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Cassie - Debut Album Review
Cassie - Debut Album Reviewitle Record Label: Bad Boy Records / Next Selection Lifestyle Group Executive Producers: Sean "Diddy" Combs for Bad Boy Entertainment, and Ryan Leslie for Next Selection Lifestyle Group Produced by: Ryan Leslie for Next Selection Lifestyle Group Overall Rating: 95% This is a very suprising debut album. If you thought Me & U was as good as it got for Cassie try understanding the sheer quality of her debut from Ryan Leslie's Next Selection through Diddy's Bad Boy Records Empire. Surprisingly Diddy doesn't produce or write a single track, however who needs him to when Ryan Leslie pulls off the quality he does here. A signature sound is a phrase that springs to my, but more importantly it is the close knitt relationship between R-Les and Cassie which makes this album a masterpiece. Tracks such as Me & U, Long Way 2 Go, and Just One Night stand out as the strongest of the 11 tracks. 1. Me & U Me & u needs no introduction being a club banger since early 2006. A top of the Billboard charts and undoubtably all charts in Europe, Cassie's first single will set her young music career on fire. 2. Lond Way 2 Go The second single from Cassie's long awaited debut; we find Cassie rapping about males who flaunt about their "skills in the bedroom" telling them they have a "long way to go". She is also letting everyone know she is an independent woman. Ryan Leslie has produced a catchy track composed of a distorted bassline and a catchy high pitched synthesised keyboard loop. Here we also find Ryan Leslie conversing with Cassie. 3. About Time A more mellow than the above two. This demonstrates Cassie's sincere feminine vocal skills. We find Cassie going through the breakup period and is moving on. Ryan Leslie catches the mood but also an hear grabbing track which fits perfectly with the contents of the song writing and vocals. 4. Kiss Me Kiss Me finds Cassie and Ryan Leslie dueting. Ryan Leslie brings out an hypnotic instrumental with perfect hand claps. His vocals are just as good. 5. Call U Out Up-tempo and club friendly like 1 and 2. Cassie sings about a lover hiding something from her, and that she knows what he is doing...that she will Call him out. Cassie also fronts she is the "illest chick" 6. Just One Night Another appearance from producer Ryan Leslie, this time he raps 16 bars. Cassie again displays her sweet vocals. Listeners will by now realise Ryan Leslie's distorted bass lines really do bring the best out of the instrumentals along with a plucking harp. 7. Hope you're behaving (interlude) 8. Not With You Shakers, plucking latin guitar...a sweet vocal performance about a girl being apart from her lover. 9. Ditto I have heard that this is a potential single. A pop track, which I cannot imagine will be a club banger like a few of the others 10. What Do U Want Has an american teen rock track sound, but toward the end gives the signature Ryan Leslie sounds. 11. Miss Your Touch Singing about how she misses her lover when he is with her at night. A radio friendly track. If you haven't been watching the NS4LIFE blog over the last year where have you been? For those that have, you have been given the opportunity to see Ryan Leslie and Cassie put this album together, but also watch the struggle which goes on in the music business. Of course luck does come into it, but so does talent...you also need a few friends to pull a few strings. Diddy being Ryan's manager obviously helped and in signing Cassie to Bad Boy Records, Cassie and Ryan Leslie were guaranteed the exposure, marketing, and distribution required.

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