Rating: NNNN
On the final track of The-Dream’s fourth album, he sings, “I know they ain’t gonna play this on top 40 radio.” Sure, none of these tracks will be as big as ones he’s penned for others – Umbrella, Single Ladies, Baby – but they’re just as good.
IV Play is a collection of sexy jams that falls somewhere between Usher-type bedroom music and the progressive R&B The-Dream’s great at: like his 2010 Drake collab Shut It Down, for example. An overabundance of collaborators usually detracts from an album’s mood, but not here. The theme is specific: getting it on.
The-Dream flexes his industry muscle by having not one, but two Destiny’s Child members participate, and demonstrates a knack for picking the right musician for each song (especially Jay-Z on High Art, 2 Chainz on the Beyoncé collab Turnt, and Fabolous on Slow It Down). The Dream’s MJ-like, oft-Auto-Tuned voice weaves throughout, and is just as strong when he carries a song solo, like he does on Michael. A clever ode to Jackson, it’s one of the album’s finest.
Top track: Slow It Down
