Issue date: 10/4/07 Section: The Scene

Media Credit: Capitol Records J. Holiday's album, Back Of My Lac, hit stores Tuesday, Oct. 2.

Newcomer R&B artist J. Holiday, 23, is heating up the charts right now with his second single, "Bed." His debut album, Back Of My Lac, was released on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

"Be With Me," produced by Darkchild, is actually the first single from Holiday, whose real name is Nahum Grymes. However, the song never received enough airplays, especially compared to "Bed." This is adverse, as it is one of the better songs on the entire album.

Nonetheless, his silky voice in the addictive "Bed" won over the hearts of the ladies out there. It may be the beat, the lyrics, or just candidly the song overall, but it is easy for R&B listeners to get the song stuck in their head, which may not be such a bad thing.

It was a smart move for Holiday to work with producer The-Dream on the album. He produced "Bed" and also this previous summer's monster hit, "Umbrella," by Rihanna.

As for "Bed," R&B singer Chris Brown was actually considered to use the song. Be that as it may, Holiday's voice made the song better than what Brown could have done with the track. His voice is just better suited for the melody and style of the song.

Holiday has been known to say that, in his opinion, that R&B songs today are missing its passion and connection with the audience. He, on the other hand, wants to bring it back. For the most parts, Holiday succeeded in doing so.

Back Of My Lac starts off with a mini-autobiographical song entitled the same as the album.

Holiday sings about how he relaxes in the "back of [his] 'lac" when he is stressed out.

"Thug Commandments" is a fairly appealing song that describes where he comes from. Most of the lyrics are exactly what the title says, the commandments of being a thug.
Holiday sings, "Put trust in the Lord, but keep a Glock in the house."

A flaw in Holiday's album is his language. Songs like "Betcha Never Had" and "Come Here" really are not so bad, but the unnecessary use of profanity (even if it is just once in each song) becomes a turn-off.

Unfortunate for Holiday, his leaked songs that did not make it to the album could have easily replaced some of the songs that did. "Crazy Love" and "New York Girl" are two songs with excellent beats and lyrics that simply should have made it to the album.

Continued...

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