It took awhile, but
Loon
finally made his album-length debut in late 2003 with a self-titled effort for
Bad Boy
chock-full of the sort of lovers
rap
the rapper had made his stock-in-trade a year earlier on
"I Need a Girl, Pt. 1."
That song, also featuring
P. Diddy
and
Usher
, became a really big hit in summer 2002, scaling the charts and getting endless radio play, and made a name for
in the process. Amid the revived
family of the early 2000s, he had become the
Mase
to labelmate
G. Dep
's
Notorious B.I.G.
-- the mellow, soft-spoken rapper with the smooth, romantic game to complement
Dep
's gentle-thug image. Executive producer
leverages this persona throughout
's self-titled debut, continually presenting seducer-seducee scenarios where the Harlem rapper lyrically serenades the likes of
Kelis
Trina
. And even when he's not running game on actual women,
still plays the cool, cocky lover-man, presumably targeting his female listeners. This is all fine and well, particularly for those who like
contemporary R&B
, but song after song of lovers
over the course of 70 minutes can become tiresome, even for all the hopeless romantics out there. A few passable skits break up the album, but not enough to substantially infuse some variety into the long stretches of lovers
here, and the few male guests who are featured --
Mario Winans
,
Aaron Hall
Carl Thomas
-- likewise revel in romantic whispers rather than guy-oriented
-talk. Thankfully, the diverse, top-shelf production is interesting throughout -- always fresh, lively, and above all, poppy (hooks are openly jacked from such well-known songs as
EPMD
"It's My Thing,"
Guy
"I Like,"
Soul II Soul
"Keep on Movin'"
). So regardless of whether or not you're into lovers
, there's always the production to enjoy. It all amounts to a well-produced, polished debut album for
with a few great songs (especially the opening run of
"How You Want That,"
"Do What You Like,"
"Relax Your Mind"
) and a bunch of fine ones that overall should please longtime
fans and anyone who relishes the label's refined style of lovers
. ~ Jason Birchmeier