Hey remember Moesha? Perhaps you have forgotten Ray J’s first grasps at fame. Granted, being the younger brother of a Grammy award winning R&B singer creates pressure to be successful - that doesn’t excuse Ray J’s discography. Wait a Minute was a mess of a track; I don’t even think Lil Kim was that into it. Ray J - I hope you are giving Kim Kardashian a percentage of the sales from Sexy Can I, because it’s her ass that has been selling your records for the last six months.
In any case, Ray J’s new video for Gifts drops this week and guess who has something to say about it.
The Track: The song itself can be summed up pretty easily, this girl has nice humps and is rather adept at working poles. Perhaps it is obvious, but Ray J would like to stick it to her. I can certainly appreciate the sentiment. But seriously, when is hiphop’s obsession with strippers/stripclubs going to end? I’m not sure this is how we should be spending our stimulus checks. Additionally, how uncreative is ‘gifts’? My humps introduced a new phrase into the lexicon - gifts does nothing for me.
Regarding the beat, I dig it. I’m not sure it’s a club beat, but maybe it’ll get remixed. If you take your beats with brutal knock you may want to sit this one out. The vocoder is a bit excessive and I could do without it, but there’s no escaping it these days.
Something that surprised me was the absence of a guest verse. I was really expecting another lame wannabe like Yung Berg to lay down a short ‘me too’ verse. Considering the ubiquity of guest spots on today’s hiphop records, I am actually pleasantly surprised. I like it when an artist pulls off an entire song by himself - so kudos for that.
Ray J is all about making accessible music for people who don’t really listen to hiphop. While I was on vacation I was reminded of how many people ignore hiphop lyrics at the club. If that is you, this could be your new summer jam.
The Video: It is official, I am sick of the “white background, widescreen” video. Jay Z, this is your fault. It may be easy to film, but come on - how about some production value, a little bit of spectacle.
The video combines the following: hot ladies, dancers, an entourage, a few high priced accessories, and an official 2 step. This may have passed for a cool minimalist video a few years ago, but not today. I need a little more than this to hold my attention. I need visual gags, punchlines, and a shot of at least one car.
There are no strippers in this video. The girls we see are definitely not strippers. Most songs with references to strippers at least have some suggestive booty dancing. This video has a 2 step - which is one step removed from swaying back and forth. In fact, the girls seem to be included only because without them it’d be a sausage fest. This video is all about showcasing Ray J and his post-Kardashian / Sexy Can I image.
Lastly, like any artist Ray is proud of his record sales. Unlike other artists, he seems to be exceptionally proud of his digital downloads and presents us with a large plaque. Apparently he has sold over 500,000 copies of Sexy Can I online, primarily to 13 year olds and sorority girls no doubt.
The Bottom Line: It’s Pop-hop. Plain and simple.
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