CD review: Jay Sean

Published Sep 19, 2013

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Jay Sean

Neon

**

Safe.

The state of R&B is delicate at present, which is is why you will not easily make up your mind about the direction Jay Sean is trying to take on the Neon album.

I started on Sucka For You, a reggae number that changes to an electronic house vibe. Before you are done doing Chris Brown moves, the song goes back to a slow reggae beat.

The confusion spreads to the rest of the album where you are too careful to start bopping just in case the rhythm suddenly changes.

Close To You sounds like something that Ne-Yo would drop for his European club market. But it’s a decent song because you can tell where Jay Sean is going with this and so you can commit to it.

The title song is an attractive acoustic number with clever lyrics. You almost feel like this is the sound the man should have pursued on the album as it is a clean track that shows his beautiful vocal range.

If you listen to the Guns N’ Roses mix, you could mistake Jay Sean for Chris Brown. This probably explains why the singer is signed to Lil’ Wayne’s Cash Money Records.

Then we get the hip-hop tracks like Mars, which features Rick Ross stamping his grunting authority on an other- wise dud of a song. Other rappers featured include Busta Rhymes and Ace Hood, who breathe some life into this so-so album. – Munya Vomo

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