This Jamaica-born, Miami-native, 17-year-old brings nothing but feel-good, dance music in his self-titled debut. Sean Kingston (Epic Records). Combining Hip-Hop, reggae, and a taste of old-school doo wop, Kingston doesnt front trying to pose as a thug or show off his street cred, instead, like any teenager, he chases after beautiful girls and vents about the ladies hes lost.Hes already reeling from the radio success of Beautiful Girls and Me Love, but within a mostly pop-filled album, Kingston manages to gives us a few gems. On Dry Your Eyes, Kingston shows respect for the most important girl in his lifehis mom. Raised by his brother, Kingston reminisces about his mother being sent to jail: Seventeen got a little money/Feelin kinda blue/Cause it’s lookin you doin 10 to 20/Ridin bein broke aint funny/It’s all bein hungry/But ima keep hustlin for my mommy. A few tracks allow Kingston to redeem himself as more than just another pop icon, proving he has lyrical control. On Drummer Boy, Kingston raps Im marching with an army of kids/All my soldiers in the streets/Raise youre arms like this/Its a marathon/Were here for the crown/So if you dont diggin the movement/Get down. But its on Change where Kingston strives for a better world in this anthem-like song. Hope to see black people living longer/Also less kids without fathers/We should all come together/Please stop fighting and killing each other.It would be hard to accept Kingston taking a serious tone with his debut albumthats probably why he took the safe route and stuck to reggae-love songs. Tracks like Got Not Shorty and Your Sister purposely appeal to Kingstons younger audience. Cant blame a teenager for wanting to have a good time. On Theres Nothing, Kingston matches up with Paula DeAnda for another flawless rapper-diva duet thats a staple in popular Hip-Hop culture. Kingstons debut is guaranteed to provide summer-lovin dance favorites, but beyond that his artistic value tends to fall into the shadows of his pop favorites. The album is suffocated with hand-clapping beats and songs that almost sound the sameKingston entertains but fails to impress.
Sean Kingston: Sean Kingston
This Jamaica-born, Miami-native, 17-year-old brings nothing but feel-good, dance music in his self-titled debut. Sean Kingston (Epic Records). Combining Hip-Hop, reggae, and a taste of old-school doo wop, Kingston doesnt front trying to pose as a thug or show off his street cred, instead, like any teenager, he chases after beautiful girls and vents about the ladies hes lost.Hes already reeling from the radio success of Beautiful Girls and Me Love, but within a mostly pop-filled album, Kingston manages to gives us a few gems. On Dry Your Eyes, Kingston shows respect for the most important girl in his lifehis mom. Raised by his brother, Kingston reminisces about his mother being sent to jail: Seventeen got a little money/Feelin kinda blue/Cause it’s lookin you doin 10 to 20/Ridin bein broke aint funny/It’s all bein hungry/But ima keep hustlin for my mommy. A few tracks allow Kingston to redeem himself as more than just another pop icon, proving he has lyrical control. On Drummer Boy, Kingston raps Im marching with an army of kids/All my soldiers in the streets/Raise youre arms like this/Its a marathon/Were here for the crown/So if you dont diggin the movement/Get down. But its on Change where Kingston strives for a better world in this anthem-like song. Hope to see black people living longer/Also less kids without fathers/We should all come together/Please stop fighting and killing each other.It would be hard to accept Kingston taking a serious tone with his debut albumthats probably why he took the safe route and stuck to reggae-love songs. Tracks like Got Not Shorty and Your Sister purposely appeal to Kingstons younger audience. Cant blame a teenager for wanting to have a good time. On Theres Nothing, Kingston matches up with Paula DeAnda for another flawless rapper-diva duet thats a staple in popular Hip-Hop culture. Kingstons debut is guaranteed to provide summer-lovin dance favorites, but beyond that his artistic value tends to fall into the shadows of his pop favorites. The album is suffocated with hand-clapping beats and songs that almost sound the sameKingston entertains but fails to impress.