Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 09/18/2007
Age-appropriate pop-R&B albums fronted by teenagers are few and far between. The first album from
Akeelah and the Bee star
Keke Palmer is one of the few, and it also benefits from not functioning as the joyless and sugar-free version of what's played on the radio and seen on TV. While a good deal of the credit goes to the assortment of high-level songwriters and producers who collaborated with
Palmer -- including
the Clutch,
Rodney Jerkins,
Anthony Dent, and
J.R. Rotem -- the album wouldn't be much without
Palmer. She's wise beyond her years while acting her age, and she sounds equally comfortable in each of these songs, whether she's dealing with realistic relationship issues, self-worth, escaping harsh realities through music, or being proud of your background while fighting against its misconceptions. Unless your barometer for cool is
Pretty Ricky, none of it will seem corny. The biggest highlight is
"The Game Song," a playfully dramatic track where
Palmer bemoans her boyfriend's diverted attention: "It's like I wasn't even in the room/He was all up in that tic-tic-boom/How you gonna worry 'bout first and ten?/All I'm saying, you really should've put this ten first"; "Smash the controller/Game over."
~Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
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