Music Review: Jaheim's "Another Round"

Music Review

Jaheim's "Another Round"

By our guest blogger, Sanela Djokovic

R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop singer Jaheim covers a lot of ground on his fifth studio album “Another Ground.” The 31-year-old from New Jersey, known for his bass voice, sings about clubbing, marriage, fatherhood and religion on his latest album. And, although he does so with conviction and sophistication, making several of his new songs very enjoyable, a lack of identity may leave a sense of amalgamation with many.

Jaheim sticks with a soulful sound throughout most of the album, but proves he can make a really good Hip-Hop/R&B club jam with the first single “Ain’t Leavin’ Without You.” The song, about a personal encounter, has gotten significant airplay, thanks to a strong beat and engaging chorus that forces movement. Samples of De La Soul’s “Ring Ring Ringn (Ha Ha Hey)” and the Fat Larry’s Band song “Act Like You Know” lend it a throwback vibe, while still sounding contemporary. The album also features a remix of “Ain’t Leavin’ Without You,” featuring Jaheim’s friend Jadakiss. “Another Round” is the other song you could hear on the floor and it leaves one wishing for more songs like it.

Some of the other tracks have a hard time differentiating themselves musically, whether its “II Pink Lines,” a song chronicling the joys of fatherhood starting with the pregnancy test, or “Bed is Listening,” about trying not to air dirty relationship laundry in public, or “Her,” which is about the power a certain woman can have over a man, or the second single, “Finding My Way Back”--they all sort of sound alike.

Despite the similarities, each song does harbor the merit of Jaheim’s strong, smooth and soulful voice. It lends confidence and persuasion to the several subject matters. And, he makes laying the romance on thick work, which is evident through songs such as “Closer” and “In My Hands,” each of which represent Jaheim’s sexual side and tender side, respectively.