His self-titled debut begins on cue with “That Body”, an interesting concoction so obviously spawned from lyrics of his monstrous hit single “Birthday Sex”. The aforementioned raunchy tune is up next, serving as a steamy lullaby that should be a staple for future intimate birthday celebrations. The awful stop and go vocals on “Runway” are followed by “Raindrops”, one of the better cuts on the album.
Backed by a soft backdrop mixed with a heavy drum pattern, Jeremih drops infectious vocals on this smooth number, but the track itself would have been better served without Jeremih’s rapping aspirations. “Starting All Over” sees one of Def Jam’s latest signees doing his best Stevie Wonder impression while second single “Imma Star (Everywhere We Are)” stands as a solid tune, but sees the young kid feeling himself just a little too hard. “My Sunshine” stands as arguably Jeremih’s best vocal performance on the entire album, a true gem in its own right.
The majority of the album as a whole though, appears to be spinoffs of records done by other artists. “That Body” is spawned from his own “Birthday Sex”, “Birthday Sex” is this year’s “Bed” while “Hatin’ On Me” feels like the R&B sequel of rapper Maino’s “Hi Hater”. The album ends on somewhat of a high note though with another possible single choice in the catchy “My Ride”, the uptempo number “Buh Bye” and as a bonus, an uptempo rendition of hit single “Birthday Sex”.
Jeremih is underwhelming at best. While the guy certainly has the talent, his debut project was doomed to fail (which probably explains the lack of promotion he has received from his label thus far). Most labels will not back a project they know will be a bust. The album has a whole seems to have no singular focus; just a short collective of tracks. It does not help in the fact that the album breaks no new ground and covers generic and essentially, retread subject matter. While he does have the ability to make a name for himself, for now it appears that Jeremih is on track to forever be known as “Mr. Birthday Sex”.
2 spins (out of 5)
