Album Review.
Favorites: Gone, Down on Love, You’ve Changed, Street Life, #1
Dislikes: Sky Walker
Overall: Surprisingly good. Great vocal, decent lyrics, soothing music.

After the previous Here I Am and the sexed up 1st singles for the new Talk a Good Game, I was prepared to hear another dense, sex-a-palooza of an album from Kelly Rowland. Then, when I heard “Gone” (featuring Wiz Khalifa) & the deeply personal “Dirty Laundry,” I had hope for a brighter day and crossed my fingers as I sat down to listen to Game in full for the first time. To my relief, the record was surprisingly good and is the strongest in her collection, next to 2007’s Ms. Kelly. This time, the amounts of lustful tracks are sparse and any innuendos are matched with a little more romanticism or good musical production, providing dimension. The production for “Freak” is so seductive & catchy (Rowland is one of the few artists that EDM fits on like a glove), you’re not paying attention to its rated R content. I’m also pretty sure “Freak” is a sample; maybe Michael Jackson or Stevie Wonder, but I didn’t see any information indicating so. The track is, however, identical to Jamie Foxx’s forgotten single “Best Night of My Life.” I loathe track recycling, but I can see why Nate “Danja” Hills didn’t want to let that one go. Ironically, the most graphic song is so because of expletives, not sexual content. “Sky Walker” unnecessarily includes every major curse word except “ass.” Sometimes, I think Rowland makes too much of a hard-pressed effort to come off “hard” and depart from her former “clean-cut” Destiny’s Child image (I found that image to be positive and constructive, but what do I know?), but back to how Talk a Good Game sounds musically, there are pluses and minuses. It’s has a unified, smooth and relaxed tone with enough percussion to keep things from being sleepy, but there’s a very similar pattern between songs. Also, most of the production is too simple; it comes off like a hip-hop beat sample kit that you would install on a keyboard. Leave it up to Pharrell to bring some freshness with the jumpy “Street Life” (the most exciting track) and the Motown-inspired “Stand in Front of Me” (although “Stand’s” writing is terrible). Other unordinary musical moments can be found on the 80’s inspired “Red Wine” & “This is Love.” “You’ve Changed” gives me delicious Destiny Fulfilled taste and is 200 times better than the Destiny Child February 2013 reunion that was “Nuclear.”

As for the writing, we get to hear what kind of skills Rowland has in that department, as she co-wrote majority of the material. How did she do? Not bad. On the first half of the album, there’s angsty and interesting concept design to the usual topic of sucky relationships that makes Talk a Good Game a great “kick him to the curb” soundtrack. The second and more lovey-dovey half isn’t as strong, funnily. The lyrics there are over-simplified, fragmented or scattered. They lack a certain fullness and structure that would unveil a story. You know what the songs are generally discussing and can categorize them as “about love,” but what about love specifically? Why is the love or the person you’re with so great? Detail is missing. Vocally, Rowland remains primarily in the heart of her range, and thanks to the relaxed energy of the music, her voice is the star of the show. She sings in a very pronounced way that’s full of attitude. For every weakness on this album, there’s a favoring quality. Rowland’s sturdy vocal performance with efficient lyrics in the first half and soothing tunes in the second, there isn’t just “talking a good game,” she’s living it.

Single Review.
Due to the subject matter of Kelly Rowland’s “Dirty Laundry” (in which she collaborated with The Dream), this review is going to be quite different from my usual; it’s more so going to address the content versus the music. The song being true to its title, Rowland reveals the sad and dark truth that she was victim of domestic abuse “almost 10 years ago (the time marker given in the song; former fiance` Roy Williams denied via Twitter that it is he she’s singing about).” She also discusses her career frustrations while Destiny’s Child group-mate, Beyonce`, thrived in the spotlight. It’s difficult enough to openly confront such pain without being in the public eye, so I commend Kelly for her bravery and I hope it inspires others to support a cause, speak out and/or leave their abusers. Vividly detailing specific altercations, conversations and the lengths she went to, trying to conceal her troubles, the track gives insight into the experience and mindset of the physically and verbally abused and can serve as an empathetic, educational tool. “Dirty Laundry” even points out the typical tactics of batterers, like social isolation and exacerbating things one is sensitive about: “He pulled me outside and said ‘Don’t nobody love you but me; not your mama, not your daddy and especially not Bey.’ He turned me against my sister; I missed you.” Musically speaking, the hard-hitting, but winding beat under Rowland’s emotional vocal delivery (sounds like a mix of anger and being on the verge of tears) makes for a very entrancing, memorable tune. I hope that the completed album, entitled “Talk a Good Game (scheduled for a June 18th release),” follows this introspective path as opposed to the tawdriness of prior singles, “Ice” and “Kisses Down Low.” Beyonce` discussed her broken relationship with her father and past miscarriage in her “Life is But a Dream” HBO documentary, Kelly’s sharing her abuse story and Michelle went public with her long-term struggles with depression. Guess reaching your 30’s is about shaking the pain and shame. Sounds good to me. Hear "Dirty Laundry" here.

A career analysis.
A few weeks ago, Kelly Rowland released “Kisses Down Low,” the latest single to be featured on her tentatively-titled upcoming album, “Year of the Woman.” The track is about what the title implies; oral sex. Ever since the success of Rowland’s urban hit “Motivation” with Lil Wayne, sexually suggestive tracks have become a central piece of her repertoire. Comments from Twitter users seemed to be all in the same vein of “She’s too talented for this,” “It’s the same old stuff” or “We don’t need a female Trey Songz.” I found the comparison to R&B heartthrob Songz, who isn’t even Rowland’s contemporary, most telling. Songz rose to mainstream fame with sexual club-friendly ditties, but after about 3 albums full of them, audiences seemed to become fatigued and unimpressed. Dedicated fans who believed in his talent were disappointed that he all but reduced himself to a sex symbol. Likewise, Rowland seems to be receiving the same reaction. It’s been touch-and-go for the former Destiny’s Child; she just hasn’t hit her stride as a solo act. It’s all quite puzzling really. Kelly Rowland is beautiful, can actually sing without auto-tune and went through the same success boot-camp as megastar Beyonce`. If anyone would know how to follow the yellow-brick road to Beyonce`-like Oz, it should be Kelly Rowland. So what gives? Let me tell you. With Kelly’s career, for every problem that’s solved, another one arises.

