Kelly Rowland’s Here I Am is an assertive and bold creation from the Universal Records laboratory. With a string of producers ranging from Darkchild to StarGate to Tricky Stewart, Rowland was intent on making a lasting impression.
Here I Am‘s leader, “Motivation” is a cut above Rowland’s other hits swimming in an abyss of seduction that uses heavy metaphors and scantly clad keyboard working. The confidence of Kelly on the album’s opener “I’m Dat Chick,” speaks to her maturity as an artist. It is a different, yet more inviting Kelly than what was presented on 2002’s Simply Deep.
The theme of Here I Am is a Rowland elixir that is to be sipped slowly. There is a beckoning to the new fan base with “Lay It On Me,” which features Big Sean. The sound is slick, smooth, and sexy, but the album’s masterpiece is the bedroom fetish, “All of the Night.” The song reaches into the libido and mojo of the listener as Kelly is both alluring and beguiling.
RedOne cooks up a technoish spot with the culmination “Down For Whatever.” This excited vibration is what Rowland went for on 2007’s Ms. Kelly. When asked about Here I Am, Rowland commented that “no one puts her in a box,” and that is evident by the thread of subtle dance and personal touches she put on each of the items presented here.
Prime Cuts: “Motivation,” “Turn It Up” & “All of the Night”
Here I Am receives a PARL
Rating:
P…Horrible
PA…Tolerable
PAR…Good
PARL…Kinda Great
PARLÉ… Classic
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