Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 02/22/2005
Omarion's career didn't slow down after the breakup of
B2K. In addition to playing
Reggie in
Fat Albert, he went about recording his debut album with an extended cast of producers. As with most other former
boy band members gone solo,
Omarion makes an attempt to break from his
teen pop past by getting as racy and raunchy as possible -- "I don't mean no disrespect to you, but a n*gga really tryin' to f*ck with you" being one of the least up-front come-ons from
"Take It Off." (Note: there is no parental advisory label on the album.) The content runs the spectrum of a relationship, though there's lots of courtship going on, carried by the expected assortment of
ballads, mid-tempo grooves, and club tracks.
Omarion is most effective when sticking to lighthearted, summery
funk -- like the
Kool & the Gang-tinged
"Never Gonna Let You Go (She's a Keepa)" (featuring an out-of-place drop-by from
OutKast's
Big Boi), and when he gets heavyweight assistance from
the Neptunes (
"Touch") and
Rodney Jerkins (
"Drop That Heater"). Had
Omarion been less concerned with street credibility, realizing that it might be better to allow his young fan base to mature along with him, this debut would've been more than satisfactory.
~Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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