Trey Songz – Ready
Songbook/CTE Atlantic Records

“To Love & Lost”

After watching Trey Songz appear like an everyday man hoping for success on I Gotta Make It and then flip into a sexual lothario/R&B fighting machine on Trey Day, I was skeptical about the direction of his latest release Ready.

Partially because Tremaine Neverson has this split side that makes you wonder who he is really. Sometimes he’ll be the working man with some soul in his voice ala Anthony Hamilton and the next he’ll be the R&B version of T.I. (actions wise) and getting into fights and arguments. He chopped off the braids and copped a fade and hopefully grew up because most R&B singers don’t get third albums. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t jump over Mario and becoming the leader of the young R&B group with the fall of Chris Brown but does he really want to take it?

Well for starters, Trey is a fan of R. Kelly and no doubt sounds a little bit like Robert on the intro Panty Droppa to assert folks that this will be yet another sexual escapade from Mr. Songz. I was hoping the R. Kelly aspirations would stop but we get the follow up Neighbors Know My Name which is a bedroom burner for sure as well as the slightly uptemo I Invented Sex featuring Drake. While the jokes on the song title may be easily made, they can be made even moreso for another track I’ll topple later.

When Trey tries to go the soul route, he succeeds. On a national stage at the BET Awards, he did the O’Jays some serious justice and on Ready, he does the exact same on the latter portion of the album delving into relationship topics possibly not seen from him since “Hatin’ Love” from his first album. Black Roses is solid, probably the best showing of Songz on the album outside of Yo Side of the Bed because it shows Trey not as a superman but simply human when dealing with a breakup. Love Lost with its great songwriting and sits on the back side of Roses which serves it right. Does He Do It has to sit in a Ne-Yo wonderland with Songz wondering if anybody is better than him at laying it down in the bedroom.

The scary thing is that the CD takes a weird half in reversal, because Trey is all about the ladies and getting to business on the first half but then somehow becomes vulnerable and wants to play introspective when it comes to his own love life on the latter.

What kind of kills the idea for it though is that all of Songz best representations of being a GREAT R&B singer fall in between the misses. While he does the right thing and uses Ne-Yo’s go to production team in Stargate for the album’s first single I Need A Girl, the possible third single Say Aah plays off as a spinoff (or follow up) to Jamie Foxx & T-Pain’s hit “Blame It”. Hell, guest rapper Fabolous even acknowledges Foxx’s song on his verse. A club reach that Songz didn’t need to make, nor did he need to stretch his mind and tap into the R. Kelly realm of weird song choices for Jupiter Love. Successful featuring Drake once again may seem old to listeners thanks to the fact that the song was already on Drake’s So Far Gone mixtape earlier this year, the only difference between that version and this one is that Trey has a verse, Lil’ Wayne has none but the mantra stays the same.

But what can be said about LOL ?

Given the fact that BOTH Gucci Mane & Soulja Boy make an appearance on the track, you understand that the message is geared towards thirteen year old girls and young folks with that mentality. It doesn’t belong anywhere on the album and kills the majority of adult credibility Songz has with this record. Can I blame him for trying? No. But for a man who killed someone in self-defense, I’ll be damned if I’ll call Gucci Mane a gangster when there’s a song like THIS on his resume.

So what can be said about Ready? In its unevenness, there are flashes that Songz is more than capable of being the best young R&B singer out there. He has the vocal chops and does a damn good job of killing folks on their own songs, if you’ve heard the mixtapes. All he needs is to wrap all of his various sides and make a complete album.

STANDOUTS: Black Roses, Yo Side of the Bed, I Invented Sex, Neighbors Know My Name, Successful, Love Lost, Does He Do It?

DUDS: Say Aah, LOL

FINAL SCORE: 6.5

Brando

EIC of Day & A Dream, Brando has written for such publications as DJ Booth, Refined Hype & the Houston Press. Wrestling enthusiast, sneaker addict, sports junkie and certified cake eater. Follow him on Twitter: @_brandoc

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