While many artists would like to become big right from the get go, it's sometimes better if it takes a minute for it to develop. This goes for both rappers and singers. It took a minute for Robin Thicke, but now he finds himself today at the top tier of popular artists in R&B. Most people don't even know he actually debuted a decade ago in 2003. Then he was kind of under the radar and most just knew him as the son of actor Alan Thicke. It wasn't until 2006 when he blew up like he was supposed to. That year he released his sophomore album The Evolution Of Robin Thicke. A great album. It featured one of if not the biggest slow jam single of the year in "Lost Without U". From that year on it's been smooth sailing. The wait was worth it I suppose. Well now he's back again with his sixth album Blurred Lines. Now unfortunately I've only gotten to hear two of his previous five albums. His sophomore album as I mentioned and his 2009 album Sex Therapy. Both were solid albums. I now think the same about Blurred Lines. I thought it was a solid project. Though I think I would prefer The Evolution Of Robin Thicke and Sex Therapy more than this. The majority of the album has this strong party sound. A lot of pop/techno/dance like beats. Not a lot of slow jams on here. Which is kind of sad because it's only a ten track album. However, the overall production was pretty decent despite the strong genre blending sound. He honestly shouldn't have trouble finding a second single because 95% of this album sounds radio friendly. Anyway, here's some stand out tracks for me. Now first of all it was hard to pick a favorite track because so many of the songs on here sound the same due to the production. It's like you're listening to the same song over and over. But after three listens I'd have to say "4 The Rest Of My Life" would be my stand out track. This was the only slow song on here and really stood out compared to the rest of the tracks. Not that I had a problem with the sound of the rest of the songs but this is the kinda of R&B I like to hear from Robin Thicke. That slow jam crooner side of him. This was a cool late-night-cuddling-with-your-girl type of song. The second track "Take It Easy On Me" had this very fast rhythm techno beat that actually wasn't that bad after a few listens. It sound like that rave party type music which is a weird sound to choose for a R&B album but it was alright. The closing track "The Good Life" was another favorite of mine. It was the only song that he actually talked about something other than women. Talking about many things involving life like overcoming tough obstacles, achieving goals etc. It's a nice song. I liked the 70's funk/disco sound on "Ain't No Hat 4 That". Many of these songs will get people up and dancing and this one is guaranteed to. "Ooo La La" had this really cool and smooth vintage 80's sound that's really missed in music right now. I'm probably too young but older people who grew up in that era would probably reminisce off of this. My issues with this album are nothing serious. The first single "Blurred Lines" is a huge summer hit right now and was cool at first. But now thanks to the radio's constant rotation of it I've kinda gotten sick of it. The song isn't bad I'm just tired of hearing it. "Give It 2 U" is okay but my problem comes with Kendrick Lamar believe it or not. Let's just say he's had better guest verses than this. Whenever Kendrick spits sexually explicit lines it just comes off weird and awkward. On here he says "life can leave a dick loved/now you gettin this dick, love". Just like the "girl-I-know-you-want-this-dick" line from A$AP Rocky's song. In short, he was needed on this song. As a matter of fact, T.I. verse on "Blurred Lines" wasn't too great either and he should have been left off too. On "Get In My Way" I kind of see where he was going but he didn't quite execute the topic. Here he talks about, or tries to talk about not letting things stop him from getting where he wants to be and all that jazz. I felt like he fell short of hitting that topic dead on. Which is strange because "The Good Life" had a similar topic and he nailed that one right on. Well in conclusion I think this was an overall solid project. I give it a final grade of a B. I still believe Robin Thicke is one of R&B's top hit makers today and this album proves it. I'ma continue to be a fan of his music. As long as we got singers like him around, R&B (mainstream and "mid-stream") will never die. The bedroom's will be happy and so will the ladies. Shout out to Paula Patton. End.
Final Grade: B
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