First of all, it is important to note that it is pronounced, Jere-MY, not Jere-MIAH, or Jere-ME. I took note of this first hand at Birthday Bash 14, when Jeremih corrected the emcee about the pronounciation of his name in a walk thru of his performance. However, in that same warm up precession, it was evident that Jeremih had an engaging sex appeal with the females in the arena at the time. One of my cohorts was tempted to run to the stage to embrace the recording artist, but opted to retain her job instead.The 21-year-old R&B sensation hailing from Chicago, IL was impressive to me with his performance of "Birthday Sex" at Birthday Bash 14, which he performed on the keys himself. Jeremih is very talented, with the ability to write and compose his own songs, sing them, and play an array of instruments varying from the piano to the guitar. Jeremih's self-entitled album debuted with much acclaim after the recent unveiling of his hit single, "Birthday Sex" which was accompanied with almost perfect timing of a sexy, edgy video that has been in steady rotation amongst the BET and MTV stations and their affiliates.
"Birthday Sex" is by far the best track on the entire record, though it is accompanied by other songs that are very good. However, "Birthday Sex" is a misnomer to the collective album as a whole. Tracks such as "That Body" and "Runway" stray away from the form of "Birthday Sex". I will say that I was personally caught off guard by how much pop influence was involved in the album. It is evident that Jeremih wants to reach out to a pop audience as well, and not be forced into a R&B box. "Jumpin'" would not make DefJam executive Jay-Z very happy, as Jeremih abuses the use of autotune in this track, and needless to say doesn't improve the quality of the song. His audience will have to be able to stomach Jeremih for a few tracks with some of Jeremih's risks musically, or be utterly disappointed by his failed attempts to be musically progressive and think outside the box. These tracks disorient the flow of the album, and the album lacks identity and consistency. Fortunately for Jeremih, his musical risks do not ruin the entire album or take too much from the album that would force you to stop listening. I await the "Birthday Sex" remix, and the alternate versions to follow the original.
"Birthday Sex"''s appeal draws a resemblance to songs produced by current stars like The-Dream and Ne-Yo and has a new-age R&B feel to it. Jeremih's vocal abilities are not those of Usher or Ne-Yo, but he utilizes repetition well and his voice has a soothing tone that makes him a pleasure to listen to. "My Ride" is a song driven toward the car loving population, but has a nice energy to it,which makes it great to listen to. Jeremih flaunts his ability to write in this song, versus sing, applying not vocal range or variety, but carries the track with adequate wordplay and creativity. The same can be said about "Hatin' On Me", and "Everywhere weare".
"Starting All Over"proves itself to be a really nice feel good song. The composition of the track is upbeat and melodic and resonates a soulful feel to it. "Raindrops" and "Buh Bye" are the only tracks that comes close to what "Starting All Over" is able to accomplish. With that being said, the three songs, (and Birthday Sex) alone are enough to encourage you to spend the money to buy the album.
"My Sunshine" is Jeremih's best ballad on the album, but that's not saying much to what Jeremih is able to accomplish lyrically and vocally. It is well-composed and is a nice change of pace to the rest of the album, however, does not have much to offer vocally. Jeremih elects not to try to "wow" you with his vocals, but moreso his words, and the technique in which he presents those words. It is very pleasant to listen to nonetheless.
"My Sunshine" is Jeremih's best ballad on the album, but that's not saying much to what Jeremih is able to accomplish lyrically and vocally. It is well-composed and is a nice change of pace to the rest of the album, however, does not have much to offer vocally. Jeremih elects not to try to "wow" you with his vocals, but moreso his words, and the technique in which he presents those words. It is very pleasant to listen to nonetheless.
I particularly like that Jeremih is audience friendly, and the material in his album is listener friendly. Though Jeremih may make innuendoes to sexual activity, the language of the album is fairly clean. Jeremih keeps his age dynamic open with his ability to make good music that people from all walks of life can listen to. Jeremih is an up and coming star in the music industry and I look forward to his progression as an artist. I think given opportunities to collaborate with other R&B artists or emcees, Jeremih will solidify himself as one of the new up-and-comers in R&B, if he chooses to. I am still unsure whether Jeremih wants to be pop, or R&B, or try to establish himself in both genres, but he surely has made strides as an R&B artist. Granted a steady progression, Jeremih will be the next mover and shaker in R&B.
Jeremih has made a fan out of me, and I am giving this album 7 out of 10 stars.
