So let's talk about JLo, a.k.a Jennifer Lopez. She's been around since Selena died, playing her in a highly successful biopic that launched her career as both a singer, an actress and occasionally a model. Since then, she's been credited with mainstreaming "remixed" songs featuring rappers (alongside Mariah Carey), being the sexiest woman in North America, and of course churning out hit after hit after hit. Still, every star starts to fall at one point or another. Jennifer Lopez hid from the spotlight for 4 years (2007-2011), with many speculating she had given up. They were proven wrong when JLo released the 2011 album Love? which became a modest success despite a whirlwind of mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release. Capitalizing on the fact that the album was too dance oriented, the album was very front loaded and produced a single worldwide hit (though that was an achievement in itself): "On the Floor (feat. Pitbull)". I actually liked the album (for the most part), but by the time 2013's "Live It Up (feat. Pitbull)" rolled around, I agreed it with most others: it was time for the artist to move on yet again. So how does A.K.A play out? Is it up to the standards of other Jennifer Lopez? Read this review to find out.
It's a little bit cheesy, but it has a notable hook and a dance flavored beat. Overall, "A.K.A" feels like it could be the most accessible club hit on the album, recalling the days of "Dance Again (feat. Pitbull)" and "On the Floor" (also with Pitbull). The spiciness of the EDM laced track goes un-thwarted until an unwelcome guest (T.I.) barges in to deliver an outdated verse that even Pitbull could have pulled off better (he also appears on the album, marking his 8 collaboration with JLo). Unfortunately, this possibly hit-bound booty bouncer hit the ground before it could even take flight - thanks to some unneeded rap (of all things). Oh, and don't worry there's a whole lot of those types of things soon to come. It's a shame since it could have been one of the album's brightest flames.
2. "First Love"
Departing from the interesting club sounds of the album's title track, "First Love" feels like a pumped up power anthem dripping with pop puff pieces and accessories. I mean, yes it's friendly, but come on let's be completely honest: as soon Jennifer Lopez publishes a song about how much she loves her boyfriend or husband, she's already on to the next one. So... points for releasing an extremely catchy and sugary pop radio effort but next time please take a different approach... be a little more personal.
3. "Never Satisfied"
This track really sinks JLo's career to a new low - and, sorry to say, that's a pretty hard thing to do. "Never Satisfied" feels like an attention whore or an annoying pest that will never leave you alone - you'll listen to it but you'll want to chop your ears off right afterwards. Fortunately, the hypnotizing beats will drown out the lazy songwriting ("Honey my appetite/Is keeping me up at night") for the average listener.
4. "I Luh Ya Papi (feat. French Montana)"
Despite the fact that it feels somewhat out of place on an album dominated by drugged and foggy R&B ballads and floor pounding EDM club bangers, "I Luh Ya Papi" may actually be one of the album's brightest moments. Built from the ground up by trance-y synth pop washes and explosive hip-hop punches, the track feels like an accomplishment for the singer. She's created something that's catchy, explicit, different and most importantly Pitbull free (I mean he's not a bad collaborator but why no mix it up).
5. "Acting Like That (feat. Iggy Azalea)"
Maybe it's because I was expecting something pop oriented and airy (with a quick sprig of Iggy Azalea's fast rap), but "Acting Like That" was a major shock to me. Instead of wasting one of most hyped spaces on the album on a typical pop track, JLo went for a completely different approach. The track is nearly completely hip-hop inspired with a sparse chorus and a slow beat.
6. "Emotions"
This track was written by Chris Brown and almost any listener could guess that after hearing 15 seconds of this song. It's almost as if it's a Chris Brown ballad featuring JLo - I'm serious; at one point I thought I heard his voice somewhere in there. It's a bit of a disappointment to me mainly because it sounds like it could have initially been intended for his album (with a few tweaks) instead. But really, the only problem I have with this track is some of its lyrics: "I feel good because I don't feel bad".
Still, "Emotions" is actually one of the album's better tracks - and one of its deepest cuts - mainly because there's a lack of everything. You don't hear much pop (other than a few synths here and there), overall instrumentation is sparse and there's a lack of corn syrup (what I call auto tune).
7. "So Good"
Other than the fact that I heavily dislike this track's minimal chorus and lyrical structure, "So Good" actually isn't a bad track. It feels like it could have been a lot better - mainly because the production doesn't really click with the vocals - yet it's not a complete disappointment.
8. "Let It Be Me"
I've never really been there for JLo singing ballads but here I am listening to the third in a row. Thankfully, "Let It Be Me" is a fairly decent effort reminiscent of select parts of Madonna's 1996 "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" (though most of you would challenge me on that). I hope she does a few more tracks like this in the future because with this one, she proved she can almost pull it off without any blips.
9. "Worry No More (feat. Rick Ross)"
JLo had a dilemma here: publish a sub par song and have critics writhing on her back or publish a sub par song with some garbage rap to try and salvage it. She would have failed either way, but at least she went for the safer approach: place a rapper on it (I guess it used to work for her).
Look, I have nothing against rappers (Rick Ross is actually one of the rappers that I find decent) but they honestly don't belong on a pop album. You're argument isn't valid because they simply don't. One or two is okay, but when you have an album where 60% of the tracks have rap stuck in them, you might as well stop calling yourself a pop artist.
