Artist: Namie Amuro
Album: “Play”
Label: Avex Trax
Year: 2007

Intro

When going through my collection of JPop music, I noticed that I had a lack of an urban influence outside of M-Flo. I wanted to up it up and was exploring the world of iTunes until I came across Namie Amuro and wondered why I never had her music to begin with. She is one of the bigger names in terms of popular Japanese artists. I didn’t know which albums to go with, so I went with this one.

Good

This is pretty much unlike anything I’ve heard from. There was a heavy urban feel with that R&B and hip-hop influence along with dance. The great part was that vocal wise, she was it to carry the album. There were no emcees nor any guest appearances, so it was ride or die by herself.

The great part was that a lot of the songs had lots of songs to dance to. It’s pretty fun to listen to especially during long drives.

Bad

As great as there was a heavy hip-hop influence, there really was a lack of an R&B presence. There weren’t any R&B type tracks until “Should I Love Him?” which occurs towards the end of the album.

Overview

I knew nothing about her discography prior to getting this album. Apparently, she reinvented herself with this album which is great for herself and her fans as she evolved with the times. I actually look forward to getting more of her music down the road.

It helped change my notions on female soloists. Before this album, I felt that the female soloists were only capable of being successful if they were idolized. This album shows that you can change with the times and don’t need to be an idol to succeed.

Overall rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed by: Timtastic