The Washington-born singer enters the world of RnB
J.Holiday born Nahum Grymes releases his highly anticipated debut ‘Back On My ‘Lac’.
The album presents the many sides to the 22-year old singer-songwriter (a street hustler, poet and a ladies man).
The first track starts off autobiographic. ‘I grew up with my mother, I didn’t have my punk-a** father’. A creative introduction, it’s the most personal track on the album. However the song is let down by an unimaginative hook.
‘Ghetto’ illustrates Holiday’s gangster gritty side. It’s a great effort to show off his storytelling skills but the ‘thug’ sound doesn’t quite suit him especially when he too much like Usher.
The crowning moment of the album is ‘Bed’ written by ‘The Dream’. After getting past the Rihanna-like ‘eh’, the singer lets us into his soft side and demonstrates great vocal agility. This is further recreated on the Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins produced ‘Be With You’.
Sadly the album takes a peculiar turn when he compares a girl’s body to a ‘call girl’ on ‘Pimp In Me’. And it gets even weirder on ‘Laa Laa’. Holiday is singing about smoking weed with his girlfriend!
And just as he started, he ends the album reflective. ‘Fallin’ is rich in production and it’s a pleasant end to the album.
Overall ‘Back On My ‘Lac’ is an ambitious attempt. It’s a decent RnB album and Holiday shows plenty of promise but is let down by the unnecessary profanity and annoying hooks.
