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Nfared Reviews
Bobby Valentino


Women will clearly dominate the first quarter of 2005. Faith Evans and Mariah
Carey have already released number one albums. Tweet is back, and Amerie is set
to have a strong April release. What male artist would be bold enough to step
foot into the estrogen battle? Enter Bobby Valentino with his first album,
appropriately titled, “Give Me A Chance”. The album, with its hit first
single “Slow Down” has great potential. However, there is a slight odor of a
one hit wonder in the air.



“Gansta Love” is about a girl that has Bobby’s interest. The girl though,
is somewhat of a model/thug/good-girl-gone-bad type. Perhaps the male version of
“Soldier”, this song is not a great lyrical effort. The chorus, “She got
that gansta love/I can’t get enough/when she pick me up/she be swerving/rollin
in the clean old school/on 22s…” is cleverly written and works with the
production. Writers Bobby, L. Edwards, L. Dopson and S. Thornton are right on in
creating a song that is detailed and specific in its description of this woman,
but the plausibility factor becomes an issue. He goes on to say she is
“…like one of my homies.” One could almost hear the voice of many woman
who have screamed the words, “I am not one of your homies!!” Sure, women
like the one described here do exist, but whether or not Bobby would be with one
seems to be a looming question. Then towards the end of the song comes a
somewhat obscure line, “…coke bottle body/like to get
naughty/that’s why you my shawty”. If you can ignore the lyrics (or
perhaps, play along), the song is not a total loss, but the listen won’t be
memorable.



“My Angel (Never Leave You)” is a little less of a stretch lyrically. What
shines though is the track, produced by Tim Kelly and Bob Robinson. The bass
heavy track is smooth, simple and fitting. Almost old school, but not really,
the track is right in line with Bobby’s style. Lyrically, “Angel” does
leave questions, but is more congruent than other songs on the album. The flaws
in the lyrical construction of the subject matter are not as disconcerting here
because the basic premise of the song is believable. The chorus, “I’ll never
leave you/God put us together/forever/my angel/Never leave you/you’re my best
friend/and this til the end/I’ll die for you”, is simply stated, yet there
is heart felt passion in the words. This song comes together as one of the
highlights of the album.



With so many male singers out that have no business with recording contracts,
Bobby can stand proud in the fact that he has an excellent, distinctive voice.
However, while a great effort, “Give Me A Chance” may not have the
opportunity to prove itself worthy of that chance. This album will have a hard
time against the array of women that are releasing albums within the first six
months of this year, particularly Amerie who is set to release the same day as
Bobby. While aiming to be different, this album seems to be running in place;
there is little variation in the production (several of the tracks sound just
alike) and lyrics that throw into question the audience Bobby is trying to
appeal to. A nice album, but almost doesn’t count. Final Grade: B-




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