Born To Do It : Craig David : Review : Rolling Stone

The mantle of "next big thing" has been placed heavily on the shoulders of Craig David, the twenty-year-old British soul singer whose debut album, Born to Do It, is already a massive hit around the world. But David doesn't just have the burden of making a name for himself; he's also supposed to be the one who finally introduces to U.S. shores the knotted, electro-rouged beats of two-step - a.k.a. U.K. garage, the club music of choice for Brits. The problem is, to American ears already shaped by the sonic wizardry of people like Teddy Riley and Timbaland (two big influences on two-step producers), the sound isn't quite so revolutionary. It's actually kind of familiar. What ultimately distinguishes Born to Do It from the stuff currently clogging the radio is the way it strikes a balance between traditional pop and R&B, using modern production flash as the bridge. David's music is crammed to overflowing with acoustic guitar and prominently placed strings, layered just so over the insistent thump of beats and bass, even in the ballads. The result has more pop savvy than most contemporary American urban fare but is more authentically urban than the blue-eyed soul of MTV-friendly boy bands. Tracks like "7 Days," "Fill Me In" (the first U.S. single) and "Can't Be Messing 'Round" have steel-plated hooks that burrow into your head and won't let go, while David ad-libs such hip-hop cliches as "Money ain't a thing" and "[I'm] getting' jiggy just for fun." Still, the slick Born to Do It is dragged down by an overabundance of ballads ranging from the kind of sappy fare that lovesick teenagers play for one another late at night over the phone ("Rendezvous," "Key to My Heart") to self-consciously risque fare like "Booty Man."

David has a creamy voice that's given texture by a palpable libidinous yearning; it's the sound of a horny boy becoming a smooth player. His vocals are layered and treated with effects on almost all the tracks, and he has the ability to flutter his voice atop stuttering beats or to race ahead of those same beats while still keeping time. Though he's undoubtedly talented, it's only on the Artful Dodger-produced U.K. club classic "Rewind" that David really makes a lasting impression. There - with his singing chopped up and edited into riffs and hooks - David is sexy, commanding and vibrant in a way that the rest of the album only sometimes achieves.

ERNEST HARDY
(RS 874 - August 2, 2001)