Born To Do It... Well He Did It (Born To Do It - Craig David)

Member Name: XICripZ

Product:	Born To Do It - Craig David
Date:	12/06/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of bangers

Disadvantages: Nothing specific

The Southampton R&B singer Craig David debuted with his album "Born To Do It" in 2000, shortly after his time spent collaborating with the 2-Step Garage group Artful Dodger, and so although this has him doing contemporary R&B work, it also features him on up-tempo beats which fit in with the urban raving movement of Garage at this time (the peak of its success).

1. "Fill Me In"

The album fittingly begins with what was his debut solo single, and since everyone knew him most for "Rewind", which features as a bonus at the end of the album, he has things begin in a similar sort of fashion with a 2-Step song on top of beats from Artful Dodger as he sings about how he and his girl get up to the nasty as his partner's parents go out.

**Five Stars**

2. "Can't Be Messing Around"

To me, Artful Dodger's way of constructing the beats always seems quite urgent, and it comes through in the beats which they produce for Craig's music here, and it means that it is able to lift the tempo with only a few instruments being at this high pace. They choose not to drop a full 2-Step garage one here, and I felt that at this point, it was good to distance him self from this before we get further in.

**Four Stars**

3. "Rendezvous"

I saw this one as the most underrated song from the album as it had a lot more going to it than how much attention paid to it as it was the final single and so much of the hype had died down, but here he keeps the high standard of things in effect as he does this smooth groove. It is done extremely well, and brings out the best of his R&B work.

**Five Stars**

4. "7 Days"

This was a big tune in its day, and it finds the singer in his finest form as he sings he was through a pretty exciting tale about his amazing week, which he talks the boys through at the barber shop as he talks of how he goes from meeting the girl on Monday, to dating her the following night, before doing what is heard on "Follow Me" for the rest of the week.

**Five Stars**

5. "Follow Me"

This one has him try out something a little different, and I would have to say that it shows just as much about what Artful Dodger can offer with the things which they churn out as he is forced to do something a lot different to what you find in his others as he is doing a sensual one, and I would say that this 2-Step take on it was successful here with the complex beats really fitting with the pace of the occasion fluctuating suddenly and erratically.

**Four Stars**

6. "Last Night"

This one follows on from the one prior to it as it deals with similar sort of things, but he chooses to take things from an alternative angle as instead of doing one which has him sing about a long build-up of time before finally getting to his girl, here he does straight from the clubs, then right down to it. He drops his "Rewind" lines on this one, and it boosts the energy levels as a result.

**Five Stars**

7. "Walking Away"

You should recognise this as you of the key singles from the album, and in it you find that he does things in a very different way to what you expect to get from him as he performs a song where he is forced to back off from all of the funky breaks in the 2-Step thing and do a sincere ballad-type of thing with emotive instrumentals backing him as Mark Hill, of Artful Dodger, shows his personal diversity.

**Five Stars**

8. "Time To Party"

If surprised that this one wasn't chosen for a single to the album as it is amongst the best material which you find on the album, and the production from Artful Dodger take me back to this time as he does some feel-good material to lift the mood as we are put in a 'Friday night' setting, and are made to take things from here as he warms it up again. To boost it, he even throws in some Old School Hip Hop flows to get the place jumping.

**Five Stars**

9. "Booty Man"

You would expect the tempo to be high on this song, but it is all but this on this one as you find that he goes about things in a completely new way by switching conventions and smoothing things out with his soft vocals on top of a song which has hi sings about the type of thing he finds attractive about his girls, and as a result how he would liked to be nicknamed.

**Four Stars**

10. "Once In A Lifetime"

Off the song prior to it, it seems to really have a place as it has him doing a proper ballad on this one to show that he is able to really make the most out of the voice which he has, and you don't complain about the results of it as he belts it out an shows all the notes he is able to reach in this single recording. It is a powerful one, and I don't often get into these, but it does it for me.

**Four Stars**

11. "You Know What"

Here you have him doing a song where he really puts his vocals to their best use in a tune where he pushes things forward with some fantastic grooves and melodies to get you into his way of thinking as he attempts to engage with you whilst singing to his girl about how he has discovered how much he loves her as a result of time apart from her.

**Five Stars**

12. "Rewind"

This is perhaps the most well-known track from Artful Dodger, and has them really taking the 2-Step sound to the masses as it presented Craig David on the vocals and them tearing it up whilst using the 2-Step production, and adapting unconventional sound effects to it. It is a smooth out which really represents what the Garage scene was about at the time.

**Five Stars**

Each and every song on here is worth listening to, and so I don't see any reason for you not to want to have a go with it. It is 21st Century UK R&B at its best, and no other act of its sort has had the impact which he has on the music scene as a whole. He shows many sides to his music, and makes you enjoy each moment.

Summary: Craig David's debut album