In the summer of 2001, R&B was still going strong. Usher was preparing to release his third solo album, Jon B.’s underrated Pleasures U Like, had hit stores in the spring, and the genre’s current superstar Sisqó was due to release his sophmore project, Return Of Dragon. Fueled by the success of the singles “Incomplete” and “Thong Song,” Sisqó’s solo debut, Unleash the Dragon, would sell five million copies in the US alone.
The album’s success saw the platinum-haired singer earn a co-starring role in the teen comedy Get Over It and serve as the opening act for NSYNC’s No Strings Attached tour. Argumentatively, Sisqó was a full-fledged pop star who put the planned Dru Hill reunion tour on the back burner.
“Can I Live,” the first single from Return of Dragon, found the singer linking up with Teddy Riley for an attempted club banger. The lyrics in the song convey a message about freedom and privacy in relationships. Riley’s production skills gave the song some umph, but when I first heard the song back in 2001, Sisqó’s vocals seemed forced. The guest appearances from his then-artists, The Associates and Luvher, didn’t do much to help the song.
On the one hand, I understand that Sisqó was attempting to give his signee’s show shine, but it was a puzzling move. Given his celebrity at the time, it’s perplexing that his parent label, Def Jam, didn’t add one of his labelmates, like Jay-Z, Ja Rule, or DMX, to the track for more radio play.
The second single was the up-tempo “Dance For Me,” which found the singer using the production talents of One Up Entertainment. Sisqó sings with a brash bravado and corny pillow talk, asking a young lady to dance for him. The music video for the song came across as the hood version of a Sonic video game. I still feel like with this song, Sisqó was attempting to recreate the success of “Thong Song,” but it just doesn’t work.
Initially, “Dream” featuring Chinky of Lovher was planned as the album’s third single The album’s big ballad is Sisqó in top form vocally. R&B giant Warryn Campbell wrote and produced the song, which I would have pushed as a quiet storm radio single or a soundtrack song for a summer blockbuster.
The other song I liked on the project was “Close Your Eyes,” with the signature Dru Hill slow jam sound. While the song is a textbook R&B apology ditty, Sisqó sings the lyrics unabashedly. Sisqó even harks back to the R&B style of including an interlude to set up the song. The rest of the album is, unfortunately, full of misses.
I’m a slow jam cat, so I assumed that titles like “Infatuated” and “Last Night” were the mood Sisqó would shoot for. Instead, they are forgettable album tracks. Furthermore, despite the lush harmonies, even the Dru Hill reunion “Without You” is somewhat of a letdown. Whether it was a miscommunication with the label over the direction or his ego, Sisqó’s sophomore album is still one of the biggest blunders of early 21st-century R&B.
Looking back at how huge he was then, I often wonder why the label didn’t link him with big guns such as Jam & Lewis, The Neptunes, or Babyface. Even if Sisqó wanted to chase mainstream money, all the producers mentioned could’ve given songs that would have crossed over to the Pop charts without alienating his R&B fanbase.
Final Grade: C-
Return Of The Dragon is available on all streaming platforms.
Songstress Ashanti was experiencing significant success with two platinum albums at the time of the release of her inaugural holiday project, “Ashanti’s Christmas,” on November 18, 2003. Her label head, Irv Gotti, produced most of the album. This project comprises four original songs co-written by Ashanti, in addition to six cover versions of traditional Christmas standards and carols.
Vocal quartet A Few Good Man contributed two songs to the project: a cover of “Silver Bells” and the ballad “Merry Christmas My Dear,” both of which were produced by Daryl Simmons. Demail Burks, David Morris, Aaron Hilliard, and Tony Amey were the members of the group, and after introducing themselves in the festive video for “Silver Bells,” it was only fitting that they delivered a ballad on the album.
R&B legend Luther Vandross had already solidified his place in R&B when he released his first holiday album, “This Is Christmas. Arriving in stores on October 24, 1995, “This Is Christmas” validates Vandross’s ability to sing anything.