Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Pop music has been inundated by boy bands who sing, dance, entertain and grace the covers of teen magazines.  Many of these bands lack real talent; some lack abilities to harmonize well, or utilize their vocal abilities to display a full range of emotion.  B2K is a different sort of R&B boy band; their sound is mature beyond their tender ages of 15 and 16.  Their songs (written for them) are sweet tracks concerning teenage life and mostly love.  Parents should be happy that their lyrics and subject matter are youth-appropriate although not completely innocent (“Girl, you’re the woman that changed me from a boy into a man…”).  Their first release is nothing groundbreaking or particularly great.  However, their vocal talents, timing, harmonizing and delivery are very impressive. 

“Gots Ta Be” opens up this debut with some dulcet melodies and a nice rhythm.  The group’s voices blends very well together and is one of the more mature tracks of the album.  Their danceable single, “Uh Huh” is fun, as is “B2K is Hot.”  With upbeat rhythms and easy lines similar to other popular hip-hop, they’re good to C-walk to.  Other tracks such as “Fantasy” and “Hey Little Lady” offer some flow reminiscent of the Sisqo, 112, Jagged Edge fare, except those artists don’t mention “the hottest girl in school.”  Such tracks are entertaining, but not as rich as the slower, more expressive tracks because they don’t feature the group’s harmonizing abilities as much.  “Your Girl Chose Me” is an exception; it’s got a hip-hop tempo, enjoyable melody and the guys’ voices play with the melody very effectively.  Nonetheless, some aspects that take away from the album are the excessive use of emphasizing the band name (there is no need to shout out B2K all the time) and the silly filler skits and interlude.  The “B2K is Hot” and “Hey Little Lady” skits are a little ridiculous; the former makes the band sound like teens trying to sound like ghetto hoodlums getting party calls, while the latter features a cheesy pick up line.  Amidst the good parts of the album are constant reminders that B2K is a product of managers and producers made to fit an image: an image of hip-hop cool. 

The album is a little flat with the normal R&B flair on a more youthful level; the songs are fun, melodic but nothing extraordinary.  The group does possess mature, flexible vocals and could do more with their talents.  However, they are sticking to their roots and core competency.  The teens like them and B2K successfully meets the expectations.  Teeny bopper R&B it may be, but B2K has better ability than most boy bands.  Period.