quite frankly, it doesn’t really matter what he sings about during it as the quality of the overall sound is so strong that it means tha the can’t go wrong with it.
**Four Stars**
8. “Purple Kisses”
Whilst taking on production which reminds me heavily of what you get in J. Holiday’s “Bed” (with L.O.S. Da Maestro behind both of them, and it allows him to get into more of the slow and gentle work where he is able to really get down to things well as he turns his attention to the girls and shows just how effectively he can write in order to put across his feelings towards his girl.
**Four Stars**
9. “Ditch That...”
You here that with this one, just as on a few others on the album, you get one which has him bringing in some risky things as you here a clear and defined House influence being prominent within the recording to push forward how original he hopes this album to be, but I couldn’t really get into it with it being so in-your-face and having it based in his Pop work (rather than the R&B).
**Two Stars**
10. “Luv Songs”
He restores the general sound of the record through this one as he gets into a track which has him getting down to a song which appears to get him much more into the whole R&B style and with it he chooses to do one which shows off his lyrics by coming up with new and original things based upon basic concepts which listeners should be familiar with as he relates sex to how he produces a song.
**Four Stars**
11. “Livin’ A Lie”
This finds him working in collaboration with Rihanna to perform one where he is put into a new situation as he must work with another R&B singer in a manner which has them overlapping their verses in order to perform a rather traditional duet, but in avery modern manner with the kind of production which they are backed with, but the Electro sound of it really put me off as had come through in earlier parts of it.
**Two Stars**
12. “Mama”
Bringing the album to a close, you have a song which has the artist doing an emotive ballad which sees him performing one about his mother who passed and has had a lasting impression upon his music,. I didn’t expect to enjoy it that much, because of how personal it had to be and the fact that he uses heavy auto-tuning throughout pulls it down further.
**Two Stars**
I saw this album as a mixed one from the artist and something which I expected to get from him as it sees that does one where mixes the pretty much generic format of 2007’s Pop-based R&B songs with a few which take on a style which supports what nineties R&B was about. I can’t say I would recommend it, but there are certainly points in it which stand out and showcase tha tin spite of the fact what he doe sit mostly annoying, he does it well.
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