Nivea's smooth (Nivea - Nivea)

Member Name: Lakerfanster

Product:	Nivea - Nivea
Date:	01/06/08 (94 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Voice

Disadvantages: Too many weak links

...Nivea...

Some of you may not have heard of her so here's a little bit about Nivea, she was born Nivea Hamilton on 24th March 1982 in Savannah, Georgia and grew up with her parents both being singers. She also had the singing bug and continued to improve and follow her quest to become a famous singer one day.

In 2000 She got her break as she performed on the , single "Danger (Been So Long by the rapper Mystikal, She soon signed up with Jive Records and released her first single Don't mess with the radio which failed to chart causing her album to be pushed back a year. She recorded her second single with Brian and Brandon Casey of the group Jagged Edge and the track became a top ten hit.

...Her voice...

Nivea has a nice R&B style voice which is expressive and has good range and is in the style of early Destiny's Child. She shows her voice is very flowing and she can improve her voice over the rest of her career and all good artists should strive to do in order to maximise their success.

...Nivea Album...

This was her debut album and was released in 2002 and features a number of well known producers. They are the following Brian Michael Cox, R.Kelly, Ted Bishop, The Neptunes, Leslie Brathwaite, Organized Noise, Swift C & Poli Paul.

The album also includes some collaborations with well known performers. These are R Kelly, Brian and Brandon Casey, Mystikal, Nick Cannon, Lil Wayne and finally Pusha T of The Clipse.

1.) Still In Love

This track opens the album, it opens with a keyboard and then develops with a shuffling beat, although it sounds ok it doesnt have a spark that takes it from above average to outstanding. A nice catchy song though.

2.) Ya Ya Ya Feat Lil Wayne

This track has a hip hop feel to it, Nivea's voice flows well through the track and the beat integrates well with the vocals but Lil Wayne doesnt add anything to the track and somewhat takes away from the track.

3.) Don't Mess with my man ft Brian and Brandon Casey

This is the first track I heard from the album and introduced me to Nivea. I am a fan of Jagged Edge so I listened carefully when I heard Nivea had recorded a track with Brian and Brandon Casey from Jagged Edge. This is a nice track that benefits very wll from having such talented collaboraters.

4.) The One for me

This is a nice ballad with a nice beat and some nice keyboard and guitar parts. This song flows well and is one of the best tracks on the album that benefits from the slower feel. This track shows her talent.

5.) Laundromat ft R Kelly

This track features R Kelly and has the kind of conversational intro that a lot of R Kelly's songs have. This is a very good track about suspecting your partner of cheating and the two sides of the story. It makes for an interesting track and one of the best on the album.

6.) You don't even know ft Nick Cannon

This is a hip hop track and it doesnt have the same spark as the best on the album. Although not terrible this doesnt get me wanting to listen. An average track that is a shame.

7.) Runaway ft Pusha T

This is better than the previous track but just lacks that spark, it's probably due to the collaborater. It has a nice catchy background base and flows well but there's nothing that stands out from the crowd.

8.) Just in Case

This is a mid to uptempo hip hop style track that has a nice flavour with Nivea's voice sounding it's most powerful. It is one of the better uptempo tracks on the album and has a nice dance feel to it.

9.) No Doubt

This is a very nice ballad that starts with a nice piano melody and soon is joined by a gentle drum beat, the track has a kind of Keyshia Cole without Nivea sounding quite as good as her. A very good track nonetheless and up there with her best.

10.) Never had a girl like me

This brings the album back onto an uptempo track and this track flows well but doesnt have that spark yet again. One of the better uptempo tracks she has done on this album thoiugh. A good track to dance to.

11.) Have mercy

This is a good mid tempo ballad which has a nice guitar sequence and firm drum beat that goes along with Nivea's soft vocals. This is a very good track that has a relaxed feel to it. This track is more like what he is capable of when she gets down to it.

12.) Don't mess with the radio

This is the track that was released as her first single but caused the album to be pushed back due to the lack of response. This is a catchy mid tempo hip hop style track which should have done better in the charts. not a bad track.

13.) 25 Reasons

This is a nice track that has a bumping beat and some squelching guitar that sounds a little like the guitar in TLC's unpretty. This is a very nice track that has a nice tender flow and her voice sounds expressive and very good.

14.) Don't mess with my man (remix feat Mystikal)

This remix has the same catchy feel as the original but has a different backing which doesnt quite have the same spark despite being catchy. Brian and Brandon Casey sound as good as they do on the original.

...Overall...

This is the debut album from Nivea and although there are some good ballads on here there are too many mid or uptempo tracks that fall just above average so of course they bring the star rating down to 3 stars which is a shame as it is a good album apart from a few weak links.

With the R&B market becoming ever increasingly clogged Nivea needs to concenctrate on her ballads to carve out a great lasting and succesful career in the music industry for herself otherwise she will become another talented has been.

Summary: A good album that suffers from the low standard tracks.