Keri Hilson
Single Reviews Round-Up: 28 August 2009
A little bit later than expected, I'm here with the second round-up of singles being released this week. That's 28 August 2009 for Ireland and 31 August 2009 for the UK. So might as well start now...
Asher Roth featuring Keri Hilson: 'She Don't Wanna Man'
I do like Asher Roth. Sure his cheeky and often vulgar rapping isn't for everyone but at least he's a bit more inventive than your average rapper who sings about "shawties shaking their ass in the club all day while I throw money at them". Sadly enough for the guy, his previous two singles haven't really hit the mainstream radar. This might change now that he's collaborated with the gorgeous Keri Hilson to bring this clubby number. Thankfully, this tune has a more old school feel, something I really appreciate at the moment. I mean I'm really getting tired of Europop samples and R&B singers singing over booming house beats. Auto-Tune does manage to coat Hilson's vocals on the song alright but it doesn't spoil the song. This is a song that deserves some recognition. 4/5
Billy Talent: 'Devil On My Shoulder'
Keri Hilson ft Kanye West and Ne-Yo - Knock You Down - Single Review
A message to Keri Hilson: collaborations with big name rap and R&B stars don't work. Ask Estelle, whose career still hasn't recovered from the massive success of American Boy. Ask Nicole Scherzinger, who received a lukewarm reception to her solo work, despite some high-profile collaborations.
You've seen Keri Hilson before, readers. She's guested on a couple of Timbaland singles, is a great songwriter in her own right. And her latest single features two megastar guest appearances by Kanye West and Ne-Yo.
So there's no doubt she's well connected, but is it a good song? Well, not particularly. I've always rooted for Keri, hoping that a talented songwriter could break through as an artist. Unfortunately, the material in Knock You Down is mediocre and fails to show any of the artists in a particularly good light. It's that smooth, bland R&B treatment with an average hook in the chorus, but not much else to recommend it. Even Kanye lets us down with a rap that feels almost phoned in.
