Fresh off the heels of their smash hits "Do Me" and "Poison," Rick Bell, Mike Bivins and Ron Devoe are back with a new album that borrows heavily from some of today's biggest and baddest. BBD opens with "Sic Wit It," which features a strong, guitar-driven beat that virtually steals from P. Diddy's rockish "Bad Boy for Life." What the song lacks in musical creativity, it makes up for with crazy rhyming like "Eeny Meeny Miny Mo/ That's Bell, He's Biv and yo, I'm DeVoe." "Sic Wit It" sums up the bulk of the album -- musically, it is unoriginal, but it
isn't bad.
It's the lyrics that bring the whole album down, with lines like "hot girls drippin' like candle wax" on "Since I Blew," and "dance bitch... dance bitch" on the aptly titled "Dance Bitch." When they aren't ripping off P. Diddy, who himself is the master of borrowing (although at least he actually credits his influences), Bell Biv Devoe copyies Sisqo, Usher, Jagged Edge and nearly everyone else, original or not.
The disjointed beat on the Rockwilder-produced "Shorty Gone Get It" provides something fresh to a mostly stale album. The other highlight of the album is "Pesos," which features a funky, unique loop that carries the song despite its repetitive lyrics. Sadly, Bell Biv Devoe have fallen hard since their days as leaders; they now find themselves the followers, and, in doing so, they've lost their charm.
