Customer Reviews

This Ain't a Game

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

"Wait A Minute" has become Ray J's biggest hit to date thanks to an untouchable beat by the Neptunes, a delectable appearance by Lil Kim, and that darned unforgettable hook: "It's On Tonight"...but how about the rest of the album, is it good? Better believe it...

"Formal Invite" is clearly a winner (produced by the Neptunes); it jiggles a la Mystikal's "Danger" - just a little faster. While it might take a second to get used to Ray J's nasal vocals on here, the beat is certainly undeniable. I can't say enough about this song...a club banger for sure.

"Keep Your Head Up" is a smoldering Rodney Jerkins track that oozes sincerity and experience. It's an uplifting ballad that Ray J performs quite well on. "Keep Your Head Up" is radio material for sure. Might be my favorite actually, and Ray J sounds like a tad like Michael Jackson when he's raspy on this one...especially near the end.

The Neptunes (yet again) deliver the album's most unique track in the form of "Out The Ghetto", a catchy midtempo that will speak to a lot of folks who can relate to the subject matter. I think Ray J will win a lot of young hearts who can feel this - it's actually inspiring...

The album's title cut, "This Ain't A Game" is a Rodney Jerkins creation, with pop aftershocks. If you miss Immature/iMx, you'll like it too...the most 'kiddie' sounding song on the album.

"Wet Me" is produced by Jodeci's DeVante, and it works. So does "Crazy", the third Rodney Jerkins track, but it's the last song that ends the album perfectly, called "Where Do We Go From Here", because it's a breezy track that suits Ray J's voice perfectly.

There are only two cuts in my opinion that could have been left behind: "U Need it" and "I Got It All" - they're filler. But every other song is good. Lastly, I'll add that the song "I Tried" is kinda funny; peep it for real. Oh, and I also can't forget "No More"...this sad ballad about breaking up is surprisingly powerful.

Now don't you go and get it all twisted (smile): Ray J is not the best singer in R&B by any stretch of the imagination, but he does get the job done - and then some. What impressed me most about 'This Ain't A Game' was that Ray J wrote and produced a lot of this album, including "Takin Control", a solid Donell Jones-ish midtempo. Ray J is even given a co-executive producer credit, and for those in the know, that's no small accomplishment.

Thanks for reading!

Knyte, aka C.H.R.

If he wasnt Brandys little Brother would he ever get a record contract? no . All the hooks on this album are sub par at best .From the lyrics he trie's to boast as if he is a playa like if he wasnt brandys brother he wouldnt get any playa .The worst thing is he has about as much Mc skills as Vanilla Ice and as musch singing ability as Britney Spears or Mya. I looked at the billboad charts today and this little weasels album debuted in the top 40 ::: shrug's ::: . One of these days nepatism and great marketing will not make for high album sales. Hopefully that day will come soon

I just got this album its hot like fire. tracks like "wait a minute" "formal invite" "out tha ghetto" "crazy". Ray j has come back this album is dark. The beatz are crazy when i was goin to buy the album i was thinking it might not be that good but i got it and like i said b4 this album is hot.

Ray-J's new album "This Ain't A Game" is blazin'! The album features everything from hot party songs to romantic ballads. The album not only showcases Ray-J's amazing vocal talents, but features remarkable beats produced by Rodney Jerkins, The Neptunes, and DeVante Swing. My favorite songs on the album are "Wait A Minute" featuring the always hot Lil' Kim, and "Formal Invite". I would definitely recommend that everyone goes out and cops this album because it's a great album.

Before you run out and but this joint, remember that just because you have tight producer doesn't mean your CD is Hot. Remember a concept called songwritting? Yes songs 1-4 are tight, especially Formal Invite with it's familiar sapcy Neptunes sound. Takin' Control is produced by Ray J, and is suprisingly good. Very good. But not even Rodney Jerkins or Devante can salvage the rest of these poorly constructed songs, some with terrible hooks. Your best bet: Dub it or find it at the used CD store

The cd was the worst I ever heard, poor production and the tracks were horrible.

Ray J is lucky the minimum is 1 Star cuz i would have gave it 0 if i could. Don't listen to any of the other reviews. When i heard the single "Wait a Minute" i loved it and it's really very nice. But when i got the album and listened to it i had to stop after a while becuz ALL THE SONGS ARE THE SAME.... SAME BEATS.... SAME SOUND....I would even go as far as to say SAME LYRICS....this album is really boring... after a day i forced myself to listen to the whole album and almost slept while trying to do so... SERIOUSLY, don't waste your money on this... if u hear one song of ray j, u've heard the whole album !!!!!

I AM REALLY ANNOYED WITH ALL THESE WANNA BE ACTORS AND SINGERS THAT THINK THEY HAVE TALENT! RAY J IS A PLAIN EXAMPLE. HIS LATEST CD IS FILLED WITH A BUNCH OF REPETITVE SONGS THAT HAVE NO MEANING AT ALL.

HE CANT SING FOR ...! AND ALL THE SONGS ARE OVER PRODUCED, AND BADLY WRITTEN. I THINK HE'S TRYING TO BEAT OUT HIS SISTER, BUT HE LOST IN THIS ONE.

CANT ACT, CANT SING, DONT BOTHER!

This album is a pile of junk. It's the same formulaic stuff that hundreds of other singers could have put out. The song Wait A Minute is horrific. The lyrics are as base as you can get (there's not a right way / you've had a tired day / let's party the night away / it's on tonight), none of the songs are that funky. Bring me back to the days when music was more about how much money you have, how many women you can have, and how much jewellery one hand can support. Curtis, Marvin, we need ya! In my opinion, this ain't a game ain't worth the effort needed to go outside and buy it. Yuck!!!!!!!!!!

I keep wanting to have faith in Ray J. But he proves yet again that he can't make a complete album. Ray J has a decent voice, not a great voice but its better than some other singers thats for sure. But yet again, this is a very poor album supported by one hit single. "Wait A Minute" was debuted late 2000-early 2001, and it became a big party song and could be heard on radio stations all across america. I personally, never really liked the song and still don't like it to this day. But i like Ray J despite his tendency to make terrible albums so i bought This Ain't A Game and discovered the trend continues here as well. This album is stuffed full of filler with two or three decent songs and two or three great songs. The rest of the album is complete garbage. One of those good songs is "Keep Ya Head Up" which is produced by Darkchild (Rodney Jerkins). Its basically a mid tempo song with a real mellow-dark vibe to it. Its pretty much Ray telling his girl things will get better. Another one is "Takin Control" which is just a feel good track with almost a R.Kelly feel to it. Its a good driving song. But other than those two songs, this album is pretty much just Ray J trying to get street cred and crashing and burning in the process. Sorry Ray, i like ya, but so far, his albums have proven only one thing... Maybe he should stick to acting. Because all three of your first albums have done pretty much nothing. Stick to R&B tracks dont wander off into that Rap stuff like alot of R&B singers do. If he can stay on the R&B path for one whole album, i think people will start to realize he is talented.


Grade:
D