It took awhile, but
Loon finally made his album-length debut in late 2003 with a self-titled effort for Bad Boy chock-full of the sort of lovers rap the rapper had made his stock-in-trade a year earlier on "I Need a Girl, Pt. 1." That song, also featuring
P. Diddy and
Usher, became a really big hit in summer 2002, scaling the charts and getting endless radio play, and made a name for
Loon in the process. Amid the revived Bad Boy family of the early 2000s, he had become the
Mase to labelmate
G. Dep's
Notorious B.I.G. -- the mellow, soft-spoken rapper with the smooth, romantic game to complement
Dep's gentle-thug image. Executive producer
P. Diddy leverages this persona throughout
Loon's self-titled debut, continually presenting seducer-seducee scenarios where the Harlem rapper lyrically serenades the likes of
Kelis and
Trina. And even when he's not running game on actual women,
Loon still plays the cool, cocky lover-man, presumably targeting his female listeners. This is all fine and well, particularly for those who like contemporary R&B, but song after song of lovers rap over the course of 70 minutes can become tiresome, even for all the hopeless romantics out there. A few passable skits break up the album, but not enough to substantially infuse some variety into the long stretches of lovers rap here, and the few male guests who are featured --
Mario Winans,
P. Diddy,
Aaron Hall,
Carl Thomas -- likewise revel in romantic whispers rather than guy-oriented rap-talk. Thankfully, the diverse, top-shelf production is interesting throughout -- always fresh, lively, and above all, poppy (hooks are openly jacked from such well-known songs as
EPMD's "It's My Thing,"
Guy's "I Like," and
Soul II Soul's "Keep on Movin'"). So regardless of whether or not you're into lovers rap, there's always the production to enjoy. It all amounts to a well-produced, polished debut album for
Loon with a few great songs (especially the opening run of "How You Want That," "Do What You Like," and "Relax Your Mind") and a bunch of fine ones that overall should please longtime Bad Boy fans and anyone who relishes the label's refined style of lovers rap. ~ Jason Birchmeier