Blackstreet - Finally

Teddy Riley has been in the game for 15 years now, and still knows how to keep up with the fast-changing R&B and hip-hop worlds. On Blackstreet's third album he employs all the current tricks, including an impressive list of cameos (Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder, and Jay-Z), but you have to wonder what it would sound like if he simply delivered more of the classic party-jam funk that was responsible for past hits "No Diggity" and "Booty Call." Riley doesn't need some of the production gimmicks he uses here; at first listen the songs can be jarring, though by the third or fourth spin, they sound as fresh as everything else he produces. As soulful and emotional as the ballads are, it's the dance-floor shakers "Boyfriend/Girlfriend," "Can You Feel It," and "On the Floor" that keep Blackstreet in position as soul superstars. --Rebecca Wallwork