Album- No Boys
Allowed
Artist- Keri Hilson
An artist that can easily be described as the prodigy of
producer Timbaland, as he gave her her first worldwide hit, Keri Hilson has
become a strong RnB/pop driven artist that has a voice that can rival many of
her female contemporise and a cool personality that has gained her many fans.
She is also one of the queens of the collaboration, but whilst these
colloborations are normally highly successful commercially, the same could
perhaps not be said for her solo music. She sure hasn’t had terrible success, with
platinum selling singles and gold selling albums. But for such a promising
artist she hasn’t really had the success that people may have expected (i.e.
she’s no Rihanna). With this second studio album she had her best first week
sales, but didn’t manage to make the top ten in US like her previous album, and
failed to achieve a top ten hit from the record. But is this because the album
is bad, or are people just somehow missing out on Hilson’s music?
Track 1- Buyou
(featuring J. Cole)
The opening track is a mid tempo RnB number in which Hilson
immediately plays up to the album’s title as she sings to her man and
succinctly calls him out for just using her as a kind of cash machine. It is
strong opener as it is driven by a strong catchy chorus that has a cool urban
swag and emphasises the tough girl persona that Hilson uses within this record.
Indeed it’s almost as if Hilson is really trying to emphasise that the title
means what she says, because guys just aren’t as good as they see. The “one for
the paper, two for the money” hook is a really catchy rhyme that is helped by
Hilson’s good vocal performance, as she plays it strong in the way that she
goes between strong, kind of monotone vocals to really smooth, fast paced
tones. J. Cole offers a bit of urban swag, and although it feels weird to put a
guy on such a girl power track, he offers a cool male perspective and bigs up
his girl. The clattering RnB tinged percussion and horns of the production give
a cool groove to the song, and the only real issue here is that the end of the
song is a little dragged out and could do with a big finish.
3.5/5
Track 2- Pretty Girl
Rock
Hilson brings us her attempt at a girl power anthem in the
form of this mid tempo RnB and pop song that is all about uniting women over
shared beauty rather than the jealousy that drives women apart. The lyrics find
Hilson singing about how she is this simple sweet girl, whilst she asks us too
not hate her beauty and just join her in doing the pretty girl rock. The hook
of the song has a catchy tone that is powerfully brought out by Hilson’s
confident vocal performance which is filled with both sass and sweetness at the
same time, a potent combination. The sound of the track is also cool in terms
of creating a nice soulful and old school sound intermixed with modern
sensibilities, featuring heavy drum beats and slinky piano instrumentation that
is built upon bouncy and light RnB beats, making for a fresh sound to the track
that allows you to really believe what she is singing and get captured by the
warmth of the sound. Easily one of the stand out tracks of the record and a
nice transition from the girl power of the previous number that exists here,
just in a sweeter form.
3.5/5
Track 3- The Way You Love Me (featuring Rick Ross)
Originally surfacing online
before the album’s release and causing controversy for it’s explicit content,
the track was re-recorded for the album and exists here in a cleaner form,
although it’s still definitely not a track for the kids to listen to, as Hilson
goes into full sexual woman mode. The lyrics are supposedly meant to represent
“a woman’s many moods and shifting desires”, as Hilson things about how her man
makes her feel crazy, particular in terms of sexual desire, whilst also
conveying the idea of not holding back. The lyrics are fast paced and really
frenzied so have a catchy quality, although the chorus is slightly too
repetitive. However Hilson makes up for this through her strong vocal
performance in which she maintains control even with the high octane energy of
the song, and although the vocals sometimes seem rough, this just actually
works to bring out the sentiment of the track in a more potent way. Rick Ross
provides a good rap cameo that shows the male perspective of giving love to his
lady and expressing his admiration for her. And the production is strong,
mixing RnB and dance pop for a sound that is based in squealing synths and
banging electro influenced dance beats,
with a touch of rock music in there. This just creates a great fast paced sound
that will really get you in the same mood as Hilson exhibits here.
