Likes: Gimme Dat, Yeah I Know
Overall: Didn’t like it. Awful.
Sigh. Ciara, Ciara, Ciara. SMH. I listened to this album several times, trying to give it a chance, but every time I listened I couldn’t wait for it to be over. The lyrics are mind numbingly simple and have no substance. The writing is just plain poor. The production is decent, but great production isn’t enough to cover up awful writing and mediocre vocals. From start to finish, this album is a failure. With the intro “Basic Instinct (U Got Me)”, Ciara raps and sings, seemingly describing how she’s going to make a fierce comeback with this record. The song itself is catchy and the premise is cute; however, when she starts to sing, the lyrics change from being about a comeback to a breakup, which is random and inconsistent. The rest of the tracks have nothing to do with the intro’s concept. Next, you hear the strongest tracks on the album, “Ride” and “Gimme Dat.” From there, is lots of agitating blasé` material, mostly about sex. “Girls Get Your Money” borderline promotes exchanging favors with men for money, which is repulsive. On “You Can Get it”, Ciara recites what is supposed to be a phone number, but she only says 6 digits, which makes her look dumb. “Turn it Up” is a colossal failure as pop-dance track; that type of music doesn’t fit Ciara at all. “I Run It” sounds wonderfully sensual, but the lyrics are whack.
I think Ciara’s mistake is that her sound has gotten too far away from what made her popular: great pro-girl and dance tracks (the fastest tempo song is “Gimme Dat”). She has gradually turned from a crumpin’ “crunk n’ b” tomboy into an R&B sex doll, and it’s not working for her. I think her former image and self made her fairly distinctive in a sea of sex-selling R&B singers; now she’s just lost in the shuffle. I’m going to go on a limb and say that more than likely her record label is behind the change in her sound and image. I might be wrong, but I think if Ciara had more creative input and control, things would look and sound different, but I digress. This album wasn’t worth listening to.