Album Review: Bobby V. - 'Fly on the Wall'

There's some good things that can be said about Bobby V. Among them: he's a smart businessman who runs his own label, he's a hard working artist who releases a new album every couple of years and he likes singing songs about love (and lovemaking). But unfortunately, not one of the nice things that can be said is that he's a highly skilled vocalist. As his latest album, Fly on the Wall proves, Bobby has managed to stick around and stay semi-relevant not through talent, but sheer force of will. And Fly on the Wall, released in the U.S. on March 22, 2011, is just the latest in a long string of mediocre music from him.

With the release of Fly on the Wall, romantic crooner Bobby V. has now dropped four albums in six years, which is a pretty good average for any singer. But unfortunately, out of those for albums, maybe half a dozen songs total have been really good. And even after all these years, Bobby still has trouble with the things that had plagued his career up until now: singing in tune and on the melody. And it doesn't seem to matter what type of music he sings over, his vocal flaws are apparent on fast, slow or mid-tempo tracks. Not even some of R&B's more accomplished producers, including Bryan Michael Cox, Tim & Bob and Jazze Pha are able to corral and tame Bobby's runaway voice. Maybe he should have taken the big money he spent on production and used it on vocal lessons instead.

But it's not that Bobby is untalented; there are flashes of brilliance here and there on a few songs, like his cover of Bobby Brown's "Rock Wit'cha," which was produced by Babyface, and the Pentagon-produced romantic jam "Words." But for every strong moment, there's three that are weaker than wet tissue, like the sexual "Altered Ego," which features washed-up rapper 50 Cent, and another sexual hot mess, "Hummin," which features 50's even more washed up crony, Lloyd Banks. As far as the songs' content, there's nothing new or groundbreaking here, although if you've liked any of BV's past material, particularly his 2005 top 10 hit "Slow Down," then you might enjoy his alternating romantic and sexual vibes here. But if you've never been a fan, this probably ain't gonna be the album to get you hooked on him.