Here he is, the Warner Brothers new golden boy, Jaheim. The 21-year old Jersey native brings R'n'B back to where it was a few years ago, before producers like Swizz heart-attacked the Soul. Now don't get me wrong, I do like uptempo R'n'B, all I'm saying is that things have changed in R'n'B since Destiny's Child, and you hardly ever find an album with no uptempo tracks on it. Well, here is one. But still, Jaheim and his executive producer Kaygee don't seem to have defined his style down to bottom line. Sexed-up slow-jams mix up with ghetto-boy attitude, almost similar to R.Kelly's recent piece, only that Jaheim hasn't got enough deepness yet to pull off a thing like this. But, and this is very important, he has a hell lot of deepness for being a newcomer. Already on his first single-release "Could It Be", he showed the world that there's more behind his shiny look, and on tracks like "Waitin' On You" (feat. Miss Jones) or "Finders Keepers" (feat. Lil' Mo) this impression is being manifested.
But still, I miss a clear concept to follow on "Ghetto Love". Like the title says it, ghetto-storytelling competes with love-ballads, which makes the whole thing a little incoherent. The good thing about it is that both these styles seem to fit Jaheim's voice, so for one or two exceptions, there's no real fall-off on "Ghetto Love". The ghetto-section, as I name it, features an – unfortunately very short – Intro called "Du & Jah", the dance-influenced "Lil' Nigga Ain't Mine" (feat. Castro, Duganz & Precise - just forget about the mess age) and the "Could It Be"-Remix as highlights, especially latter, on which Jah kicks it over Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear", an always welcomed classic. The love-section has a little bit more to offer. Especially interesting is Jaheim's capability of delivering real corny sweet- and sexiness, without sounding corny. Thanks to some steady clean beats of Kaygee and thanks to his own voice, Jaheim keeps it real, even if sometimes it gets as cheesy as it gets ("Anything" feat. Next, "Heaven In My Eyes", "Forever"...). But there are some true soul-ballads on "Ghetto-Love", such as "Looking For Love", "Ghetto Love", "Waiting On You" (feat. Miss Jones) or the funky "Let It Go" (feat. Castro), where Jah marks his territory by telling his girl's ex to – well – let it be.
All in all a promising debut-album, and with so much coolness and personality at his age, we're definitely gonna hear him again. (HAD)