Theres a yin to every yang, and the movement of famous
songwriters to recording artists (The-Dream, Ne-Yo) is no exception. Keri
Hilson is the yang in all ways possible: the length of time between notoriety
and an album release (it took Ne-Yo a year after Let Me Love You before a
lead single, and The-Dream only a couple months after Umbrella) and the
simple fact that shes the female counterpart. In A Perfect World experienced delay after delay and more importantly a
complete album overhaul as the track listing for the March 2009 release is
almost 95 percent different from the one originally intended in September 2008.
Its more than apparent as In A Perfect World shows three degrees of versatility: the hard songs,
where Keri tries to command a pimp persona (Get Your Money Up, Turnin Me
On, How Does It Feel), the lot of soft songs, demonstrating a more docile
side to the songwriter turned singer (Make Love, Energy, Where Did He
Go), and the side that combines both hard and soft (Knock You Down, Change
Me, Return The Favor). In her combination of hard and soft, Keri Hilson is
on the forefront yet relinquishes the commandeering demeanor a
slam-dunk with Knock You Down, featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo, is more than
proof. In the tracks she intends to command she comes across less powerful,
since theres no hint of the female prowess she introduced herself to the world
in The Way I Are its simply not believable and offensively gimmicky.
Its not that Miss Keri is missing the element of performer
she needs to be interpreting her solo material, because in the single Energy,
a song she didnt even write, she performs up to par, is convincing, and is
more than invested. In A Perfect World
does hold a batch of radio singles, and for that kudos is in order, but as Keri
is expected to be the female yang to the modern R&B songwriter/recording
artist movement, its perplexing that she missed the mark in uniting love and
sex in her songwriting and her male counterparts didnt the
not-so-secret to their success.