Album Review: Cupid - "Time for a Change"

A 'Change' Has Come

With no fanfare and very little advance promotion, Atlantic Records has quietly released Time for a Change, the debut album by southern R&B singer Cupid. If you've heard Cupid's hit song "Cupid Shuffle," then you pretty much know what to expect from the album: mostly energetic, upbeat dance anthems that are fun and family-friendly, but don't have a lot of substance. The good news though, is that the whimsical nature of the songs is compelling enough to carry the entire album. Although Cupid does engage in a little social commentary on a couple of tracks, it's the party songs that are most worth listening to.

One of the moderately surprising things about Time for a Change is that Cupid can actually sing. On the "Cupid Shuffle," song, he partly sings, partly raps, giving the false impression that he might be a rapper masquerading as a singer. But Cupid fully displays his singing talent on numerous songs, including the snap music anthem "Work," which opens the album, as well as the '90s R&B soundalike "Closer" and the irresistible club anthem "Do Yo' Dance."

Other standouts are the self-esteem anthem "I Love Me" and the addictive "369," a throwback to 1940s swing music that, like most of the album, is sonically adventurous and not the least bit tied to traditional contemporary R&B. Swing music, snap music, dance, hip-hop and other sounds can all be felt on the album, giving the album a unique identity and establishing Cupid as an artist who's influenced by, but not tied down to, numerous types of popular sounds.

There's very few songs on the relatively wholesome Time for a Change that aren't fun and catchy, but Cupid does take time on the album to get serious on the song "Don't Love Her to Death," where he speaks out against domestic violence:
"You don't have the right to hit her/How would you like it if somebody beat up on your sister?, he sings. "If your son sees you beat on his mama in the home, what do you think is gonna happen when your son is grown?/He'll think it's okay and make the wrong decisions, you can change the future of your son bein' in prison.
The song's heavy and sounds a little awkward on such a lighthearted album, but the message is a much-needed one for some.