Ray J. - All I Feel

When all is said and done, Ray J. will probably be remembered for two things: one, being the younger brother of his much more famous and talented sister, the singer-actress Brandy; and second, being an ex-boyfriend of model-socialite Kim Kardashian and the guy who performed with her on the infamous Kim Kardashian: Superstar sex tape. One thing that Ray will probably won't be remembered for though, is his music. And his fourth album, All I Feel, is a good example of why. Ray's thin vocals have their moments on a few songs, but on the whole, it might be time for him to start thinking about another career. Seriously.

If it wasn't for the studio technology that can enhance and augment singers' vocals, Ray J. probably wouldn't have a career as a vocalist at all - unless it was as a rapper. And All I Feel, which will be released on April 8, 2008, is proof positive of that. The album's maddening in that although a few songs are garbage ("I Like To Trick" is the most prominent example) there are more that are either okay or had a lot of potential, including the first single, "Sexy Can I."

There's two major flaws with the album, though: the weak, inconsistent vocals and the over reliance on sex songs. Your Guide to R&B likes sexy tales as much as anybody, but some of the time, Ray goes about it in a clumsy, awkward way, especially on the aforementioned train wreck of a song "I Like To Trick." On the positive side, the album definitely has a strong hip-hop swagger, and guest appearances by the rappers Young Berg, The Game, Styles P and Shorty Mack on various songs enhance the mood and feel of the album, as does the song production by Rodney Jerkins, DJ Quik and others. But unfortunately, Ray's shortcomings as a vocalist hinder the album too much. If you took these exact same songs and re-recorded them with any of a number of other vocalists (Trey Songz, J. Holiday - hell, maybe even Bobby Valentino) and they'd probably sound much better.

Ray J. is four albums deep in a singing career that's contained some controversy over the years, but few hits. In fact, most people think he's a rapper. So with that said, maybe its time for Ray to switch it up and start rhyming. Or at least stop singing.