MUSIC REVIEWS
Cassie - Cassie
David Allun Jones
It’s not really all that surprising that 19-year-old former model Cassie can barely hold a tune. God has already given her a strikingly exotic beauty, any more good fortune her way would be unfair to the rest of the female population. But when one sounds like they’re straining the moment they raise their voice above a whispery coo, it should duly be noted that singing is not a profession they should take on. On her weak eponymous debut, Cassie tries to get by on good looks but didn’t seem to take into account that people can’t see you through a CD player.
The girl’s rise to fame arrived with a rabid group of My Space followers (a modern day A&R facility) but her appeal transcended World Wide Web adoration when radio jumped on her slinky number “Me & U”. The provocative come-on has Cassie finally giving it up and putting around-the-way rumors to rest (“They heard I was good/ They wanna see if it’s true”) over an equally flirty bed of laser-like keyboards dashing in, out and around her monotone delivery. Its sparse production style and sexual suggestiveness offer the perfect marriage to her vocal limitations, leading one to falsely think the rest of the album would yield more of the same magical balance.
Producer Ryan Leslie holds up his end well, chucking out colorful bubblegum R&B-pop beats that are playful, ear-friendly and perfect for repeated listening. Cassie’s addition plays up the cute role with several songs speaking on puppy love-like romances. Even when she’s calling her peeps on the rock-inspired “What Do U Want” or dismissing the dudes who won’t come correct (“Long Way 2 Go”, “Call U Out”), the tougher Cassie still feels harmless. But her lack of a strong singing presence is too distracting to ignore, casting an amateurish shadow that ruins several records that do carry a certain teenybopper appeal.
What’s most interesting is that Cassie is part of Diddy’s new fleet of Bad Boy artists, but his usually overbearing touch is never ever felt. The ubiquitous CEO is known for not dropping product that he hasn’t aggressively fine-tuned even when his vision was perhaps too ambitious to ever really work (Da Band anyone? Or the corny Pussycat Dolls redux Danity Kane?). So why would he let something as anemic as Cassie slip into stores? Less of the next Janet Jackson than she is the new Lumidee, Cassie leaves too much to be desired here bringing up the ideal that models should be seen and not heard.
