J-Records
Urban Contemporary, 2006

Boy, I have this feeling that Fantasia will be a blast to watch and listen to if this is a concert because girlfriend here really lets her hair down and blasts her way through the songs here as if she’s possessed or something. If you do not enjoy Fantasia’s voice and performance style, this one will be like nails on blackboard. I love her to pieces, however, so this is one fabulous CD as a result.

Hood Boy is so catchy and infectious that I have no idea how I am expected to let this song get out of my head. The vocals are brimming with energy that they turn what could have been a nondescript and average R&B song into something that I suspect will be most beautiful when it is performed live. Check out the wild “Yeah, yeah, ye-aaa-aaa-ah” all over the track – that’s the Fantasia I remember and love bringing down the house! She continues bringing on the frenetic energy in equally fabulous uptempo songs like Baby Makin’ Hips and Not the Way That I Do.

But when she wants to get down slow and easy, things get a little less interesting. Some of the slower songs are still very nice on the ears, such as the dreamily romantic When I See U and Only One U that at the same time allows Fantasia to sing down the house down in her irresistible style. But there are also other ballads that are on the bland and uninteresting side despite Fantasia’s best efforts.

Fantasia demonstrates easily that Fantasia could sound modern and relevant as easily as she channels some kind of throwback to the glory days when the divas like Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle rule the airwaves. If there are a few less tracks here that feel like fillers, this one would be the perfect Fantasia experience.