Remember when De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest used to dis the shit outta R&B? Not on some childish hater shit, just on some self-pride b-boy shit? Those were the days. The vibes and stuff of modern music was much more raw and uncut. Today, it’s all one crazy ass unbelievable blur. Not three minutes into the electro-ballad that comprises the intro of Fantasy Ride, Ciara busts a rap that wouldn’t sound surprising out of Eve’s mouth. This super-kinky viciousness continues across the disc, and it’s not necessarily nauseating like that atrocious Wreckz-n-Effect’s rap/R&B radio fodder came across as (time travel with me, people). But what rap and R&B have merged into at the end of the new millenium would confuse even the most cutting egde music producer, with the nebulous-yet-structured definitions of each mutating closer each year. On this album, rappers are singing on R&B beats, while singers are rapping on rap beats. You would have been insane to attempt this in the early 90’s. But Ciara’s Fantasy Ride, even ten years from now, will probably sound quite futuristic, with its sinful synths and many slick-ass little tricks. Its state of the art, but it’s also a symptom of the state of the art, word to Kanye Omari West.
Let’s get into the album, shall we? For real, some artists take their alter-alteregos seriously, don’t they? On album three, the brutal-rumor-wrecking Ciara gathers a Justice League of guests for the fantasy ride of “Super C,” Ciara’s “aggressive persona” to take us on said Fantasy Ride, which just essentially means a lot of psychedelic sound and fury and the occasional exciting idea, while seducing our senses with song title suggestions like “Pucker Up” and “Keep Dancin’ On Me.” Notably fiercer than Beyonce’s Sacha, even her liner notes are hero-licious. But how adventurous is this fantasy ride, really? Justin “I Ride For T.I.P.” Timberlake straps up for some safe “Love Sex Magic,” which feels more like foreplay than fornication.
Ciara gets over-dramatic and operatic on “High Price,” a ridiculous robo-capitalist anthem as annoying as it is admirable, that Ludacris finds a way to salvage. Someone is going to love that song. Just hope you don’t have a bedroom next to them. Elsewhere, “Turntables” is a colorfully catchy guilty little pleasure, but R&B public enemy #1 Chris Brown is her partner in crime on the record. When’s his trial against Rihanna again? Either way, Young Jeezy’s disgustingly cheesy chorus on the dainty little ditty “Never Ever” is a sonic crime to the ear. Did Ciara pay him for that? I hope she lost a bet to him to let that appear here.
Other guests who appear are future school producers Danjahandz, Darkchild, newcomer “Tricky” Stewart and The Y’s (remember the name: they might go big) create a superheroine-worthy soundscape for Super C to soar. “G is For Girl” is impressively conceptual braggadocio on some E’d up B-girl shit, but beyond that, can auto-tune please die now? Its fantasy ride is over, word to Shawn Corey Carter.
74/100
“Ciara To The Stage”
“G is For Girl (A-Z)”
“Turntables” (featuring Chris Brown)
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, this makes me wanna hear the album, lol
Is it just me or does Ciara have a VERY limited range vocally?
Really nice production on “Ciara to the Stage” though
I think Ci-Ci better stick to dancing. Seems like she’s trying too hard. Sometimes people just need to stay in their lane.
turntables leaked a couple of month ago. sounds dope!!!
Turntables made me feel like I was in pop hell.
I couldn’t stand this album. I mean, at the end of the day, maybe I didn’t give it a fair chance. But I don’t wanna hear Ciara moaning …. you boys may all beg to differ.
I remember her seeing live, too, way back when. She was wacker than wack. She SHOULD stick to dancing, IMO.
what? we reviewed Ciara? this site sucks
I hate it
i hate life
i wanna bang ciara
i hate this website
Very eclectic listen though. Sounds like a Wanna-be of JT’s FutureSex/LoveSounds without the soul and rhythm at times. I’m not a huge Ciara fan at times, I think she’s hot (and frankly, if she was a man, where that rumour came from I found freaking hilarious, call me a FLAMING homosexual), And I think she’s a really dope performer but she never did much for me vocally outside of one or two songs an album
WOW.
Also worth checking out is the Fantasy City mixtape
*pause*
A good album review saves the reader from having to listen to everything themselves… this is well-done, man. I could hear each song you were talking about because your descriptions were so spot on. Thanks for saving a solid hour or so for the rest of my life. I owe you one fam.
its interesting that both this and black eyed peas albums have both got basically 7.5/10 which makes me think, has our standards for rating albums sunk so low that they should go above a 5/10 at the very most? if you was reviewing this album in the 90’s when the chronic/baduism/ready to die etc was out, would they only be worth 1.5 more than ciara/BEP latest offerings? as much as i love this site, i’m beginning to wonder about your album ratings. The source used to be a credible hip-hop magazine, i stopped buying it when they started awarding 5 mics out like candy…..please dont fall into this trap!
DJ Valroy, trust me, the rating system has not changed…we’re as hard as we’ve ever been. Ratings are based on production, lyrical content, delivery, creativity and how smoothly everything works together overall, amongst numerous other factors.
Although I personally don’t agree with the rating in this review, it’s justified by what Addi heard from this CD and what he’s said. In addition to that, II can say I don’t agree with the rating *******because I’ve heard BOTH albums.*********
Just because these albums recieved higher ratings than that of a “real” (and I use that term LIGHTLY) rapper solely means that the album was better put together and delivered.
Even the best of the best have shit albums you never wanna replay.
word, Erin.
and an 80 for a rap album and an 80 for an R&B album wouldn’t mean the same to me. sorry.
make up your own mind. reviews are guides, but shouldn’t form the basis of your opinion.
we’re credible as ever. these are just some thoughts on the album, no big deal if you violently disagree with them or not. just hope you gain some extra insight from reading the review, in one way or another.
thanks
i hear what your saying, and i’ll always take note of you album reviews, my thoughts are that if real classic albums like the chronic, ready to die, illmatic etc are 9/10 albums then 8 or 7/10 albums should be yo, bum rush the show, reasonable doubt, kanye’s first 2 albums, balloon mind state (de la soul) do you get my drift? on that basis i dont think that much albums today would warrant a 7/10 rating if they are not as good as lets say, showbiz and AG’s first two albums…..its all about keeping up a certain standard, IMHO
I agree with valroy on his idea of the rating system. It’s kind of like girls (stay with me here). Like a Victoria Secret model is a dime or a strong 9 and then you got these regular bitches who guys are callin 8s and 9s? A 5 is average so if she is about 5 she’s still good, just a regular bitch.
So an album to me that’s a 5 is something that’s nothing special, 6 and 7 are decent maybe worth a try, 8 must have, 9 instant classic, 10… is it possible to achieve perfection? That’s a whole different story because we all have different perceptions of perfect but I’m sure we can all agree that there are some close to it or were at one time…..
Only thing I can say is wow to these comments. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’ll leave it at that.
FTW: “She’s still good, just a regular bitch.”
i like regular bitches! lol
Even though I’m a mad crazy Ciara stan(who bought two copies of “Fantasy Ride) I do agree with this review. Much of the album plays futuristic sounds as well as sounds from the past, similiar to Aaliyahs work. Maybe “Fantasy Ride” Is to technical to be understood during this point in time. But the album is pretty good if you actually take the time to enjoy the ride
Wait… “Darkchild” is considered “future school?” He made his debut over 20 years ago.