Search - Craig David :: Born to Do It

Cheesy Casanova or Classy Crooner?

James Calamera | Sebastopol, CA United States | 09/19/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Is Craig David the next big musical sensation from the U.K? It seems unavoidable. His album Born to Do it has already gone six times platinum there, and a few months ago he embarked on the American music scene. However, whether he is the next Grammy-winning musical talent like Seal --- or annoying pop sensation like The Spice Girls -- remains to be seen. I suspect it's a little of both.
This 19-year old from Southampton had his first hit a few years ago with the UK Garage dance track 'Rewind' - recorded with pioneering 2-step act Artful Dodger. UK Garage - sometimes called 2-Step - was born in British nightclubs in the early 90's. It's a fusion of house and drum-and-bass music where the thud-thud club beat is softened a bit and spiced up with a little bit of Jamaican style rap. It's both slow and fast at the same time. It's a break-beat rhythm with two speeds - the faster one around 130 beats per minute, the counter-rhythm and smooth vocals at half the tempo. This sounds complicated, but when you hear it, it just sounds like R.Kelly or Usher with a funky / staccato beat.
July 2001 brings us the U.S. Debut of Born To Do It. Carried stateside on Atlantic Records, the US version carries one additional track at the end, the aforementioned 'Rewind.' Since April the first video has been getting play on MTV, VH1 & BET. Fill Me In -- currently # 19 on Billboard's Hot 100 - is the album's opening song, and it's easy to be seduced by the tender guitar licks and especially David's smooth, sexy voice. It's hard not to be impressed by such a smooth ballad. But Track Two, Can't Be Messing Around exhibits what I think are the more annoying elements of his style; a very fast vocal singsong scat, interspersed with Craig interjecting some painfully mediocre rap. Trying too hard to impress? U.K. music critics claim he is slavishly following American influences and not keeping honest to his true talent. If they mean he should skip the rap and the whispered conversations, then I agree. But is it really fair for any of us to criticize an 18-year old singer / songwriter for not sounding more mature? A strange thing happened on the way to this review. Upon first listening, two months ago, I was disappointed. Much of the album sounded the same to me. The adolescent lyrics annoyed me. One minute he's in the hot tub with the girl next door, then he's checking out a fly honey at a local bar ? "follow me to my bedroom / you know what you gotta do / when I get on top I make it real hot and you tell me don't stop (ooh yeah)?" Uh, no thanks Craig. But there are three or four other songs that are more honest and searching. These include Walking Away, Fill Me In, Once In A Lifetime, and You Know What. On these songs David (and producer Mark Hill) exhibit some songwriting talent. "Sometimes some people get me wrong, when it's something I've said or done / Sometimes you feel there is no fun, that's why you turn and run / But now I truly realise (sic) some people don't wanna compromise / Well I saw them with my own eyes spreading those lies.." (Walking Away). What becomes clear is that the quality of his voice and his vocal styling supercede the mediocre songwriting and rapping. It's pleasing to just listen to him sing, regardless of the silly lyrics. On the strength of 3 or 4 good songs, this album should succeed commercially. But be wary of the hype. We Yanks love a sensation, don't we? With more intelligent material, this young vocal artist could be a contender."

OUTSTANDING DEBUT CD BY CRAIG DAVID

mandylml | Singapore | 06/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time I heard Southampton singer Craig David was when he was topping the UK charts with the Artful Dodger (with producer Mark Hill) in the hit RE-REWIND. Back then, most people were predicting big things for him and it now seems that they were right on the money. With the release of his maiden album which stormed the charts last year, he has proved himself to be a phenomenal success.I can?t really put my finger on just what is so unique about Craig David. However, having seen him perform live at the Brit Awards 2000 in Feb 2001 (which he was summarily snubbed, up for 6 awards and went away empty-handed), it was plain to see that he has loads of charisma, oozes SEX APPEAL from every pore, AND possesses all that incredible drive and musical artistry on stage?AWESOME! His blend of music is a bit of everything ranging from UK 2 step garage to R&B to soul to hip-hop to pop. Usually not a keen listener of the former, I was grabbed from the first by his catchy tunes, great vibes and his groovy moves.With UK hit singles FILL ME IN and 7 DAYS under his belt, Craig David is now ready to be the NEXT BIG BRITISH INVASION since the Spice Girls to cross the Atlantic to America. Watch out! BORN TO DO IT is an excellent debut CD that possesses a good mixture of slow ballads and fast numbers to suit your palette. His songs about the trials/heartbreak of meeting /leaving girls (he?s only 20!) are sure to touch a chord with his many potential listeners.One outstanding track of the album is WALKING AWAY, which Craig croons so soulfully in his silky voice and sure to attract an enormous crowd of screaming female fans over there. This song has been enjoying an enormous amount of airplay here since its release (I even have the single with all its remixes) and is a huge favorite on the dedication program on the radio. Other noteworthy mentions: TIME TO PARTY, a fast track that will get you right into the party mood, RENDEZVOUS (Craig?s personal favorite), YOU KNOW WHAT, LAST NIGHT, CAN?T BE MESSING AROUND and REWIND. In fact, the beat is so tight on this disc, you won?t soon run out of songs to rave about.Do yourself a big favor, run don?t walk to the stores now to get this CD before they run out of stocks! ?Cause when the secret?s out, there won?t be many left on the shelves. Tired of all those everyday run-of-the-mill balladeers/rappers? Fret no more. Get two copies of the album, and your mate will love you for introducing him/her to such a fresh new voice in the R&B/rap/hip-hop genre. If you only get one CD this year, make it this, as it is truly a worthy buy. Listen to BORN TO DO IT and you will be singing along to the melodies in no time at all. Craig David is an amazing talent for someone so young; I can only imagine how big he?s going to become when he eventually breaks into the US markets. By then, Americans would know what Asia and Europe had known all along--that Craig David is BORN TO DO IT, and proud of it. RECOMMENDED.Mandy Lee"