The Rebirth

The responsible and daring decision

Bobby Valentino (real name is Robert Wilson) emerged on the American R&B scene with the bright and memorable self-titled long-play in 2005. The artist does not make a secret of the fact that his mentor and benefactor was rapper Ludacris, who subscribed Valentino to his studio Disturbing Tha Peace. However, the sophomore attempt of the musician, titled Special Occasion, was weakly purchased by the public in spite of its numerous merits, which is no wonder – by 2007 Bobby Valentino was already forgotten on the quickly broadening and developing R&B music market. Valentino himself decided that his album failure was due to the lack of promotion from the side of his label. Well, there was a grain of truth in his speculations as Disturbing Tha Peace is positioned as hip-hop, not R&B studio. The artist got to work again in order to win back the love of the public. His third disc Underground Love was ready by 2008. However, the release was constantly postponed on the label, and Bobby Valentino took a daring decision in order to leave the Disturbing Tha Peace. Ludacris and Valentino parted friends, and the artist immediately formed the label Blu Kolla Dreams under the umbrella of EMI. He started the work on his new album at once. By February 2009, the artist finished the full-length with the proud title The Rebirth, which was targeted to show a new era in the singer’s career.

Valentino grew up, but stayed the same

The listeners should realize at once that the new disc by Bobby Valentino does not mean the full image change by the artist. It means that all the features the public worshiped in Bobby’s music, stay the same. The only change that took place was his growth as the artist. Nevertheless, he is still the same incorrigible women-lover and sometimes even crooner, like in the infectious first hit from the disc – BEEP (Ft. Youg Joc), featuring raps by Yung Joc. The album opener, interlude The Rebirth (Ft. Dottite Peoples), presents the soft beat and cozy percussion, ideally fitting Valentino’s vocals, which makes girl easily lose their heads. The song Make You The Only One will cheer the listeners with the unusual duet of bongos and flute, while the middle-tempo composition Hands On Me will be a perfect bedroom atmosphere creator. One more slow composition Butterfly Tattoo is sure to be remembered for its prolific lyrics – in this song Valentino says that he is crazy of the girls with the tattoo of a butterfly on their lower back. The sparkling tuneJust Me & You (Ft. Raphael Saadiq) became more appealing due to the presence of Raphael Saadiq, while the passionate ballad Make You Say is wonderful even without star guests. The track Another Life catches attention with Valentino’s shapeless temperament of Valentino. The tune On The Edge, fulfilled according to the golden rules of R&B classics, has the first-rate energetic beat, while the album closer Give Me Your Heart is a piece of romantic balladry, showing us that the artist thinks about serious relations.

The Rebirth: the most mature and diversified album by the singer

As it was already mentioned, the disc The Rebirth is no ways the try by Bobby to change the image or his manner or writing – vice versa, the artist stays faithful to himself in everything. However, it is the manifest of a man, who is now independent and is responsible for himself. Someone could be skeptical over Valentino’s career after his parting from Ludacris’ studio, but The Rebirth disc is sure to minimize all the hesitations over the singer’s creative potential. The record shows that Valentino got older, but sometimes he has his youth moments, like on the debut disc. May be some listeners anticipated a more thoughtful or serious album, but the juvenility of the soul is undoubtedly a good quality, especially if you are featured in such a sunny music genre as R&B. Nevertheless, it did not stop Valentino from his progression as a performer. Some of his songs have at least descent lyrics, while the disc The Rebirth itself will amuse the listeners with the diversity of rhythms and beats. Valentino tried himself in creating up-tempo compositions and succeeded like in his favorite slow tempo burners. Of cause, one should not underestimate the work of the producers – Timbaland being one of them. May be the artist has not become a great vocalist during these years, but his passionate tenor still makes the hearts of the girls beat faster, which is actually the most important thing of The Rebirth.