Album Review & Editorial by Eddie J., Contributing Writer

Ciara's 6th release, Jackie, was hands-down the best nap I've ever had and the longest it took me to write a review (see other articles written by Eddie J. here). The lack of excitement that permeated the production and songwriting, and the monotonous musical composition and vocal performances solidified that no matter how much potential Ciara has as a performer, she won't have the ingredients necessary to reach it.

If you're wondering who Jackie is or hadn't heard, she's Ciara's mother. Having her 1st child last year, Ciara "said" she wanted this album to be an homage to maternity. I put "said" in quotations because it's anything but. The intro/title-track's ("Jackie (B.M.F.)") premise, for example, could've been that she better understands her mother's experiences now that she's a parent, but instead, it was about how she's a "bad mother *cker." Yep, that's what "B.M.F." stands for. Does she expect her mother to listen to this song or be proud it's named after her? I'd be embarrassed, not just because of the vulgarity (and how it should've had the musicality of the bridge in the 3rd movement), but because of the absence of direction that afflicts the whole record. It's almost as if she wasn't aware of each song's subject matter and had to come up with an all-encompassing title to embody a false concept. Motherhood, and more specifically Ciara's mother, is the last thing I think of after hearing this project. It's club and sex-centered, which isn't bad in theory, but the title should've reflected that. Only if Jackie was a pseudonym for her vagina, or her best friend who goes to the club with her every night, would there be any correlation between the name and the content. 

Jackie's music and production is as blasé as the last few efforts, to the point I'm doubtful Ciara has any influence or say-so in her album construction. This record was excruciatingly difficult to get through, and even harder to muster motivation to review. A slab of mid-tempo cuts is generally okay, but because there was no cohesion or effort to keep the material engaging, it was a cesspool of filler that felt like a 50 minute long song. "That's How I'm Feelin,'" featuring Pitbull and Missy Elliott, is generic in chord structure, bland in production and easily forgettable, even with Ester Dean belting for her life in the chorus. "Lullaby" has the typical R&B chord progression, like that of "Make Love In This Club (Part 2)" by Usher, "Can't Raise a Man" by K. Michelle and countless others (you know it when you hear it). The attempt at bringing back the 90s-era skating rink beat to random tracks like "Fly" only added an unnecessary datedness. The vocals and lyrics do nothing to help the redundancy of the music, which is so overtaking that the lackluster single "I Bet" is the peak of the album and sticks out as a "gem," though it doesn't fit with the rest of the songs subject-wise and doesn't serve an overall purpose.

Album Review.
Likes: I’m Out, Body Party, Where You Go, Overdose
Overall: Catchy and fun, but no artistic growth or lyrical strength

After two ill-performing albums that received a luke-warm response from fans and critics, Ciara seems to be on the ricochet with her latest self-titled effort. With musical production (from Mike Will Made It and Soundz, among others) that nicely fuses her hip-hop/R&B roots with her pop desires (i.e. “Fantasy Ride”), the album’s tracks are much catchier and sound less cheap than those of the previous “Basic Instinct.” The rhythm is balanced and incredibly interconnected, as it weaves between the drawing (ex. “Body Party”) and hard hitting (“I’m Out”). The greatest disappointment, however, is that Ciara has not conceptually matured in the 9 years she’s been in the business. Nearly 30 (she’ll be 28 in the fall), her lyrics still reflect a college sophomore whose giddily crazy over her “here right now” boyfriend and discovering her sexuality. Adding onto the growing list of post-debut self-titled albums this year, if Ciara is trying to make an artistic statement with the title, I’m left to conclude the statement is she’s not going anywhere from here. “Ciara” is a great pre-party, “just for fun” album, but if you’re looking to come away with something, try another artist.

Rock & Rant-short and sweet bits on music industry related topics.

Here recently, I’ve been asked a few times to do a “Curious Case of” career analysis article on R&B/dance artist Ciara, whose been putting out records for almost a decade, but seems to have declining success. I can describe shortly what I think has caused this arguable decline, so I’ve opted to do a “Rock&Rant” instead. Caught in the wave of hip-hop’s major infiltration into R&B and the Billboard Top 40, Ciara came to us donned the “Princess of Crunk N’ B” in 2004 with the smash hit “Goodies.” Crunk N’ B was an R&B-influenced off-shoot from the rap sub-genre, Crunk. One would think being the face of a new genus would give Ciara a head-start on a lengthy and flourishing career, but this was the first nail in the coffin. Crunk itself had a short shelf-life in mainstream music; therefore, any of its by-products would go down with it, leaving Ciara to enter the murky waters of having to revise her sound before becoming an established act. She also had to shake her current image, which brings me to the second nail in the coffin.

Most artists have what I call a “blueprint” that they’re built from. It’s based on either their personal musical influence (ex. Usher was heavily inspired by Michael Jackson) or someone that their record label thinks it’s cool to emulate (ex. Jessica Simpson came off of the Christina Aguilera/Britney Spears factory line). I’m not sure who Ciara deems her influences to be, but it was clear her “blueprint” was Janet Jackson and the late Aaliyah (who was inspired by Jackson, herself), as she was a soft-voiced singer, but a skilled and trained dancer. Comparisons or resemblances only work if the artist matches or succeeds them in their own way. Ciara’s music lacked the depth and production sophistication of some of Jackson’s work (ex. “Rhythm Nation”) and her voice was weaker and more limited in range than Aaliyah’s. Additionally, anyone that seemed to mimic Aaliyah was immediately dismissed or criticized. Aaliyah is and was a sensitive subject as the beloved artist (especially in the hip-hop/R&B community) died at age 22 in a plane crash just 3 years before Ciara’s arrival. When you’re viewed as a lesser-version of another popular singer, it can be hard to make a lasting impact.

For “The Evolution” album, Ciara made a seamless shift from “Crunk N’ B” to R&B/dance and had a sexier image. The changes worked for audiences and “Evolution” went platinum in the U.S. Everything came to a screeching halt on the “Fantasy Ride” follow-up as her label, LaFace Records, took the saying “change is good” too much to heart. With Justin Timberlake & Britney Spears producers Danja & Dr. Luke in the liner notes, many felt “Fantasy Ride” was the most “pop” we’ve heard Ciara and that the album isolated her core R&B audience. Instant genre changes can be a killer. Furthermore, as the heat cranked up on her sexual austere, it got hard to swallow (or respect), considering she used to sing about how guys couldn’t easily get to her “Goodies.” The icing on the cake was seeing her dressed and acting like a rap video model in the music clip for “Ride” (featuring Ludacris) from her last album “Basic Instinct.” Although it got her back to her R&B/dance roots, “Basic Instinct” was, well, basic (see my review here). So there you have it: Ciara’s career is where it is because she was initially marketed on shaky ground and musically (and image-wise) moves like a rolling stone, lacking any foundational consistency. I doubt Ciara won’t go down without a fight, however, because from what interviews I’ve seen, she goes head to head with her label and is desperate for creative saliency. Let’s hope the new self-titled July 9th album gets her back on track.