Rating: NNN
Despite the title, not only was I fully able to listen to No Boys Allowed, but the guests on Keri Hilson’s second album are all male: Rick Ross, Nelly, J. Cole, Timbaland, Kanye West and Chris Brown, to whom the music industry seems to be giving a second chance. (Don’t fuck it up, Breezy!) With exec producers Timbaland and Polow da Don behind the boards and assists from Danja, StarGate and Boi-1da, forget No Boys Allowed – this thing is practically the Düsseldorf Bratwurst Symposium of 1987.
Impressive, then, that this boy-army, one-girl team was able to pull off a contemporary R&B album so feminine, breezy and thankfully low on ballads. Electronic drums bounce across 80s melodies in several potential hits that one could easily imagine Mariah Carey singing. Too bad about a couple of the singles choices, like the irritatingly conceited Pretty Girl Rock and the go-for-broke desperation of The Way You Love Me video. Keep it in your pants, Keri.
Top track: Lose Control feat. Nelly
