Genre: R&B
Label Number: 88697-31136-2
© 2009 Jive Records
AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman
12 Play: 4th Quarter leaked well ahead of its intended release date, and “Hairbraider,” its intended lead single, deservedly flopped, prompting R. Kelly and Jive to shelve the project. Over a year after the leak, and just in time for the 2009 holiday season shopping rush, a new R. album in the form of Untitled received an official release, featuring a track list drastically different from that of the leaked album. Given that R. had maintained a relatively low profile since his June 2008 acquittal on child pornography charges, Untitled is his least eventful release in nearly a decade. Somewhat surprisingly, he leans on a lot of collaborations. He handles only two tracks by himself, farming out the production and songwriting assistance to an assortment of mostly up-and-coming figures who contribute to no more than a couple songs each. Perhaps R. needed the input from others to help reset his bearings and make a simple, concept-free, creatively unambitious R&B album. There’s nothing outlandish about it, at least not by the R. Kelly standard. In fact, it’s rather understated, heavy on slow jams with only a couple small surprises: the Jack Splash-produced “Be My #2,” heavily reliant on a chunky, adroit disco-funk classic by Rhyze, and “Like I Do,” where Carlos McKinney only slightly adjusts the swishing, gently rocking beat he made for J. Holiday’s “Bed” -- a prime example of R. giving new life to a tired sound with little evident effort. He even humbles himself on the song, if only a little bit: “There’s only two things in this world that I’m the best at, it’s true. Number one is music, and baby girl, can’t nobody work your body out like I do.” He’s coasting here, no doubt about it, but no one can coast like he can.
© 2009 Jive Records
AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman
12 Play: 4th Quarter leaked well ahead of its intended release date, and “Hairbraider,” its intended lead single, deservedly flopped, prompting R. Kelly and Jive to shelve the project. Over a year after the leak, and just in time for the 2009 holiday season shopping rush, a new R. album in the form of Untitled received an official release, featuring a track list drastically different from that of the leaked album. Given that R. had maintained a relatively low profile since his June 2008 acquittal on child pornography charges, Untitled is his least eventful release in nearly a decade. Somewhat surprisingly, he leans on a lot of collaborations. He handles only two tracks by himself, farming out the production and songwriting assistance to an assortment of mostly up-and-coming figures who contribute to no more than a couple songs each. Perhaps R. needed the input from others to help reset his bearings and make a simple, concept-free, creatively unambitious R&B album. There’s nothing outlandish about it, at least not by the R. Kelly standard. In fact, it’s rather understated, heavy on slow jams with only a couple small surprises: the Jack Splash-produced “Be My #2,” heavily reliant on a chunky, adroit disco-funk classic by Rhyze, and “Like I Do,” where Carlos McKinney only slightly adjusts the swishing, gently rocking beat he made for J. Holiday’s “Bed” -- a prime example of R. giving new life to a tired sound with little evident effort. He even humbles himself on the song, if only a little bit: “There’s only two things in this world that I’m the best at, it’s true. Number one is music, and baby girl, can’t nobody work your body out like I do.” He’s coasting here, no doubt about it, but no one can coast like he can.
tags: r kelly, r. kelly, untitled, untitled album, 2009, flac,
Hi, the FLAC link is down
ReplyDeleteThe FLAC link has been updated.
DeleteFLAC link is dead
ReplyDeleteThe links have been updated.
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your reply and for your re-uploading 😀
Again "Bravo" for your work and your sharing 👍
You are the best !
Take care of yourself 👊
JL