Search - Bad Boys Da Band :: Too Hot for TV

Bad Boy's Da Band has a lot of room to grow!

Paul Little | Brentwood, New York United States | 09/30/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There's much to like about Too Hot for TV. However, there's just as much, if not, more to dislike about it as well!First, the good. Diddy must be commended for basically taking every hot spot in America and giving them shine through their respective performers. New York gets Babs and Dylan. Detroit has Sara Stokes. Philly gets E Ness. Miami gets Fred. New Orleans has Young City.
You cannot say that they didn't get decent beats to perform on. Wyclef Jean blesses them with 'Do You Know', a track that hits with the same kind of power and feel as the Destiny's Child breakout 'No No No' remix. The Bad Boy house producers Dofat and Diddy himself lace them with some sounds including their lead single 'Bad Boy This, Bad Boy That', 'Living Legends', 'Tonight' and 'I Like Your Style'.
Sara Stokes, the singer whom went from a whiny girl that couldn't sing on hip hop tracks to a woman with pipes singing hooks, shines with a voice with more power than Faith Evans, the ORIGINAL R&B singer of Bad Boy.
Ness could easily be a star out of Philly if given more time on the mic without the rest of his Band-mates interrupting the drama he builds on the mic. 'Go Steady', featuring him and Sara, could easily vault both into superstardom with its smooth R&B sound, Stokes' crystal clear voice and Ness' verse that just screams 'crossover'
Now, the bad.... I didn't mention any of the rest of Da Band because they create part of the problem that really damages a potentially great record. Babs is fine as the heavy-spitting BK chick with as much aggression as Lil' Kim on her better days! Fred is a drastically unique voice that sets him apart from most everything you hear out there. Dylan's dance hall reggae influences and ability to carry a tune add a great flavor to hooks and a breath of fresh air on tracks full of rapping.
Young City is the beginning of the death of this album. He sounds like an amateur spitting tired lyrics with a voice that has no power behind it. City, aka Chopper, reminds me very much of just about every wannabe MC around me: average voice that just sounds like he's talking, cliched lyrics, and a presence that makes him look like a boy among men!
Another MASSIVE problem I get here is with the production. No, the beats are fine. The production parts that kill it for me are their almost unbearable need to feature all of Da Band on every track. This would be fine on 5-7 minute songs, where each MC could get extended verses to build, climax, and cadence. However, with a typical song length of 3 and a half minutes, we are left with songs that give artists shorter bursts to go, with 'Do You Know' giving them only 2 bars to make a statement! For the listener, it's a feeling of 'I'm really feeling where this guys going but... wait.... they're gone!' and you lose their energy! It's a VERY annoying facet of the disc that happens all to often. I would've preferred much more with much less.
Lyrically, it's nothing that you'll see as a future Hip Hop Quotable, but it's also not something that a middle school kid conjures up thinking they're a vicious MC. Very middle of the road, with Young City having a significant;y negative impact on the lyrics. He needs to grow up and really learn to right about more than money, cars, rims, girls, drugs, and jewels!Overall, it's not a BAD disc... but it's also not something that I'd put in heavy rotation in my iPod. It's like cough medicine; good for you in small doses, but, taken all at once, will definitely hurt you! And, pray that Diddy makes solo artists out of Ness and Sara, uses Dylan for killer hooks like a Sean Paul, gets Babs a 'lady's night'-esque killer single, and pairs Fred and Young City, as one's strengths will hide the other's weaknesses!"

Impressive 4 a DEBUT

sxalnite78 | Tennessee | 10/16/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Honestly, I thought that the CD was going to be WACK. In actuality it turned out to be very impressive for a DEBUT. The MC's and the songstress had nice beats to rhyme over, but some of the lyrics were lackluster. The spin-off CD which took us through two seasons of Making of the Band on MTV turned out AVERAGE results. None of the tracks on Too Hot for TV goes out on a limb, but there's plenty of songs that'll have your head noddin'. Highlights include the oh-so sexy "I Like Your Style", "Living Legends", the Wyclef produced "Do You Know", and the solo by Sara ft. Ness which is entitled "Go Steady". "Hold Me Down" is also a song worth listening to eventhough it doesn't have a hook. Babs definitely spit on this track and she's showing the world why Diddy asked her to come back to the show. Last but not least on my list of tracks is the song "Tonight". It's definitely a club banger.

Although I've given praise to the CD, there are definitely reasons as to why the CD isn't a five. I gave Babs her props for shinning on "Hold Me Down," but some of her lyrics became redundant on other songs as she talked about blowing smoke, haze, etc. Chooper aka Young City kinda' put me in the mind of the Hot Boyz with his tired lyrics about drugs, women, cars, and blingin'. Sara and Dylan were not featured enough on the CD. If you ask me they were short changed. Dylan was one of the hottest people on the entire CD when he was featured. His ability to carry a tune and his reggae flow definitely brought flavor to every song that he was able to get a word in on.As stated above, the CD does have more than one single. It isn't a hip hop classic, but it'll definitley leave you feeling satisfied."

Why I have a question Puff?

Chris | St.Louis,MO | 07/01/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"You have all this money and your show is run on MTV the question is with all the talent in this country with rappers who are right now nobodies but can rap why did you not pick 5 of those people and believe me there are 5 out of 5,000 that can rap.well get those 5 rappers put them over some DJ Premier beats RZA-HAVOC-DRE and let them kill it.In this instance you have some bad rappers with some truly god awful female singers that have no Talent then you make some stupid videos no tight ones all club or booty or whatever videos and you waste money on these idiots with no talent.Lyrics 3/10 Production 5/10 X Factor 1/10 Classic 1/10 Me 1/10
Overall=11/50 This one gets a 22% This is seriosly terrible"