Sleepy Brown, "Mr. Brown" (Virgin)
Like fellow singers Nate Dogg and Akon, Sleepy Brown has made a name for himself by smoothing out hard-edged hip-hop songs with soulful choruses. After his thin falsetto washed over OutKast hits like "So Fresh, So Clean" and "The Way You Move," a solo spin-off seemed inevitable.
But years of record biz red-tape threatened to doom Brown to perpetual hook-singer status, albeit with arguably rap's most talented duo.
Now the long-awaited "Mr. Brown" is out.
Unfortunately, the soulman hasn't made the strongest case for being regarded as more than a rap accessory. The album's Neptunes-produced first single, "Margarita," features Big Boi of OutKast, Pharrell, and a Latin-tinged beat that skips along to rhythmic bongo slaps and sprightly chord progressions. But it's a troublesome sign when the song's two guests outshine Brown on his own coming out party.
"Mr. Brown" isn't overloaded with cameos, just songs that focus mainly on old-fashioned romance. Over church-style organs on "Sunday Morning," Brown oohs and ahhs like a low-rent Marvin Gaye.
On the string-propelled "Me, My Baby My Cadillac," Brown extends the love metaphor to include his pimped-out ride. And "One of Dem Nights" recalls Barry White, with its sweeping synths and Brown's trite, whispered lyrics: "These insatiable acts that you're about to witness/Girl ain't no turning back."
Too often Brown's hushed come-ons place more emphasis on manufacturing moody moments than asserting his personality.
The result is that his loverman croon gets lost in the sonics, making it hard to connect with Brown as more than another R B lothario with friends in high places.
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