Senegalese-American ex-con
Akon broke out with "Locked Up," a gloomy but thrilling paranoiac tail about drug running and jail time. Placed over a fittingly dramatic production worthy of
50 Cent, with a clamping beat, simple piano figure, and frightening slams of prison bars, the single set
Trouble up to be a major success. Unfortunately, no other song on the album is nearly as gripping. The club tracks fall flat, most of the soul-searching moments feel forced, and the harder and more sexual tracks tend to be more silly than alluring. At its best,
Trouble places you in
Akon's turbulent world. At its worst, which is often, the album is excessively tedious. [A clean version of the album was also made available.] ~ Andy Kellman