Album Review: R. Kelly - "Double Up"

Hot Singles, Lukewarm Album

R. Kelly is a living legend who's put out some classic material over the years. His albums 12 Play, R. and TP-2.com contain some of the best R&B recorded in the modern era - maybe even some of the best R&B ever. But even though he still releases some of the best individual songs, sometimes R. Kelly's full albums don't always deliver the goods. And this is one of those albums. Despite some hot singles, including the catchy "I'm a Flirt" remix that features T.I. and T-Pain and the drama-filled duet "Same Girl," which features Usher, Double Up doesn't measure up to many of his albums from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

First, let it be said that if you're not a hip-hop fan, you'd probably be better off just leaving Double Up alone. Kelly himself has said that that about 70 percent of the album is hip-hop, not R&B. And this is evident by the plethora of rap artists who appear on the album, including Swizz Beatz, Chamillionaire, T.I., Ludacris and more.

Another hip-hop aspect of the album is the type of attitude displayed. Hip-Hop swagger (or arrogance) is on full display on most songs, including the braggadocios title track (which features a Snoop Dogg cameo), the previously mentioned "I'm a Flirt" and "Tryin' to Get a Number," which features the rapper Nelly.

While Kelly's previous albums were known for their realistic takes on love and relationships, on Double Up he dumbs down his content and sings about things hip-hoppers have done to death over the past few years: sipping on patron, wearing stunner shades, getting loose up in the club, fast/expensive cars, etc. But while the extravagant materialism of hip-hop is on full display, so also are much of the negative aspects of the culture: women are treated as property and/or objects on most songs, sex takes priority over love and the lyrics are more shallow than a kiddie pool.

Unfortunately, on the album cover and elsewhere, he comes across as a hip-hop poseur. Which is a shame, because now that he's turned 40, Kelly should probably be getting smarter with his music, not dumbing things down to appeal to the least common denominator.

There's a few ballads on Double Up, but they're completely gratuitous. And one, "Sex Planet," is just as ridiculous as its title makes it seem. But at least he's not talking about orbiting Uranus.

"Sex Planet" is one of a handful of metaphoric/double entendre songs and Double Up, with another being "The Zoo," where Kelly compares freakin' to being in the jungle, complete with animal noises. "I got you so wet, it's like a rain forest, it's like Jurassic Park, 'cept I'm your sexasaurus," he sings. "You got me locked up in your cage of ecstasy and I don't wanna be free."

Another song with a clever theme is "Sweet Tooth," where he equates a hottie with sugary candy. But Kelly, who's still facing kiddie porn charges, gets a demerit for singing lines about how he wants to "babysit" a woman's ass. Considering the legal problems he's had in the past several years, he needs to leave that kind of talk alone.

Although the album's aimed mostly at the fellas, there are a few slow jams for the ladies. However, the only genuine one in the bunch is "Rise Up," the inspirational track that memorializes the victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech University shootings. It's this song, which is the last of the album's 18 tracks, that proves that when he really tries, Kelly is still (arguably) the best male R&B artist alive.