When the topic of consistency comes up in hip hop, names like Ghostface Killah, The Roots, and Redman normally appear. It is certainly a hard characteristic to maintain and other genres have taken their lumps with the one album wonders and the up and down slopes of particular artists. The R&B scene has been littered with inconsistency. Continuous examples of “sell-outs” and “experimentations” have led to a once heralded genre head for a downward swirl more so than any genre that is said to be “dead”. Stuck in this dry desert is a diamond, a gem of consistency; Ne-Yo. With song writing for Beyonce and Rihanna taking the backseat to two solid albums of his own, Ne-Yo has innovated R&B’s rise of caliber and standards in the last few years. Taking the crown from the once modern king of R&B, Usher, Shaffer Smith has ruled the charts, the radio, and the ears of listeners. Different from the cliché lyrics and styles that other artist of this genre present, Ne-Yo expresses plenty of unique ideas in unique fashion in the very difficult-to-be-unique world of rhythm and blues with his song writing and choice of production. Year of the Gentleman displays his skills to their fullest potential and manages to keep the hot streak rolling.
The album opens with the dance-pop “Closer”. Produced by the team of Stargate, fresh off of Nas’ “Untitled”, Ne-Yo delivers a song about a hypnotic and magnetic attraction to a female. It exemplifies how Ne-Yo is able to pull off a rather non-R&B track in a very impressive stylistic form. He wonders why his significant other keeps him around with “Why Does She Stay” and talks about qualities and characteristics he enjoys in a relationship with a female in “Part of the List”. While his song-writing is his strong point, he does indeed have a great voice that is paramount on songs like the Michael Jackson-esque, “Nobody” and the lyrically in depth “Stop This World”.
The album’s gems come in sequence with “Mad”, although being one of those aforementioned ‘cliché’ tracks, Ne-Yo delivers it in a way that you actually feel the passion and emotion in the situation he is describing. He brings you down when the situation is depressing and when the chorus comes, the tone swings to a significantly different mood and Ne-Yo brings the listener along for the ride. “Miss Independent”, the second single (also produced by Stargate), is an addictive treat that, personally, I can’t stop helping myself to. The lift and jump of the chorus is masterful and the subject matter of the attraction towards a woman who can make it on her own is admirable.
“So You Can Cry” is beautiful in its execution, but, is lyrically unimpressive with lines like “I’m sorry I won’t attend your pity party/ I’d rather go have calamari/ and a drink/ and yes I think you should come with”. It’s catchy, which saves most R&B tracks from being complete failures, but it is laughable at how cold, yet, needy Ne-Yo portrays to be in the tune.
All in all, this album is great. The streak does in fact continue and Ne-Yo continues to deliver consistency. His choice for beats is also very impressive because every single beat on this album is both very good in technique and overall sound (“Single”, “Nobody”) or is very fitting for the lyrical deliverance (“Lie to Me”, “Why Does She Stay”). As previously mentioned, his song writing is his saving grace, but it is his voice, execution, and longevity that separates him from other mediocre artists and one hit wonders in the genre. It certainly is the year of the gentleman and a great one at that.
Overall Score: 85/100
Stand Out Tracks:
“Mad’
“Miss Independent”
“Single”
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