Rayvon
My Bad
Big Yard Music / MCA
You can be assured two things by riding the jock of international superstars like Shaggy: a nice, fat major label deal and a completely mediocre product. Now, Rayvon can actually sing – sounding like an odd mix between Dennis Brown and Garnett Silk in a pop/R&B cocktail. However, for the most part, even the best of the songs on this CD (“Hit & Run,” “Nice & Easy,” and “Playboy”) are just aiight. There are the notable exceptions of the retro-funk, “Time To Shine,” which is a surprisingly nice cut, and the pseudo-dancehall, “Do You Wanna Ride.” Mostly, you have the trite “punk motherfucker” lyrics of a total pop-to-be-pop project like “spread your wings and fly for love” and “I’m ready to die for my boo” (oh, how sweet). Or take the autentico ghetto chorus of the title track: “My bad/I should’ve treated you like the skank you are/Instead of having you ride up in my car/If I would’ve stuck to my original plan/You would’ve been a one-night stand.” As disturbing it is to say this and contemplate, My Bad, with its platitudinous content and uninspired music, is totally bubble gum directed straight at the kiddies. For me, who can no longer see puberty in the rearview mirror, five out of 14 songs does not make a good album, and I have to put it in the “disposable” pile.
Big Yard Music: http://www.bigyardmusic.com • MCA Records: http://www.mcarecords.com • Rayvon: http://www.rayvon.net
