R Kelly & Public Announcement - Born Into the 90's

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Music reviews of Born Into the 90's

Music Review: The 90's didn't really begin until R. Kelly said they did
Rating: 5 Stars

Now I don't know much about hip hop or rap, although I have sometimes wandered in those musical realms on and off over the years; I really don't have a clue what "new jack swing" was, but it had to be some more kind of impressive musical force to give birth to this happening collaboration of hip hop, R&B, and soul. The opening track, She's Loving Me, gives She's Got That Vibe a run for its booty-shaking money, sometimes reminding me of the great Stevie Wonder at his super funkiest. In Definition of a Hotti not only do the guys explain to the ignorant exactly what a hotti is (I think we all understand this term by now), it also lays down a kicking track by which to educate the masses. I Know What You Need strikes a fine balance between Kelly's up-tempo dance tracks and the soulful love songs that grace the second half of the album.

Kelly is just keeping it street, and the song explaining what this means features a great funky groove and some priceless lyrics. Of course, Kelly didn't hit the big-time overnight, and the title track Born Into the 90's recounts his struggles to make it in the business. Budding stardom had not really changed Kelly, and he enjoyed nothing more than just Hangin' Out and kicking it old school just like back in the day. R. Kelly was all about the hotties, of course, and smooth love songs such as Slow Dance and Dedicated made his talent and exceedingly bright future as a singer obvious to all. The album closes with the bonus track Hey Love featuring Mr. Lee, a song many will recognize even if the title doesn't ring a bell.

I know R. Kelly has made some bad personal decisions in recent years, but that does not change the fact that Born Into the 90's is a great album. I might also add that you won't find any sexually explicit lyrics on this breakout album of 1992. I don't think these eleven tracks have lost much of anything over the years, but admittedly I'm not really up to date on the current hip hop scene. On a trivial note, I must mention the fact that the liner notes of this album feature the tiniest printed lyrics I have ever seen; they are there, but I don't see how anyone could possibly ever read them without the aid of a powerful microscope.

People are always asking me how they can be as hip and cool as I am - well, not really; if someone ever does ask me, though, I might very well point them to this album. With lyrics such as "back in the day the girlies turned me down like collars - yeah but now you're poppin' like Orville Redenbacher," this is as smooth and happening an album as you will find from the early 1990s.

Description of Born Into the 90's

Blues CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• R&B
• Rap & Hip-Hop