"My mind is telling me no / But my body, my body's telling me yes / Baby, I don't want to hurt nobody / But there is something that I must confess to you" The vocals on that song! Despite this album being over 15 years old, with aspects coming from a genre that some would say haven't aged well, it is still great to listen to today. As well as the new jack swing/early '90s hip hop influence on songs like 'Back to the Hood of Things' and 'Homie Lover Friend' that bump, the slow jams on it are fantastic thanks to Kelly's rich vocal performance. It's pretty much a flawless '90s R&B/new jack swing album. Beats: ★★★★☆ Vocals: ★★★★★ Hooks: ★★★★★ Best Tracks: Your Body's Callin', It Seems Like You're Ready, Bump N' Grind, Sex Me, Back to the Hood of Things, 12 Play

R. Kelly is great at making particularly slow tempo R&B tracks. He has in the past few years played more with hip hop, You could have hop/pop-rap as a secondary genre for his most recent album 'Double Up' as about half of it is in my opinion. Anyway, some has worked, some haven't. Most of this 'official' mixtape doesn't quite work to R. Kelly's mostly high standards from his eight albums but it's not too bad... After the first listen I would have given it a lower rating but on the second I'm enjoying it a touch more. It's worth a listen for a fan who needs everything done by an artist but otherwise wait for the proper album. Best Tracks: Kelly's 12 Play (Remix), Love Lock Down (Remix), Tip the Waiter, Makin' Me Wanna, Disrespect My Shorty.

After listening to this and enjoying but not loving his solo debut, I've come to the conclusion that there is something about Big Boi's beat selection that doesn't do it for me. There is this kind of poppy-ness to many of the beats he picks, in addition to some questionable choruses as well. As the ratings and comments of the tracks demonstrate below, I may keep some tracks in the playlist, but on the whole, I'm disappointed by the consistency of this album from one of the artists who got me into the game. When it works it works really well, and you have to appreciate Big Boi for attempting to create diverse music, but many tracks don't cater to my tastes. "I keep it playa while some choose to play it safe," defines some of his musical choices. Best Tracks: The Thickets, Objectum Sexuality, In the A, CPU, Lines, Descending, Gossip 1 Ascending 2 The Thickets (feat. Sleepy Brown) ★★★★☆ A great start to the album. Sleepy Brown reminds us he is still here on the chorus and the production is top-notch. 3 Apple of My Eye ★★★☆ I like the energetic beat and verses, but the chorus lets it down slightly. 4 Objectum Sexuality (feat. Phantogram) ★★★★☆ Electronically funky. This begins the Phantogram collaborations and they are all among the strongest tracks and the brightest moments throughout the album. 5 In the A (feat. T.I. & Ludacris) ★★★★☆ The hardest, straight hip hop tune here. It's nice to hear Luda over a good beat again and I wish Killer Mike was on this instead of 'Thom Pettie'. The beat isn't really original, but it bangs. 6 She Hates Me (feat. Kid Cudi) ★★☆ I've said it many times before that I am starting to bore myself, but I can't stand Cudi. If not for that the song would be good. If you like Cudi you'll like this song which takes it down a few notches from the start of the album. This is where the variation begins between hits and misses. 7 CPU (feat. Phantogram) ★★★★☆ This feels like something that could have been on the synthy Drive OST. 8 Thom Pettie (feat. Little Dragon & Killer Mike) ★★ I don't like this. The beat isn't great and the chorus is bad. "Thom Pettie that Ho" 9 Mama Told Me (feat. Kelly Rowland) ★★★☆ One of the singles. Sounds '80s, is very pop and isn't a bad record. 10 Lines (feat. A$AP Rocky & Phantogram) ★★★★☆ One of the best songs here. Good production and a reasonable hook. Is it just me or does ASAP sound a bit like Big Boi? 11 Shoes For Running (feat. B.o.B & Wavves) ★★ I can't stand the chorus and it's the first thing you hear. 12 Raspberries (feat. Mouche & Scar) ★★☆ Not too exciting. Again the chorus is average. 13 Tremendous Damage (feat. Bosko) ★★★ Very pop, with Big Boi almost singing. Lyrically it's more personal. 14 Descending (feat. Little Dragon) ★★★★☆ Big Boi sings/raps two short verses about his father passing. A sad/vibey kind of track. 15 Higher Res (feat. Jai Paul & Little Dragon) ★☆ Almost sounds like noise. 16 Gossip (feat. UGK & Big K.R.I.T.) ★★★★☆ This is more of the stuff I wanna hear from Big Boi. KRIT is great on this. 17 She Said OK (feat. Theophilus London & Tre Luce) ★★★ X-rated

There is a lot to enjoy on this but there is really nothing I love. Since getting this record I really haven't played anything a lot, and quite a few of the times I have spun the album, have been because of the hype this has received from almost every critic out there. I've always loved Outkast but without Andre 3000, despite being a great rapper, I don't enjoy Big Boi as much, and I have similar thoughts whenever I play Speakerboxxx. The beats seem to try to replicate OutKast's past, with an original funky kind of production OutKast are known for, but again there is nothing I find to be mind-blowing here. Lastly, I don't feel the consistency is here either that is required for the near-universal acclaim being received. The album begins very well and finishes well, but 'Tangerine' to 'Be Still' are all very average tunes. Best Tracks: Daddy Fat Sax, Turns Me On, Shutterbugg, General Patton, Shine Blockas, The Train Pt. 2

It's said that these thirteen tracks that leaked in mid-2008 were going to make up Kell's official 9th album, that ended up becoming 'Untitled'. In terms of overall quality, I've given them almost identical track rating averages, but I'd say the best on this are better than the best on 'Untitled'. 'Hair Braider'-'Screamer' is a great three track run with 'Playas Get Lonely' clearly standing out as well near the conclusion. Aside from them though, there isn't a lot to rush back to and a lot of it is musically similar to stuff he has put out over the past few albums. As 'Untitled' is as well, this is more hit or miss than most R. Kelly albums are. As usual too though, the best are amazing. Best Tracks: Hair Braider, Skin, Screamer, Playas Get Lonely