K-Ci & JoJo - It's Real

maximum points!!

wow! what an album,from track 1 all the way through to the last track,every song has a different feel to it and carries a different emotion,easily kci & jojo's best album,just listen to the samples,a must have, best song is how long must i cry,load of heart and effort on this one! August 19, 2006

YES-Now THAT'S What I'm Talkin' About!!!!!

Actually, I give this one 4.5 stars. I think it is a sexy blend of up tempo and slow songs. Soulful and bluesy, but urban and gritty, too-southern gentility well-combined with the raw sensuality and vulnerability that makes you want to know more-just like those bad boys you see walking around. This is a wonderful showcase of the Hailey brothers' ability to harmonize and compliment each other artistically and emotionally I own all 4 K-Ci and Jojo CD's and this is, by far, the best. As time went on, they seemed to have forgotten the things that make us love them so much-like the emotions they can stir with their sincerity and the freakiness that makes us ladies swoon. Perhaps they were experimenting on the later efforts. Or maybe they were trying to distance themselves from their youthful raunchiness, in an effort to be taken more seriously-but I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. This is some good stuff, right here. October 24, 2003

YES-Now THAT'S What I'm Talkin' About!!!!!

Actually, I give this one 4.5 stars. I think it is a wonderful blend of up tempo and slow songs. Nice and bluesy, but urban and gritty, too-southern gentility nicely combined with raw sensuality and vulnerability that makes you want to know more-just like those bad boys you see walking around. This is a wonderful showcase of the Hailey brothers' ability to harmonize and compliment each other artistically and emotionally I own all 4 K-Ci and Jojo CD's and this is, by far, the best. As time went on, they seemed to have forgotten the things that make us love them so much-like the emotions they can stir with their sincerity and the freakiness that makes us ladies swoon. Perhaps they were experimenting on the later efforts. Or maybe they were trying to distance themselves from their youthful raunchiness,in an effort to be taken more seriously-but I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. This is some good stuff, right here. October 24, 2003

Best R&B Group Around

After their sensational debut "Love Always", K-Ci & JoJo come back again with a solid album. It does not quite reach the majestic musical plateau that their first album did, but it comes extremely close and is one of the better R&B releases in recent years.
The album starts off with the brilliantly catchy "Fee Fie Foe Fum" as the Hailey brothers wind you through a story of betrayal. This song makes use of K-Ci's trademark hollering. "I Wanna Make Love To You" is a more upbeat and lighter song than the latter. This song is more reminiscent of the trademark songs of their previous group, Jodeci, as it is a more explicit love song. "I Wanna Get To Know You" uses a nice bouncy beat and the listener is treated to the great exchanges when K-Ci & JoJo sing back and forth. This is one of the more catchy songs on the album and definitely makes this one of the albums best. "Hello Darlin'" is a slower and much more romantic song. It contains a great hook as instruments are added in and the beat picks up. "How Long Must I Cry" uses great coordination between a slower beat and picking it up to make it more catchy. "Makin Me Say Goodbye" features a great hook by JoJo and K-Ci's original singing style on the first two verses. "Tell Me It's Real" was the smash hit from the album and is a really good song. It is not too pop sounding to stand out from the album and is a great contribution to the album. The song "Life" stands out from the album more than any other song as it was taken from the Life soundtrack. It is a welcomed feature as it was written and produced by R. Kelly and is mostly a solo from K-Ci making use of his bluesy style to the fullest. "Girl" is a nice song as it starts off slow and becomes an outstanding upbeat song. "What Am I Gonna Do" although not produced by Timbaland, has production that sounds similar and is yet another good song. "Here He Comes Again" is a very meaningful song as the Hailey brothers plead with a girl to leave a man who is treating her wrong. "Momma's Song" is an inventive and nice addition to the album. It is a song written by their mother and performed by K-Ci & JoJo.
K-Ci & JoJo put out another solid album. The strength of this album is their voices as their contrasting singing styles work extremely well together. JoJo has a higher pitched voice and sings in a more traditional style. While K-Ci's voice is raspier and he likes to sing in a southern blues style. Dating back to their Jodeci days, all the Hailey brothers albums have had solid production and this one is no different. This is one that all R&B fans should have as this duo are two of the most talented musicians in the industry. Very few of the lyrics are not written by them and guest background vocals are limited. July 24, 2002

3-1/2 stars

I wouldn't call this album WACK, but some people may call it close to that after hearing Love Always. Love Always was filled with smooth, silky singles like "All My Life" and "Still Waiting," whereas THIS album sounds a little experimental.

When you want to, you'll hear good stuff like the first single, "Tell Me It's Real," as well as "Here He Comes Again" and the best song, "How Long Must I Cry." Except for "Tell Me It's Real," K-Ci and JoJo made the mistake of not releasing the dope songs. (Of course, another mistake is every song not being dope to begin with.) Also, many of the song titles are not very creative, like "I Wanna Make Love To You" and "I Wanna Get To Know You," not that they're bad songs. In other places you'll find them being a little TOO creative. Case in point: the second single, "Fee Fie Foe Fum." A Jack and the Beanstalk reference? BAD idea. The chorus is "Fee fie foe fum/Got a feelin' you've been dippin' with someone." That's just ridiculous. Also the hook has K-Ci saying "Late at night/I hold my pillow tight/And I wish that it was you." How old is he? Three? One song to steer clear of completely is "Hello Darlin'." At the beginning it sounds like it will be good, but then comes the ridiculously loud chorus with even louder ad-libbing and bad wordplay. Just take my word for it.

Because this is a K-Ci & JoJo album, what can we look forward to? How about some essential oversinging by Mr. K-Ci Hailey? Not only does he do it to almost ruin the end of "Here He Comes Again," he strains to do it in "Fee Fie Foe Fum," and he even does it in the intro.

Even with all the things I mentioned, this album isn't necessarily something to throw in the garbage. It just doesn't quite live up to most people's expectations, that's all. Fortunately they came back home with their followup, X. February 14, 2002

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