One of the most original performers on the modern R&B scene Akon is not too eager to speak of his criminal past stating that he has never used drugs and is now leading a normal life. Of course listening to his songs one can learn a lot of more interesting things the only question being how true his texts are. Nevertheless one cannot doubt the sincerity of his love songs. And if the classic gangster compositions and songs about relationships were present in an approximately equal proportion on his first two albums Trouble and Konvicted then on the third record Freedom released at the very beginning of this winter the singer has finally demonstrated his romantic nature to the full extent. The greater part of Freedom consists of sad and happy stories of love, breaking up, fighting and making up, reminiscences and dreams. Fortunately for the genre fans Akon has left some space for reflecting over his past and on the whole Freedom proves to be a worthy continuation of his career.
Obviously Akon’s main goal on Freedom was to make the songs as memorable as possible therefore he sings persistently the most expressive phrases several times so the absolute majority of the songs can be easily remembered and almost learnt by heart after one or two listening. This is especially true about the first single Right Now (Na Na Na) for its simple pop tune, an unobtrusive synthesizer’s arrangement and lyrics close to everyone who has ever quarreled with the partner will surely linger in the mind. A club hit Beautiful featuring Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall is remarkable for a contagious beat and composition Keep You Much Longer proves to be a very simple and honest love confession. A bit bold tracks Troublemaker featuring Sweet Rush and We Don't Care will also be irreplaceable on a dance floor whereas on I'm So Paid featuring Lil' Wayne and Young Jeezy the singer distracts a bit from the female sex and remembers the events of the past years. Among the album highlights there are a beautiful and optimistic reggae flavored Be With You, another no-more-criminal-life track Sunny Day performed with Wyclef on which Akon expresses his happiness of having nothing more to worry about. Besides the title track deserves special attention for it is a real story of the singer’s childhood and youth. At the end of the record a nice bonus is prepared, a contagious and melodious track Clap Again with a hand clapping beat and very joyful lyrics.
If we could say after the previous two records that Akon brings in some new tendencies into R&B music then they shie especially brightly on Freedom. One can hardly find those brutal songs that the other rappers’ works can boast as 90 per cent of the album consists of soulful or easy-going tracks meant for dancing, having rest and fun. Nevertheless Akon himself has remained the same great vocalist whose combination of rap and singing makes every song unique. One can praise as much as possible his singles like I Wanna Luv U and Right Now (Na Na Na) which are all alike and will surely prove commercially successful. Yet the true value of the artist’s all three works is not in them but in the most complicated and beautiful songs conquering with the richness of his voice, much more informative texts and still no less contagious. In particular on there are some faultless arrangements on Freedom which combined with Akon’s vocals present the best moments not only on the album but in the entire creative work of this artist who is perhaps still not estimated as he deserves.
Konvicted
Trouble
D-Sides 2007
D-Sides opens a new side of Gorillaz, making us realize what experiments it is really able to carry out and providing an opportunity to know how the masterpieces like Dare have been created. Due to remixes, the known hits have acquired a new sounding
