Words by Melanie J. Cornish Rating: 2.5 out of 5.0
You just can't deny the unique talents of the four vocalists that make up Jagged Edge. Even though this is their sixth studio album that has been leaked to the net one week prior to its release, you know all those JE fans went out and bought the album regardless. But are they fighting a losing battle against the under-25 demographic? Is their sound becoming a tad bit monotonous for the R&B aficionado of today?
Well one person who certainly doesn't think so is the man who put them in the spotlight back in the day, So So Def boss Jermain Dupri. Reuniting with JD on this project seems to have Brian, Brandon, Kyle and Wingo playing it safe in the very fickle environment they find themselves in today.
Melodies and harmonies have always been the strong point of Jagged Edge, and nothing has changed. Obviously firm believers in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra, Jagged Edge somehow maintains a generic flow of songs produced predominantly by JD and Sick Cents. It is so generic that you can't help but wish Nelly would show up and get the party started, instead of his girl Ashanti who croons over the lead single from the project. "Put a Little Umph In It," produced by Dupri, is a weak lead single, and, unfortunately, what follows is also rather mediocre in comparison to earlier projects from the Atlanta based quartet.
The intro teases us with snippets of the tracks that encouraged the platinum and gold selling albums by Jagged Edge. But what follows can only be deemed as lackluster. Today you have to be able to roll with the punches, not saying that JE aren't able to do that, but with CD sales dwindling, you expect the group to offer something a little different.
The final track, "Turn U On," is possibly the only joint that JE flirt with reaching the apex of their talents. Produced by Selasi, aka "The African Kid," you can't help but feel that Dupri and Jagged Edge allowed an Akon imposter into the camp. One would have to check the credits to make sure that it wasn't actually Akon on a very bad producing day. No disrespect to Selasi, but he needs to develop his own sound and not that of someone who is already world-renowned.
Jagged Edge, as mentioned previously, are still one of the most solid quartets in the game, but the R&B game is being played by a team of younger guys. If you are going to stay relevant and hope to amass further fans, doing what you have always done isn't necessarily going to encourage that. But for those fans who haven't already reproduced to Jagged Edge's previous contributions, Baby Makin' Project might do the job.
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