Nfared Reviews: 112

Pleaseure and Pain



112 has been around long enough to know the good and the bad of the music
industry. Hailing as probably the greatest four-member group since Boyz II Men,
group members Q, Mike, Slim, and Daron almost redefined sensuality with their
self-titled 1996 debut release. They saw great success, and great
disappointment, at their home for over 6 years, Bad Boy Records. Now with a new
label behind them, and obviously a few meals inside them, the group is back with
its fifth studio project Pleasure and Pain. With every album, 112 faces the
challenge of topping (or at least matching) the creativity of their first
release, marked by many as their best. It is painfully obvious, the struggle
continues.



Pleasure: Known for their sexually charged content, 112 has not lost their
versatility, branching out from sexual to insightful with “What If”. Lyrical
solidity meets simplicity in this song filled with hypothetical questions such
as, from the first verse, “What if I never slept around/never cheated on you
girl/what if/what if I didn’t break your heart/and never ever ruined your
world/what if/what if I always was a real man/face to face to face/told you the
truth…”. The beauty in this song is its construction. Each question has one
answer, which is stated in the chorus, “We would still be together/be
together/be together right now.” Though slightly random in comparison to the
rest of the CD (particularly the song immediately following, “U Already
Know”), 112 clearly knows there is more to a relationship than great sex.



Pain: Though mature subject matter is usually at the helm when it comes to this
group, sometimes, the writing can just be down right elementary, as with
“Damn”. Sadly, the indication this is not going to be an album highlight is
within the first few words of the first verse; “Damn/why’d you have to look
so good/damn/why’d you have to be so sexy/damn/why’d you have to dress so
fly/why’d you have to catch my eye/oh won’t somebody tell me why. It’s
almost hard to believe this song is from the same group that sang “Now That
We’re Done”. After all these years it would make sense that the boys
progressed, particularly with the huge failure of their last album, Hot and Wet.
Yet it seems as if they have not learned their lesson. “Damn” is an example
of the laziness (using their words) 112 said they had gotten past with H&W.
Artist in the music industry lie all the time; it’s probably in the contract
somewhere. Here though, the lie is felt strongly. The boys
said they would do better, yet they hardly delivered on the promise.


Final Grade
112 is like the home team. The desire to support them is strong, even when they
don’t come through. There is only so much disappointment to be had though
before thoughts of giving up appear in the horizon. While a stronger effort then
H&W, Pleasure and Pain is still not enough for what would be considered industry
veterans at this point. The songs that are good are really good, but just not
good enough to overshadow the missteps. 112 is at a breaking point. Good singing
has gotten them a long way (despite Slim’s constant “Oh Hoooo’s” that we
have been hearing ad nauseum throughout the years) and will obviously continue
to be a staple for the group. The time comes to do something different though,
and that time has come and if not recognized, will make 112 gone. Final Grade C-




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