Esteemed producer Mario Winans has been on the fringes of
P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records for sometime now, but has never been given
more than backing vocal slots. Hurt No More is set to change that
and throw Mr. Winans into the limelight big style.
'Never Really Was' draws you straight into the album with its
clever strings sample elevating the R ’n’ B track above
the bog standard norm. The slick production flows straight into
'I Don’t Wanna Know', the first single to be released. The
Enya track made famous by The Fugees’ Ready or Not has already
been played almost to death - but not quite. The rap cameo from
Bad Boy’s boss is as much a sign of mutual kudos as it is
beneficial to the track, but name-dropping’s all part of
the game.
'How I Made It' features another State-side hip-hop heavyweight
in the shape of Loon. The song samples The Commodores’ Celebrate,
which you’ll recognize as soon as you hear it, even if the
name is unfamiliar. The first interlude follows, and unusually
it serves to up the pace of proceedings with some haunting pianos
fused with Mario’s now familiar understated voice.
Things get a little bit slushy with '3 Days Ago' and 'What’s
Wrong With Me', the latter with a distinct lounge vibe helped
by slow bass effects. It doesn’t really help that 'Can’t
Judge Me' continues this theme - it’s these types of songs
that explain why Sisquo’s Unleash The Dragon is harmlessly
collecting dust in my CD rack.
Interlude 'Enough' darkens the vibe with a minute’s worth
of heavy, fast-paced beats layered over a sinister phone call.
Strangely it leaves you begging for it to break into a proper
song. But it only leads into 'Pretty Girl Bullshit' which features
the self-proclaimed "most critically acclaimed rap bitch
in the game" - Foxy Brown. The song’s an awkward listen
with clear West Coast allusions in the beat, which feels completely
wrong in the context and delivery of the track.
'This Is The Thanks I Get' swiftly makes it clear that the use
of flutes strangely makes for a fantastic beat. Flutes and swift
beats make for possibly the most awkward juxtaposition imaginable
but when Black Rob raps over it you get the impression you’re
listening to something special.
Hurt No More then sort of fades away into nothingness only to
be resurrected by the closing track 'The Game', but the smoothness
of the album has as much to do with that as the quality of the
songs. The album isn’t great, and other than I Don’t
Wanna Know there isn’t much in the way of mainstream single
potential, but that’s the nature of the genre. This is a
must-have for any R ’n’ B fan - anyone else should approach
with caution.
by Azeem Ahmad, musicOMH.com