Rowland was all set to be a thriving solo star; the launch from Destiny’s Child was carefully planned. In preparation for an eventual 2005 disbandment, DC briefly separated at their “Survivor” prime in 2002. Going after their interests and musical strong suites, Michelle Williams returned to her gospel roots, Beyonce` was scheduled to follow Williams’ release with an R&B record and lastly, Kelly-pop with alternative influence. The schedule got rearranged, however, when Rowland’s collaboration with Nelly, “Dilemma,” became a huge hit and ultimately garnered 2 Grammy nominations and 1 win. In trying to keep up with the single’s heat, a rush job was done on Kelly’s solo debut “Simply Deep,” resulting in mediocre tracks that would fail to chart. Quality material wasn’t the problem for 2007’s “Ms. Kelly;” sassy, personal, smooth and catchy, it was possibly one of the best R&B albums of that year, but it was very poorly promoted. Convinced the material was to blame, Columbia Records released a deluxe edition and an EP entitled “Ms. Kelly: Diva Deluxe” with several new tracks, but it didn’t help. In my opinion, scanty promotion combined with the wrong single choices killed the album’s chances. Where was “Still in Love with My Ex”? It was relatable and contained juicy gossip (the song was reportedly about Rowland’s broken engagement to football player Roy Williams)! Where was the ridiculously sexy “The Show” featuring Tank or “Every Thought is You”?!

At that point, theories swirled. Maybe Kelly wasn’t talented enough. Maybe it was the record label. Maybe it was her manager, Mathew Knowles; maybe he doesn’t know how to manage anyone else’s career well but his daughter, Beyonce’s. By the end of 2009, 2 out of 3 of those theories were taken care of; she was no longer on Columbia Records and sought out new management. Kelly was finally going to have her moment in the sun, or so many had hoped. Rowland’s new home, Universal Motown, began releasing “tester singles” in 2010. Interviews early in the recording process suggested that the new album would feature dance music and Rowland was taken with the genre and wanted blend it with R&B cuts. Like other up-tempo tracks released by the singer, “When Love Takes Over” & “Commander” performed well in Europe and with techno boiling over in the U.S., this seemed like a promising direction. Then “Motivation” happened. The sheet-warmer single shot to #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and #17 on the Hot 100. The upcoming “Here I Am” was about to change from a dance record to an mostly urban sexapalooza and Rowland was going to sell the image for dear life- topless magazine covers, sultry interview details and all. Despite the hard sell, it didn’t seem like many bought it. The sudden image and material change came off like an obvious ploy to move units; only it didn’t. Subsequent singles from “Here I Am,” albeit somewhat under-promoted, didn’t perform well and the album flat-lined. Now, here we are preparing for her 4th album and it appears the record label wants to learn the hard way. Rowland tried to create “Motivation” magic again with Lil Wayne for “Ice,” but like Nelly’s attempt to make “Dilemma” happen again with “Gone,” the songs sounded too similar and it didn’t work. “Kisses Down Low” isn’t working. When are they going to get it through their thick skulls that Kelly, the sex toy, isn’t working?!

Above all else, the central issue in Kelly’s career is that label executives don’t know what to do with her and have failed to acknowledge their missteps in shaping her career. Additionally, they don’t believe in her. From my perspective, they don’t respect her presence, nor do they realize her level of talent or potential and the proof is in the pudding. Executives could put the same effort and energy into Kelly that they do chart-toppers with less talent, but they don’t because I think, inherently, they believe she isn’t marketable. They view her as just an unneeded cast-off from a group. Rowland could better stay ahead of these pitfalls if she was also a writer and/or producer, but she doesn’t have those gifts. She needs a team and a record label that’s going to help build a sound and image that’s more organic to who she is internally. Bring in top-notch songwriters and musicians. Give us heartfelt ballads (I wish she would’ve gotten Rihanna’s “Unfaithful”) and inspiring, energizing pop or dance music. Dance music fits Kelly’s voice like a glove. Her voice just soars on tracks like “Forever & a Day” & “When Love Takes Over.” I saw a clip of her performing Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” (Kelly could benefit from doing songs like the ones Houston did early in her career) and Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” for tributes; those songs fit her voice extremely well. As it stands now, I think Kelly’s brand is being cheapened and it’s disenchanting.
To see other "Curious Case" profiles, click Kelly Rowland's photo above.

KELLY ROWLAND: Love Again
You know Kelly Rowland; the cup of hot chocolate that was 1/3 of Destiny’s Child, one of the biggest-selling girl groups of all time. Many have been wooed by the burst of sexuality that was Rowland’s single, “Motivation,” and its subsequent album “Here I Am,” but I am not. I can understand the 30-year-old singer wanting to mature her sound and express that part of herself, but I find the manner in which sex has been approached to be kind of tacky. Loving to hear Rowland’s voice, but frustrated with her new material, I went back to the previous album, “Ms. Kelly;” a well-written, intimate R&B album that sadly received little record label support and promotion. An associated, equally great EP, “Diva Deluxe,” was released and from it spun the track, “Love Again.” I wanted to profile this song because I believe it’s a jewel more people should discover.