Ciara, A Once (And Future) Thing?

I have been critical of certain artists, whether in my articles or in conversations. It isn’t something that I do consciously or even maliciously. Mostly it’s just observations.

One of the popular ones for me is the sudden and total absence in the musical universe of Keri Hilson.

Kelly Rowland is another but I have nothing but generally good things to say of her as of late, whether it is for her features, performances, or her latest album. But I will get into that shortly. I am going off on a tangent and getting off topic.

Ciara is probably the butt of most of my falling (or failing) star jests, japes, and jokes. She has been aiming for a resurgence of popularity with her music. For the most part that has been sketchy at best. It seems when she builds a head of steam with one single the one that follows seems to derail everything. If it weren’t for her Twitter and public beef with Rihanna she might have faded back into the Atlanta backdrop as if she were the setting sun.

But now she is love with fellow Atlanta artist Future and here with a new album.

The self titled Ciara is a ten song LP, short by the standards of music these days. All the same it is a decent effort with two featured artists (Future and Nicki Minaj) and rather good production from Planet VI, Mike Will Made-It, and P-Nasty to name a few. Since it’s a rather short set of songs I will talk about the three songs that I loved.

“Body Party” is highly hyped but quite enjoyable. The track is built around a sample of “My Boo” by Ghost Town DJs. This track feels like the amazing Ciara hit “Promise” with a maturity to it, if that’s possible. The track strikes an intimate tone that plays like a love song or a slow grinding classic in the making. The production is smooth and made of catchy notes that ensnare your ears even if you’re not a diehard fan.

“DUI” sounds faintly like 808s And Heartbreak when it first comes on with its drum heavy beat. This song is clever because throughout she [Ciara] compares her love for the unnamed subject of this one to being under the influence of something like alcohol or something else. This is a modern day R & B love song that hits its mark in my humblest of opinion. I will also go as far as to say that this one could be contemporary baby making music.

“Livin’ It Up” was probably the favorite of this one. It has a simple theme: living life to the fullest. The upbeat nature of the production here reinforces that without ramming it down one’s throat. Amid the island influences of this track is a sample of Kid ‘n Play’s 1998 sing “Rolling With Kid n’ Play”. Nicki Minaj comes through and gives a decent feature.

Ciara may be close to resurrecting her career if she can keep to the formula on this album. It is full of decent to strong tracks and pretty good writing.  



written by Lucius Black for Royalty Magazine