As a personality who literally stepped out from the shadows
wooing and seducing the R&B world with his first contribution to a genre
that heralds an overabundance of males under the age of 25, Bobby Valentino has a lot to live up to
with his sophomore project.
Being seated at the same table as the rest of his DTP family, with recent Grammy
victor Ludacris at the head,
isn’t something he takes lightly. However, this second chapter in the life of
the Mass Communications major from the A has him staying on the exact same
track as he did on the first and should make himself, fans and his industry
siblings proud. Bobby definitely
gives us a product that you can play from start to finish with Special Occasion, which provides the
listener an intimate insight into what makes him one of the hottest commodities
on the R&B market today.
Bobby V calls on the best and they
provide him with a solid foundation for Special
Occasion. Aiding and abetting Bobby
on this projectis possibly one of the greatest R&B producers of the closing
years of the twentieth century: Rodney
Jerkins, who produces the second single “Turn the Page.” The Darkchild is joined by names such
as Dre & Vidal, Tim & Bob accompanied with the
amazing talents of Sean Garret and Bryan Michael Cox. Having penned the
majority of his first album, Bobby wanted
to stick to the formula that encouraged the success of his debut. Only this
time, he went behind the boards as opposed to just picking up the pen,
co-producing more than half of Special
Occasion.
Void of extensive features and collaborations but with the tracks that you
expect on an album falling in the category of Rhythm and Blues, Bobby V does take a trip outside the
box on his second offering giving his following something different to absorb.
He immediately springs into action on his 17-track offering, wearing a whole
new coat on “Wreck.” The track talks about an insatiable female who just has to
have her some Valentino before
making it home. The song does feature an unnecessary screeching sound in parts,
but beyond the noise it does actually showcase the crooner’s rapping
capabilities, a trait which seems to be prevalent within the worlds the male
vocalists right about now.
Content in R&B never really goes above and beyond the generic ballads and
infectious melodies of loves lost and found, but once again the DTP soul sensation strays beyond the
confines of what has become expected from him and his contemporaries. With “Check
List,” he takes the album more up-tempo and gives us something we can dance to
without physical contact, rhyming off his extensive check list which he and his
car adhere too when going to meet the date of the evening.
Other tracks worthy of a mention are “Brand New,” which takes the sample from
the old Stylistics track “You Make
Me Feel Brand New.” Here, Bobby
talks about the feelings he has when a certain lady comes around him, the one
that is ‘like his Momma.’ This song
continues to emphasize just how comfortable he is in displaying an array of
emotions, Freudian slips or not.
Feelings and sentiments continue to free flow as he explains just what he is
looking for in the song “Alone” because, apparently as the song title suggests,
this talented young man is actually alone and may just be looking for that
special someone. Overall, Special
Occasion allows Bobby to be
viewed as more than just a one album purveyor; it allows his fans a more
personal peek into the life of their idol and it truly establishes him as a
competent scribe and co-producer.