Search - Roy Jones Jr. :: Round One: The Album

This Album Will Make You Want To Knock YOURSELF Out

Anthony Rupert | Milwaukee, WI | 04/06/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Sports superstars seem to want more than to win a series or a title. They often want to have award-winning rap albums as well. Shaquille O'Neal had several subpar albums, Deion Sanders had the tacky "Must Be The Money" as well as making a few appearances on Hammer's The Funky Headhunter, and Kobe Bryant's K.O.B.E. was so bad that it was never even released.The latest athlete to make this mistake is champion boxer Roy Jones, Jr. He appeared on MTV's FANatic back in 2000 and explained that rap really gets him going. Well, this album will get EVERYONE going...to another room. There are so many problems here, I don't even know where to start. But I'll first point out that the song titles themselves are dumb. Many of them are catchphrases nobody says any more ("You Don't Wanna Go There", "Get It, Get It", "You Damn Right"). Then there are titles like "We All We Got" that just don't make any sense. Roy also spends a great deal of time bragging about how many belts he's won.Another problem here is the production. "Get It, Get It" is one half Casio keyboard music and the other half scratching from what sounds like Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance". And the music to "Do You Know How It Feels" sounds like his producers brought two turntables and a vibraphone. There's also "Invincible", which sounds like somebody went outside and recorded a thunderstorm.The biggest problem overall is Roy's rapping. He is not a rapper. Repeat: HE IS NOT A RAPPER. That's especially obvious on, well, every track. He goes too far on "And Still", which actually sounds decent at the beginning, but then he bites DMX by saying things like WHAT? and COME ON! the same way X used to do it. He also says "Where my dogs at" in the second verse. And the cheesy "We All We Got" has him saying things in the chorus like "Y'all shut up and let me rock." Actually, the choruses are the worst parts of the songs. "Do You Know How It Feels" says "Do you know how it feels to get hyped up?" And at the beginning of the second verse he spits "I'm so hard to figure out." I'll agree with that.Then there are songs with good subjects but bad lyrics. "A Real Father" pays homage to his son, but Roy proceeds with tired rhymes and a generic chorus sung by a children's choir: "I'm happy/I've got a real daddy/That's always been there for me/To care for me/For all sincerity." When you stop to think about it, that chorus doesn't even make sense. Also there are horrible relationship songs. "If You Need A Man" starts off bad by saying "What's up girl/How you feelin-feelin-feelin-feelin'?/That's cool/Yo I'm chillin-chillin-chillin-chillin'." If that's not enough to make you press STOP/EJECT, then I don't know what is. Then there's the cheatin' anthem "Unfaithful", which is a complete waste not even worth mentioning.The guest stars apparently don't want to outshine Roy, so it doesn't sound like they even tried to do anything here. Mystikal ("Get Started"), Scarface ("Invincible"), and Dave Hollister ("That Was Then") all make lackluster contributions here...especially Scarface, who is rapping at about the same speed as old-school Busta Rhymes. (Whoever heard of Scarface EVER rapping fast, anyway?) Also, several of the tracks feature a rapper by the name of Hahz, who sounds like a Boogie Down Productions reject. His style and wordplay may be considerably worse than Roy's.This is the sorriest 74 minutes you'll ever hear in your life. There is not one listenable track or quotable lyric to be found. This album is called Round One, but if you have any common sense, you won't stick around for round two."

RRJ or DMX?

Justin Ebron | statesboro, Georgia United States | 04/10/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"We all know that Roy jones fights like no one else in the boxing world, but rapping? To me, RRJ kinda sounds like DMX. If you don't believe me, listen to tracks like "And still" or "invincible." Don't get me wrong I like his style and he holds his own as a rapper, but a original sound could have helped the album a lot."

About Rjj

Donte Kersh | Florida | 03/21/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am highly impressed with Rjj as a rapper! He has sound lyrics, and he also has a story to tell. Some crytics say "Stick with Boxing", I say "Keep doing whatcha' doing!" Now granted, he's no Jay-Z or DMX, but then again Jay-Z and DMX aren't pound for pound boxers! Mad Luv Roy!!!"