Ladies, if you don’t know the magic of Jaheim’s music yet, consider yourself warned: He puts us on such a high pedestal that he might make you question why your man doesn’t treat you sweeter. Fellas, you already know from his first two platinum-selling albums (2001’s Ghetto Love and 2002’s Still Ghetto) that there’s no denying these bumping bass lines and thug-love anthems.
Building on the ghetto theme, Jaheim remains the antithesis of the aspiration that somehow, some way, you gotta make it up out the ’hood someday. He proves that there’s something sacred about keeping your content (and fan base) close to home. The scenes he sets never venture beyond the whip, the club, the corner, and the bedroom—the very places his music is made for.
The first single, “Everytime I Think About Her,” featuring Jadakiss, could easily be the sequel to Still Ghetto’s “Diamond in da Ruff.” It’s a doting celebration of a stormy love affair set over a mellifluous groove. Even though Jah may have been guilty of neglect in the past, he’s clearly learned how to put that woman first. He praises her to the fullest on the stirring, up-tempo “Chosen One,” on which producer KayGee samples Willie Hutch’s classic “I Choose You” and makes it shimmer as dazzlingly as it did in 1973.
Jaheim’s brand of R&B shows that polished musicality and craftsman- ship are not a thing of the past. His tunes brim with bells, strings, layered vocals, and back-up singers who actually sing. “Ghost,” one of the few full-fledged slow jams on the album, is a haunting reminder of a lingering love and a savvy throwback to the best of ’80s R&B. On “I Ain’t Never,” Jah’s throaty vocals soar like a choir catching the spirit and reaches a joyous climax as he proclaims how he’s finally found the kind of love that you “never ever ever” let go of.
While his sound is sure to please the Pendergrass and Vandross generation, Jah’s songwriting is not as timeless or mature. “Daddy Thing,” a splintered shout-out to single moms, is an unusual love anthem that speaks to our time with bland lyrics like: “I got my income tax and said fuck it, traded in your bucket.” Elsewhere, he’s guilty of metaphor-abuse, which can turn decent songs into clichés. The finger-snapping club-banger “Like a DJ” finds Jah getting played like a record, and wondering, “Did you fade me out? Did you blend him in?” On the hip hop–flavored, midtempo “Fiend,” a hard-hitting bass line and high- time rhyme from Styles P are sure to spark a weedhead’s attention, though sober listeners are left longing for more potent lyrics.
Still, even when his words don’t move you, Jaheim’s gorgeous voice is a rare gift that anyone — male or female, teenaged or middle aged — can appreciate when they hear it. And really, who else is bringing it like this?
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