Ginuwine

The National Academy of Sciences needs to contact Ginuwine right this minute. Apparently the 35-year-old R&B artist has opened a time portal back to the late 90's to create his latest release Back II Da Basics. That is the only way to explain how anyone would let him get away with this mundane collection of songs that barely passes as an album.

Following the recent trend of R&B promoting adult illiteracy, Da Basics has three tracks with purposefully misspelled titles, including the title track, which sounds like a bad version of a Will Smith song. If the only problem with words Ginuwine had were third-grade spelling mistakes, he would be a lucky man, but unfortunately his songs are reminiscent of a high schooler in puppy love. In "She's Like" Ginuwine tells the listener that his love is "like the spinners on them big things/the diamonds in my pinky ring." Compliments that can make any lady's heart melt. While it would usually be pertinent to describe other tracks from the album, all the other tracks consist of the same R&B riff with snaps and hand claps and lyrics so corny they can feed a small third-world nation.

Beyond the insipid lyrics and repetitive instrumentals, Ginuwine also seems to have lost the ability to sing on key. Gone are the days of "Pony" and "In Those Jeans," songs which made Ginuwine popular, for a very good reason. On Da Basics he mashes his way through the album a little bit too flat, as if he is forming a dissonant chord with a non-existent duet partner. If you are looking for decent R&B, stick with Usher, because Da Basics is basically bad. -