Clara WangThe test for a successful R&B rapper’s album is simple: Would you get some to this? L.A. crooner TeeFLii’s debut album, “Starr,” passes with flying colors. DJ Mustard, Sha Money XL, Mike & Keys, and DJ Quik produce a star-studded album that’s catchy and current. Supported with appearances by Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, E-40, and Nipsey Hussle, album sales have soared on the club banger “24 Hours,” featuring 2 Chainz. A seasoned entertainer after dropping three mixtapes and dancing for Chris Brown, TeeFLii has settled into the well-carved niche of late-night adult music.
Being touched by DJ Mustard, the album is chock-full of post-hyphy drums and barking vocal loops that guarantee club play. TeeFLii slows it down in “Hennessy and Weed” featuring longtime collaborator Nipsey Hussle, and takes it a bit more old-school with Chris Brown in “Blue Lipstick.” Tee stays true to his word when he says, “I never make music for men. I make music for women.”
There are many critics who complain that the Rhythm and Blues genre of today has devolved to incoherent songs about drugs and sex, made for teenage girls who want to pretend Usher is their boyfriend. But this is just the musical equivalent of “man porn” versus “women porn.” If Mobb Deep and Meek Millz can sell albums advertising the masculinity of guns as phallic symbols, then why not give girls a fantasy to play out their sexuality?
In general, it’s a basic sex album that covers all your night out bases. From club hits like “24 Hours” to bedroom jams like “Blue Lipstick,” there’s just the right amount of ratchetness while still being complimenting enough to please a female fanbase. If this album doesn’t set the mood, then you ain’t got enough game, son.