Bow Wow & Omarion - Face Off
GRADE: C+
How would you imagine a collaboration album from the artist formerly known as Lil Bow Wow and the lead singer of B2K would sound? Think hard. No surprise, that’s EXACTLY how Face Off sounds.
Bow Wow has seen an odd decrease in the overall quality of his albums in the last few years. In what are often the golden years of an MC, his late teens and early 20’s have produced his weakest material to date. On the other hand, the last few years have proved the best yet for former B2K front man Omarion. While Bow Wow’s last effort, the confusing Price of Fame, faltered in producing any memorable material, O’s 21 lp was mature, fluid and showed immense growth.
Now, as these two teen-pop icons struggle to gain a foothold in adult hip hop and R&B music, they join forces. The results are lukewarm at best. On the album’s opening title track they channel the spirit of Jay-Z and R. Kelly’s Best of Both Worlds with similar results. This opening does little to excite the listener, rather it reeks of desperation. Fortunately, the album improves from there with catchy, radio-friendly (yet painfully predictable) potential singles like “Girlfriend” and “He Ain’t Gotta Know.”
Make no mistake, die hard fans of Bow Wow and Omarion will eat this album up. The production is nice, the songwriting is slightly above mediocre and neither artist truly drops the ball. However, there is really nothing unexpected here. If you don’t already have a poster of Bow Wow and Omarion in your locker, this album probably won’t do anything for you.
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Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 2:19 pm under
