Customer Reviews

It's Real

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Hailey brothers have done it again! They have succeeded in making an album full of hit-worthy songs. The duo's sophomore album, 'It's Real', is a beautiful collection of mostly heart-wrenching love ballads about broken relationships and love gone wrong. There are the occasional upbeat songs, 'I Wanna Get To Know You', which might remind you of a K-Ci & JoJo-ized version of Jodeci's 'Get On Up'. Also, 'Momma's Song', a song written by K-Ci & JoJo's mother, Anita Hailey, is a song with a positive message and a catchy tune, that seems to have grabbed some attention already. The first single from their album (aside from their hit single 'Life' off the Life soundtrack), 'Tell Me It's Real' is an astounding production piece, with beautiful music and meaningful lyrics that could very well be the best song off this album (which is hard to find, considering all the choices). 'Fee Fie Foe Fum', which was their second single, should take you back to the Jodeci days, with the completely urban vibe it seems to present. And K-Ci really sings like he's living this. 'I Wanna Make Love To You' would also most definitely make you reminisce about Jodeci, with the explicit, freaky content, and the excellent guitar music. It is definitely a stand-out track, but it would most likely never become a single, due to subject matter. 'Here He Comes Again', a Babyface-penned song about abuse in a relationship, has a snappy, almost circus-like rhythm to the chorus. 'What Am I Gonna Do?' in some way resembles 'Fee Fie Foe Fum' (would that be because Darryl Pearson produced both?), but it is a good song in it's own right. 'Girl', their next single, is a somewhat upbeat song, blatantly pop, with more great production and a pleasant aura about it. 'Makin Me Say Goodbye' is also a great song, with a depressing theme. There are bird chirpings in the background for an added 'I'm flying out of here' effect. 'Hello Darlin', a Rose-produced song about love at first sight, is another pop song, which really highlighted JoJo's vocals. And, last, but certainly not least, is 'How Long Must I Cry', a magnificent piece of work, in production and singing. JoJo's talents were also expressed deeply in this song he produced with Rory Bennett. The lyrics are heartbreaking and the singing is superb. This could very well hold up as a single. Now, about the production talents. JoJo, who produced half of this album, did an incredible job, and I believe he's one of the best, most talented producers out there today. And he's not recognized enough. His talents are extraordinary. Darryl Pearson did the job with 'Fee Fie Foe Fum'. That is an excellent track. The title may be silly, but it's not what you'd expect. Other producers were Rose, Emanuel Officer, Mike Smoov, and others. This is an album full of grade A songs, grade A production, and grade A writing. Bravo to the Hailey's on another job well done! I give this a million+ stars!

I wouldn't call this album WACK, but some people may call it close to that after hearing Love Always. Love Always was filled with smooth, silky singles like "All My Life" and "Still Waiting," whereas THIS album sounds a little experimental.

When you want to, you'll hear good stuff like the first single, "Tell Me It's Real," as well as "Here He Comes Again" and the best song, "How Long Must I Cry." Except for "Tell Me It's Real," K-Ci and JoJo made the mistake of not releasing the dope songs. (Of course, another mistake is every song not being dope to begin with.) Also, many of the song titles are not very creative, like "I Wanna Make Love To You" and "I Wanna Get To Know You," not that they're bad songs. In other places you'll find them being a little TOO creative. Case in point: the second single, "Fee Fie Foe Fum." A Jack and the Beanstalk reference? BAD idea. The chorus is "Fee fie foe fum/Got a feelin' you've been dippin' with someone." That's just ridiculous. Also the hook has K-Ci saying "Late at night/I hold my pillow tight/And I wish that it was you." How old is he? Three? One song to steer clear of completely is "Hello Darlin'." At the beginning it sounds like it will be good, but then comes the ridiculously loud chorus with even louder ad-libbing and bad wordplay. Just take my word for it.

Because this is a K-Ci & JoJo album, what can we look forward to? How about some essential oversinging by Mr. K-Ci Hailey? Not only does he do it to almost ruin the end of "Here He Comes Again," he strains to do it in "Fee Fie Foe Fum," and he even does it in the intro.

Even with all the things I mentioned, this album isn't necessarily something to throw in the garbage. It just doesn't quite live up to most people's expectations, that's all. Fortunately they came back home with their followup, X.

IT'S REAL IS THE BEST WORK BY THESE BRUTHAS SO FAR! MY GOD, THIS CD IS WHAT LOVE ALWAYS SHOULD HAVE BEEN. THIS ALBULM IS FULL OF SOUL AND RAW EMOTION THAT TAKES YOU ON A MUSICAL JOURNEY THAT YOU NEVER WANT TO END. YOU HERE THE PASSION AND SOUL IN EVERY NOTE. I ADVISE EVERYONE TO LISTEN TO I JUST WANNA MAKE LOVE TO YOU, MAKING ME SAY GOOD-BYE, AND FEE-FI-FOE FUM--THOSE ARE THE BOMB TRACKS.....I RATED THIS CD 5 STARS ONLY, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE HIGHEST RATING AVALIABLE, BUT TRUTHFLY THIS CD IS 100 STARS!

