Cool & Dre, the rising production team behind
the Game's "Hate It or Love It," handle all but one track on the third album from
Christina Milian, and it is
Milian's strongest album yet, if only by a narrow margin. The album is short on ideas, which are often taken from recent hits, and Cool & Dre aren't ashamed to swipe some of their own. The beat on "Say I," featuring Young Jeezy, is remarkably similar to the one used on "Hate It or Love It." "Who's Gonna Ride," featuring
Three 6 Mafia, does nothing to mask its willingness to capitalize on
Three 6's "Stay Fly." "Hot Boy" couldn't have been made without the existence of
Destiny's Child's "Soldier." The other setback is that
Milian's weakness remains ballads; the few that are here are more like placeholders that merely apply some forced variety to the album. But the club tracks are perfectly functional and appealing, even when they're secondhand, and a lot of it has to do with
Milian's flirtatiously pouty charm. ~ Andy Kellman