Iโve never heard a Kehlani song before this listen. I didnโt know what genre she was or what to expect from her. The only thing I knew about Kehalni is that she was involved in a bunch of โdramaโ last year that involved Kryie, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and a supposed suicide attempt. I hate all this bullshit gossip and drama in todayโs media andย Iโm not one to speculate on the validity of claims, but I will say that it did admittedly have an effect on my opinion about her, and not in a good way. I was actually going to pass on givingย SweetSexySavage a listen, but I kept hearing good things so I ultimately decided Iโd give it and her a chance.
I would have to say that was a good decision becauseย SweetSexySavage is full of some really good music. It definitely toes that line between R&B and pop, but Iโd say it leans more heavily into modern R&B than pop. The production isnโt anything I havenโt heard before and it falls into the same vein as a lot of other successful, albeit short lived, singers that have come before her. What it lacks in genre shifting originality, it more than makes up in itโs pure high quality studio production. Itโs all extremely well polished and itโs mixes are all sonically pleasing. The album opens up very strongly with songs like โKeep Onโ, โDistractionโ, โPiece of Mindโ, ย and โPersonal.โ Theyโre all incredibly bouncy and infectious songs that stuck with me for a while. However things really start to drag towards the end, and not necessarily because theyโre bad songs (thereโs not any songs that glaringly stick out as bad), but because of the sheer length of the album.ย Fatigue really started to set in a little over halfway through; this is a case where less would have been more, she should have cut it down to about 12 tracks.
โEverything I do, I do it with a passion
If I gotta be a bitch, Iโma be a bad one
Iโm A.I. with the designs, du-ragging
Bounce back game good, why we talkinโ practice?โ
After listening throughย SweetSexySavage I can see why so many people were high up on her, because she really does have an incredible voice. I have a sneaking suspicion that sheโs had some technological assistance, but I canโt really say since I havenโt seen or heard her live. Assistance or not she does possess that prototypical R&B/pop voice and she does convey a certain amount of swagger in her music without it feeling forced. Artistically I think thereโs still a lot of room for improvement as itโs far more style than substance, but itโs a solid start.
Have you heardย SweetSexySavage? Whatโd you think about it? Do you think it left enough of an impact? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your rating for the album.
