Susan 'susiQ' KimFor Chicago based artist, Boo, he definitely lives by the clichéd term “being at the right time at the right place.” While at a local McDonald’s with his friends, Boo happened to have a personal encounter with R. Kelly which would turn out to be a fortunate one indeed. As the initial person to discover Boo’s talents, R. Kelly decided to include him in his album “R.” on the track “We Ride” which also featured heavy hitters such as Jay-Z, Noreaga, and Camron. Building a relationship with R. Kelly, Boo was again featured in a later album, “TP2.com” and contributed to popular tracks such as “I Wish” remix, “Fiesta,” and “Fiesta remix.
With his continuous exposure on R. Kelly’s albums, Boo’s popularization began to increase as he caught the attention of Jermaine Dupri and was featured on his single “Get Some.” Subsequently Boo was then featured on Ja Rule’s “World Wide Gangstas” and was soon offered a deal with Cash Money Records. After signing with them in 2001, Boo was featured on yet another single with Big Tymers on “Oh Yeah” and then decided to venture out on his own project with his close friend, Gotti. The two paired up for the Cash Money Records album, “Perfect Timing” which included the popular single, “Ain’t it Man” which featured Lil Wayne. Despite all of his opportunities, Boo sought out his goal of releasing a solo album and turned to 404 Music while signing with Mob Boss Entertainment for his debut album “48 Minutes.”
The ever so important topics of money, the business, and ladies are the crux of “48 Minutes.” Oh, and did I mention ladies? Boo devotes track after track to his lady loves while exploring every avenue in order to do so. It only seems fitting for an acoustic guitar to initiate the confession of amorous intentions in “Can’t Get Enough” as vocals from Redd Stylez adds to the sensual side of Boo’s lyrics. “Have You Seen Her” sounds slightly reminiscent of the classic that shares the same name as Boo and featured rapper MJG agree that they should “hit it ‘til she quit it.” On the same note, Boo aims for a faster, upbeat track in “Poster Girl” featuring Big Kuntry.
Although I didn’t quite catch what the breathy female voice speaking in Spanish was saying in the intro of “From the First Time,” I’m sure it’s something Boo is glad to hear. With soulful vocals from Lita, Boo muses over back to when he first met his lady at a jazz fest back in ’99 and knew she was the one from the moment he saw her, yet manages to slip in the disclaimer that “she tell me she love me, but I know she don’t.” According to Boo, “she lovin’ my car and the diamonds I flaunt.” Gold digger? Perhaps, yet ironically he boasts about what he can afford to buy for his ladies in “Every Time I Floss.”
Of course these crooning tracks wouldn’t be complete without Boo trying to steal someone’s woman, right? The hardcore sound of “It’s Over” with its distorted voice in the beginning are a bit distracting as I almost forgot what this song was really about. Indeed, it is yet another song about yet another female in Boo’s life. This time around, he’s waiting on her to break up with her man and just wants her to tell him “it’s over.” Actually, according to Boo, he just wants to get her “in between the sheets.”
After all this repetitiousness about females, Boo finally redeems himself in the last tracks. “Ima Ride” displays Boo’s strength as he shows how even the most difficult times do not let him down as he says:
“You know that I’ma ride
If you don’t believe me look into my eyes
Pray for me mama, but please don’t cry
Even if they twice my size
I ain’t never let them take me alive”
With this said, it’s definitely been a extensive journey for Boo, but the encounter with R. Kelly was a distinct turning point in his career as he acknowledges it in “My All.” Boo recalls the day he met R. Kelly at the local McDonald’s and how it developed his character. He makes it apparent that he gave his all in this venture and stands by it regardless of the criticism he may receive.
“48 Minutes” provides a glimpse into rapper Boo, but the t-shirt he is wearing in the album sleeve may sum the album up even more as it says, “Hoops, honeys, and hip hop.” The same themes of money, drugs, and women were overused as it was challenging to try to differentiate one track from the next. I only wish “48 Minutes” could have been 48 minutes of impressive hip hop sounds, but instead, we got more than half of the album allocated to repetitive tracks about women, time that should have been devoted to more varied subject matter. Unfortunately, Boo impresses towards the end of the “48 Minutes” and leaves you thinking where this talent was earlier, but he does have skills nonetheless-it’s just a matter of using them wisely.