Jeremih - Jeremih (2009)

If you think Pleasure P is the second-coming, are heart-broken by The-Dream's recent retirement announcement, and you believe I gave Sterling Simms a raw deal on my dismissive review, Jeremih is just the urban pop album for you. "Birthday Sex" has inexplicably already become a #4 Hot 100 Billboard single for Jeremih; so there are definitely folks checking for these adolescent anthems. I may have to concede that producer Mick Schultz's animated Southern synth-hop music and occasionally clever lyrics are simply too young for my thirty-something ears. I tend to prefer repetitious use of barking sound effects on my DMX albums, but that's so old school, right? Still, is it too much to ask that Jeremih at least have a strong singing voice? Usher did, Jaheim, Lyfe, Sammie, hell so did most of the teen heartthrobs of the earlier part of this decade. To be fair, so do Cupid, Chris Brown, and J. Holiday of this generation. Jeremih is not quite in Holiday's league, but on a surprisingly sophisticated ballad like "Starting All Over" Jeremih proves he's far from the worst of the thin teen tenor bunch. Placing my bets on the sensitive "Break Up to Make Up," the catchy "Buh Bye," and the club-banging "Runaway," I'd say there are at least three other hits on this afterschool radio project, not counting the much improved remix version of "Birthday Sex." Down in the Dirty South, the market for whom this jingly project is clearly aimed, there may be untold more. Though I'll always question why an album should hit it big yielding such gems as "My Ride," a car fetishist song that boastfully tells girls they will love and long to marry an apparent loser because of his ride (and no, ride is not a metaphor, you presume too much). What ever happened to songs about girls falling in love because of what was gonna happen in that ride? Guess that's old school too, eh?

Vocals: 2
Lyrics: 1.5
Music: 2.5
Production: 3
SoulTracks Call: Mildly Recommended

By L. Michael Gipson