10. "Booty (feat. Pitbull)"
While the whole concept is a bit tired - a JLo/Pitbull collaboration -, "Booty" does manage to bring something new to pack of collaborations: it's not the same thing over and over again. Sure, I might actually prefer something classic pop/dance floor oriented, but JLo does manage to keep the cycle of Pitbull collaborations more interesting with an installment that feels very underground and raunchy (unlike "On the Floor", "Dance Again" and countless others). So for being able to make the series actually interesting after 7 prior stints, "Booty" gets a check in my book.
11. "Tens (feat. Jack Mizrahi)"
Home to the album's oddest lyrics, "Tens" features Jack Mizrahi, a spanish speaking rapper that is actually a bit scary sounding. If you thought "Booty" (the previous track) was the biggest club anthem on the album, think again because "Tens" feels like the older sister if you know what I mean.
12. "Troubeaux (feat. Nas)"
It's really unfortunate, but still it happens. We find Jennifer Lopez milling around (yet again) on a track that has to rely on a clever spelling to generate even the slightest bit of interest. "Troubeaux" (actually pronounced "Trouble") just feels like an old school jam (a la french horn) that no one ever really paid attention to, and the featured verse from Nas just makes it worse.
13. "Expertease (Ready Set Go)"
It's a modest effort, but really it's nothing special. "Expertease (Ready Set Go)" at least has some sort of a plopping beat that makes it not quite a waste. Unfortunately, that's not enough of a fix to stand within the ranks of A.K.A.'s more refined efforts.
14. "Same Girl (feat. French Montana)"
It's nice to end on a familiar note. This trap influenced Bronx banger is all new and improved, featuring a new verse from French Montana. "Same Girl" isn't one of the album's brightest moments, yet it's a good closer. It's familiar while still remaining fresh, and it kind of gives off the whole idea behind the album (or its concept; whichever word you prefer).
Rating: 67/100 (Mixed to Positive)
Overall:
Just like Jennifer blurts in the first few lines of the album's title track, "Can't figure me out/A.KA./You don't know me now", there's too much going on to actually figure out the correct terminology one should use when trying to describe A.K.A as a whole. Before the album came out, I had already figured out that it would be a major departure from the EDM and pure pop dominated Love? (which I personally enjoyed, though most others did not). Yet surprisingly, a few EDM backed tracks were still able to sneak onto A.K.A. (most notably "A.K.A", which features T.I.) as well as the heavily pop styled "First Love" (arguably the album's only true pop song). Other than that, A.K.A is mostly dominated by R&B flavored ballads, heavily explicit rap verses from a slew of big name rappers (something that was unheard of on Love?), as well a side order of grungy, club infused, booty bouncing beats for good measure. What genre do you call that?
The album's problems range anywhere from too many rap verses (8 out of 14 tracks feature rap), some severely tired lyrics, and sub par orchestration as well as my favorite: ordering. This really is an album you'll need to listen to in a completely different order (don't worry, I provided a more evenly spread take on the track list below) to make sure you don't end up dozing off. Honestly, JLo needs to understand that it's a terrible move to: place your two unique flavors ("A.K.A" and "First Love") right together at the beginning, place 4 of your 8 song with features in a straight row and worst of all, place 4-5 ballad-like anthems all next to each other.
Wow. I must seem really negative. Despite the fact that there's all that negativity, I actually did enjoy A.K.A. in some respect. The album features the brilliantly produced "Let It Be Me", a touching emotional journey that feels more honest than all of JLo's other works, "I Luh Ya Papi (feat. French Montana)", a surprisingly synth-y hip-hop joint, as well as "First Love" and the powerhouse beats of both "A.K.A (feat. T.I.)" and "Booty (feat. Pitbull)". "Acting Like That (feat. Iggy Azalea)" is also worth mentioning, though I don't see it ever becoming a major hit.
So what brought the album's score down significantly?
Mainly "Never Satisfied" (a wasted space), "Troubeaux (feat. Nas)", "Worry No More (feat. Rick Ross)", a flare of bad lyrics here and there and an over abundance of unnecessary rapping. In my opinion, Jennifer Lopez can still make a solid record (she has the ability) but she's not able to carry out her ideas to their full potential.
So, no... A.K.A. is not anywhere near a disaster level (though Entertainment Weekly might convince you so), but then yet again it's not as strong as Billboard claims it is. This isn't the end of Jennifer Lopez, but rather a misstep or miscommunication.
Revised Tracklist
1. "A.K.A (feat. T.I.)"
2. "So Good"
3. "Booty (feat. Pitbull)"
4. "Never Satisfied"
5. "Let It Be Me"
6. "I Luh Ya Papi (feat. French Montana)"
7. "Worry No More (feat. Rick Ross)"
8. "First Love"
9. "Emotions"
10. "Acting Like That (feat. Iggy Azalea)"
11. "Troubeaux (feat. Nas)"
12. "Expertease (Ready Set Go)"
13. "Tens (feat. Jack Mizrahi)"
14. "Same Girl (feat. French Montana)"
What are you're thoughts? Let me know below.
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