Sticking with clunky analogies; the album title would be more tasteful without the “The”; the most playful part of this meal is a dish entitled Marching Band, which itself is filled with clunky analogies. If R Kelly is a poet, as he suggests, he’s not a good one. “She blow me like a tuba,” he says; The Buffet is a metaphor for a sexy woman’s body; “I beat it up like a snare drum.” It’s a good (enough) song though. Most of the others serve as aesthetic side dishes.
Beatwise, Wake Up Everybody and Backyard Party sound like classic R. It’s their choruses that disappoint. Switch Up, featuring Lil Wayne and Jeremih, and Let’s Be Real Now, a duet with the prettiest girl Kelly’s ever collabed with; no offense to daughter Ariirayé; are downright silly. The album offers a variety of “R&B”; The Buffet also serves as a metaphor for that; but there’s nothing here to suggest he’s (still) The King of it. More like the palace’s head chef.
my rating : 3 of 5
2015