Keyshia Cole

The Way It Is

2.5/5

Key Track- Superstar

If “The Way it is” is the best Keyshia Cole can do, I have serious doubts about the direction and future of her career. The mediocre and cacophonous tunes on the diva’s debut fail to appeal to my taste.

Admittedly, this R&B artist got the potential. But musical component of this album does not work well with Keysha’s vocality. Keyshia Cole tries to create diversity in her album by adding instrumental effects. However, the album is over mixed and sounds more chaotic than musical. The vocals and the instrumentals do not play as a cohesive unit. Rather than flip-flopping and trying out different genres, Keyshia would be better off sticking to one single distinct sound.

Fortunately, there are a few catchy hits exclusive to this album, such as “To Be Over”, “Guess What?” and “Superstar”. On “The Way it is”, Keyshia also boasts to have collaborated with big game artists like EVE, Metro city, and Jadakiss to name a few.

In this day and age where mass production is dominant, Keyshia Cole is more than likely to be lost in the shuffle.

+Cecilia
June 4, 2006