3.5/5
Track 4- Bahm Bahm
(Do It Once Again)/ I Want You
A similar sentiment to the last track is found within this
song as Hilson sings this man who makes her feel so good and who is very much
his own person, which she finds so appealing. Part of the lyrics feel
sexualised in the way the last track did, but the sexual quality of the track
comes out more prominently in Hilson’s vocal performance in which she puts on a
lot of stresses on the words to give a kind of lilting tone to her performance,
with the diva like ad libs in the final section being really strong. The sound
of the track finds Hilson’s RnB sound being mixed with potent reggae and
dancehall vibes, making this sound like a track that would easily fit on a
Rihanna album. The final minute of the song with its transition into a slower
tone and altogether different sounding track really works and doesn’t feel
mismatched as some such tracks like these can do, however as a whole the song
is just okay, not quite having the catchy quality that it needs and having a
sound that feels familiar in today’s pop world.
3/5
Track 5- One Night
Stand (featuring Chris Brown)
Hilson brings a kind of 90’s sound to the record in the form
of this RnB and soul ballad that is built powerfully on this essence of sexual
tension. Made as a duet with Brown, the song finds Hilson coaxing Brown into a
second rendezvous with her, before the singers nicely harmonise in the chorus
to sing about how all they need is one night of passion. The second verse then
finds Brown singing of kissing his girl and treating her like a princess. The
song has an alluring quality with the catchy chorus, and the catchiness of the
song is given more power by the powerful combination of the singers vocals with
the great electronic tinged harmonies in the chorus and slow sensual tones. The
production features clattering drum tones and electronic based sound that
brings out the 90’s sensibility of the track, although it could perhaps be a
little snappier and more confident in the bridge. The song also suffers in that
although both artists give it their all, the track as a whole just feels like
it is lacking that real strong chemistry that is needed for such a tune.
3.5/5
Track 6- Lose Control
(Let Me Down) (featuring Nelly)
Producers Stargate bring their definitive dance pop and
synth based sound to the record in the form of this slinky tune that finds
Hilson in another mode of being sexually charged. Co-penned by the hit maker of
today that is Ester Dean, the track has a powerful catchy quality in terms of
the hook driven chorus that has a punchy, attention getting quality that
contrasts nicely with the softer and more sensually driven verses. The songs
message is very simple as Hilson speaks of her attraction for this man and asks
him to just hold onto her and together they can dance and just lose control in
their moves. The appearance of Nelly is also a snappy rap section that offers
the male perspective, as Nelly speaks in a sexually charged verse that exudes
confidence, telling his girl just how he rools. Vocally this is one of the best
moments of Hilson as the lilting and slow tone of the track allows for the
richness of her voice to be shown, and when accompanied by the synth beats that
give the track a really powerful sensual tone, this is definite a standout
track. The song is also really cool in the way that it segues 3 minutes and
thirty seconds into the track and turns into this powerful slow jam that is
“Let Me Down”, where Hilson delicately sings of how her man has not been there
for her and speaks of how he is just like a boy and not a man, bringing with
this the album’s title. It’s a both weird but great section as although the two
songs couldn’t be further apart in sentiment, the combination somehow really
works.
4/5
Track 7- Toy Soldier
With the title of the track featuring the word “soldier”,
then it’s not a surprise that the song
features a prominent use of military style drums. The ballad finds Hilson
putting on a fragile persona for her a change as she lyrically sings of how
this man was there for her and said he would be there for her, but things have
gone wrong as the guy really just lied, with Hilson comparing her former beau
to a toy soldier who is just an object and does not really perform strong
actions. The lyrics are simple and effective, with the chorus having a catchy
quality through the use of vocal harmonisation. However, the track is also let
down by the Auto Tune effects of this chorus, and as a whole the track isn’t
the best vocally for Hilson as she just isn’t that strong of a singer, and so
in certain places the vocals come across as annoying. The production features
fragile piano instrumentation that is couple with these military style drums,
which in turn give the track a nice aggressive but hurt tone. It is not a bad
ballad but it shows her vocal weaknesses and feels a little bit familiar in
terms of the sentiment, as the heartbreak subject isn’t told in a unique enough
way.
