As a songwriter, Eric Bellinger has helped Justin Bieber assure a girlfriend that he only has eyes for her (“Right Here”), assisted Chris Brown in calling women away from unappreciative partners (“New Flame”), and, through the voice of Trey Songz, unearthed the love language of secret lovers (“Disrespectful”). But what does Bellinger have to say for himself? Plenty, if you’ve tuned in to his Eric B for President mixtape series, or even his collaborative tape with producer Hitmaka, 1-800-HIT-EASY. But if you’ve missed all that, the singer offers the perfect jump-off point for latecomers to the #Bellingerhive in New Light.
Bellinger can write—and has written—for just about anyone with a serviceable voice (a killer smile and a few sturdy dance moves never hurt anyone’s cause), but with New Light we get deeper insights into the man behind the hits. Songs like “Truly Yours,” where he tells us how much being from LA means to him, or “Go Get It,” where he details the lengths he believes a man should go to for his lady, and even “Counting My Blessings,” where he talks about the bond he has with his partner, reveal a principled man, and a deeper thinker than a great many of his songs for other artists would have you believe. He’s called in a couple of heavy-hitters for features (The Game, Brandy, Sevyn Streeter), but the nature of these collaborations is hardly what fans of any of the artists will be used to. They are, as he hopes more listeners will be after this album, here for Eric.