Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 03/01/2008
Epic Records definitely did its homework before unleashing
B2K into the
pop market. The boy band of clean-cut and suave young black men is everything a marketing department dreams about: attractive teens-becoming-men who make the girls melt with a little bit of a rugged, tough-guy attitude and flashy clothes. Of course, there are also the dance beats that are as much
dance-pop as
hip-hop; in fact, you might even wager a bet that the many producers and songwriters on this album had been listening to a bit of
Craig David and other British
2-step pop stars. Plus, the group members are capable singers as well, which is another bonus. Overall, with the girl-magnet looks, the trendy radio-ready production, and the limitless vocal hooks,
Epic Records has all the makings of
pop stardom in
B2K, including a market-testing hit single in
"Uh Huh" that set the stage for the group's debut album.
B2K, a self-titled album, gets off to a good start, jumping right into some of its best songs --
"Gots ta Be," "Understanding," and
"Why I Love You" -- before unleashing the album highlight, the aforementioned
"Uh Huh." From there, the album gets progressively long-winded, running through 17 songs in total, none of them overly distinct. Of course, that's the nature of
pop albums, particularly boy band albums, and
B2K definitely follows in the grand tradition of its predecessors:
Jagged Edge,
Dru Hill,
Blackstreet, and
Bell Biv Devoe.
~Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
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