3/5
Track 8- Breaking
Point
Things go a bit more mid tempo but still stay in ballad
territory for this track that was the records lead single, but was not really
commercially successful. The track is quite feisty lyrically as Hilson speaks
for the women of the world who are being neglected and exploited by their men,
talking of how woman always have this point where they can’t go on. The subject
matter is strong and the chorus has a cool, catchy quality in terms of it’s
bluntness. The production brings out the kind of throwback sound that has been
found at other points in the record with it’s cool pop energy that is built on
finger snapping beats, strong percussion and a forceful kick drum that makes
for both a light and slightly aggressive tone. The background vocals are also strong
in terms of bringing out this sense of unity within the track, whilst vocally
Hilson seems much more on point with this song than the previous number, having
a kind of soulful tone that has a light quality and feels fresh.
3.5/5
Track 9- Beautiful
Mistake
With a smooth vocal tone that really works well within this
track, Hilson brings us back to a kind of style that was really prominent in
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album, and so she really gives the song some
strength vocally. The lyrics tap into quite the human experience of realising
that things have ended for a reason and just being comfortable with that, as
Hilson speaks of her man and her being really good together but having become
friends rather than lovers, with Hilson comparing this to a simple mistake that
ends up being beautiful. The lyrics feel stronger than other songs in their
delivery and feel more tightly driven to the concept that they are focused on.
However the production here is perhaps one that can become a little annoying,
as the electronic driven sound is appealing but can be a bit overpowering, and
almost sounds like an old fashioned arcade game.
3.5/5
Track 10- Gimme What
I Want
Hilson puts on her strong and sexually driven, independent
woman persona for this simple electro driven anthem in which the lyrics are
centred upon Hilson telling her boy to give her what she wants in the way that
she wants it, with this declaration being driven by sexual desire. The chorus
has a catchy quality in its simplicity and the way that Hilson’s voice is
distorted to give a cool electronic flavouring to the number, although the
bridge is perhaps too much of an extension of this and the effects just become
annoying. The track is good in the way that it is a short number, and vocally
Hilson’s lilting RnB tones really play out well with this song, with the ad
libs in the final chorus giving a really nice and smooth, sensual edge to the
song. The electro production with its driving backbeat and handclapping rhythms
in the second chorus is good, but is good in allowing Hilson to really be the
centre of the track.
3.5/5
Track 11- All the
Boys
Another ballad on the record is another chance for Hilson to
show some sense of fragility against the strong independent woman theme of the
album, but rather than being a sad song about a greak up, here we find Hilson
singing about how she didn’t know what love was till this guy came into her
life and made her see, even though she had been with quite a few boys before.
The songs lyrics are quite pure and sincere, although the lyrical repetition
becomes a little too much as the song continues. However, whilst the lyrics
could do with some work, vocally this is one of Hilson’s best moments. The best
thing about her vocals is that she has a really nice soft and sweet tone, with
the emphasis upon the ends of particular lines giving warmth to the track. Yet
she plays the track really well vocally in never trying to go really powerful
and making a strong ballad, instead just letting the words do their work. The
production is quite simple with it’s use of nice piano instrumentation and
strings as well as RnB tinged drum beats that just allow for a chilled
atmosphere which we can really enjoy.
3.5/5
Track 12- Pretty Girl
Rock [Remix] (featuring Kanye West)
The final track is more of a bonus track in that it is a
remix of the second track and the biggest single off the record. The songs
composition is the same as the previous track, with the only change being the
second verse which this time is preceded by a quite long rap section from one
of the leading rappers Kanye West, who also adds some ad libs to the Hilson
section. The new feature just works in offering a sort of male perspective as
Kanye speaks of how he has this swag persona and asks why this pretty girl is
around these parts, telling her to do the pretty girl rock with him. It’s an ok
addition but it’s something that we know Kanye could do quite easily and it
kind of feels like he is just added to make the song even more commercial, with
the girl power energy also being slightly distracted from in his section.
3/5
Final Review
This may be quite a good record, but it is also simple to
see why Hilson will never reach the heights of some of her musical peers. This
is because whilst the songs are produced and packaged really well, with Hilson
more often than not really pulling off a smooth and encompassing, vocal, the
album as a whole just feels like it is a mix of all the things that can make
for chart success in today’s era, and so there is a definitive lack of
personality and that something that is really hard to find but which is needed
in order for Hilson to stand out and rise in the music world.
5.5/10
Best Track- Lose
Control (Let Me Down) (featuring Nelly)
Worst Track- Toy
Soldier
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