Actually, I give this one 4.5 stars. I think it is a sexy blend of up tempo and slow songs. Soulful and bluesy, but urban and gritty, too-southern gentility well-combined with the raw sensuality and vulnerability that makes you want to know more-just like those bad boys you see walking around. This is a wonderful showcase of the Hailey brothers' ability to harmonize and compliment each other artistically and emotionally I own all 4 K-Ci and Jojo CD's and this is, by far, the best. As time went on, they seemed to have forgotten the things that make us love them so much-like the emotions they can stir with their sincerity and the freakiness that makes us ladies swoon. Perhaps they were experimenting on the later efforts. Or maybe they were trying to distance themselves from their youthful raunchiness, in an effort to be taken more seriously-but I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. This is some good stuff, right here.

I'M A KCI & Jo Jo FAN.NOW I THINK EVERYONE MUST LISTEN THEM.BECAUSE THEIR SONGS ARE VERY MISTIC AND VERY NICE MEDICINES FOR MY PROBLEMS.WHEN I LISTENED THEM I RELAX.THEIR ALL ALBUMS AND SINGELS ARE PERFECT.ESPECIALLY ''IT'S REAL''IS THE ...I CAN'T TELL ABOUT IT MORE CAUSE IT'S THE MOST PERFECT.KISSES THEM AND ALL KCI&JoJo LOVERS...

The first cd was much better. This one is about a girl creeping and cheating (after they fell completely in love on the first album). The best songs are fe fi fo fum (creeping), I wanna make love to you(tight), it's real(but it comes on the radio), Life(radio). The other songs MAY grow on you if you listen enough. Don't buy this expecting it to be anywhere near as good as the last. You can't sleep to it or make love to it because the songs are out of order. This is one you'll definately have to program.

Actually, I give this one 4.5 stars. I think it is a wonderful blend of up tempo and slow songs. Nice and bluesy, but urban and gritty, too-southern gentility nicely combined with raw sensuality and vulnerability that makes you want to know more-just like those bad boys you see walking around. This is a wonderful showcase of the Hailey brothers' ability to harmonize and compliment each other artistically and emotionally I own all 4 K-Ci and Jojo CD's and this is, by far, the best. As time went on, they seemed to have forgotten the things that make us love them so much-like the emotions they can stir with their sincerity and the freakiness that makes us ladies swoon. Perhaps they were experimenting on the later efforts. Or maybe they were trying to distance themselves from their youthful raunchiness,in an effort to be taken more seriously-but I say if it ain't broke don't fix it. This is some good stuff, right here.

After their sensational debut "Love Always", K-Ci & JoJo come back again with a solid album. It does not quite reach the majestic musical plateau that their first album did, but it comes extremely close and is one of the better R&B releases in recent years.
The album starts off with the brilliantly catchy "Fee Fie Foe Fum" as the Hailey brothers wind you through a story of betrayal. This song makes use of K-Ci's trademark hollering. "I Wanna Make Love To You" is a more upbeat and lighter song than the latter. This song is more reminiscent of the trademark songs of their previous group, Jodeci, as it is a more explicit love song. "I Wanna Get To Know You" uses a nice bouncy beat and the listener is treated to the great exchanges when K-Ci & JoJo sing back and forth. This is one of the more catchy songs on the album and definitely makes this one of the albums best. "Hello Darlin'" is a slower and much more romantic song. It contains a great hook as instruments are added in and the beat picks up. "How Long Must I Cry" uses great coordination between a slower beat and picking it up to make it more catchy. "Makin Me Say Goodbye" features a great hook by JoJo and K-Ci's original singing style on the first two verses. "Tell Me It's Real" was the smash hit from the album and is a really good song. It is not too pop sounding to stand out from the album and is a great contribution to the album. The song "Life" stands out from the album more than any other song as it was taken from the Life soundtrack. It is a welcomed feature as it was written and produced by R. Kelly and is mostly a solo from K-Ci making use of his bluesy style to the fullest. "Girl" is a nice song as it starts off slow and becomes an outstanding upbeat song. "What Am I Gonna Do" although not produced by Timbaland, has production that sounds similar and is yet another good song. "Here He Comes Again" is a very meaningful song as the Hailey brothers plead with a girl to leave a man who is treating her wrong. "Momma's Song" is an inventive and nice addition to the album. It is a song written by their mother and performed by K-Ci & JoJo.
K-Ci & JoJo put out another solid album. The strength of this album is their voices as their contrasting singing styles work extremely well together. JoJo has a higher pitched voice and sings in a more traditional style. While K-Ci's voice is raspier and he likes to sing in a southern blues style. Dating back to their Jodeci days, all the Hailey brothers albums have had solid production and this one is no different. This is one that all R&B fans should have as this duo are two of the most talented musicians in the industry. Very few of the lyrics are not written by them and guest background vocals are limited.

I had heard so many good things about "Love Always", and I never bought it. So when "It's Real" came out, I went and bought it. I am disappointed. There are only four tracks on here that I like, and my favorite one is the last one, Momma's Song, written by their mother. So I guess if U want to waste UR money on a CD, U should buy this one. Other than that, leave it alone!

All my life I have waited for a group like this. Their songs take me to a place that's indescribable. "Life" is something that can lead you where you don't want to be and they sing about in their song. "It's Real" is the song I really love, I can relate to the lyrics, and understand where they are coming from. K-CI & JOJO brings the music to life in so many different ways that can not be explained.