I Don’t Too Much Care For Beyonce

I realize that in the black community, that's damn near blasphemy, but then again, I'm just a boy and perhaps I don't understand. In my mind, Beyonce plays it entirely too safe and predictable in an effort to protect her commercial image, which certainly has been effective in terms of moving units, but arguably comes at the cost of artistic integrity. In essence, Beyonce's been releasing the same song and following the same formula, for the past five years. While chick can kill a ballad, she often sounds uncomfortable and forced while tackling dance songs, and in more than a decade of recording, she has yet to find a balance between the two. I prefer my pop-stars to exhibit some growth, or, dare I say it, depth. Though she's often referred to as the hottest chick in the game, look at the game right now, and tell me if that's really a difficult feat to accomplish. Standing at the top of today's music industry is akin to being the bum that sleeps under cardboard instead of newspaper…you're still resting on the same bench among the same trash.

That being said, the one song that I'm thoroughly impressed with from her latest effort, I Am… (I refuse to acknowledge Sasha Fierce, as Beyonce's ego does not deserve its own separate entity…she can keep her ass back in 2004 with MiMi and Damita Jo) also happens to be the one song no one else seems to be feeling. Ave Maria is easily the best Beyonce has sounded since harmonizing with Destiny's Child. The song is subtle, vulnerable, and exudes an honesty that is absent from most any other song in Bey's catalogue (save Listen). I like it, a lot, and that's hard for me to say in reference to Ms. Knowles Mrs. Carter.

The rest of I Am… is more of the same: full of B'Day leftovers and boring ballads in the vain of Dangerously in Love. I can't help but to notice that releasing this set as a double disc, separated into ballads and dance numbers, is an indirect way of saying, "I don't know how to create an album that flows together, evenly and consistently, so I'll put 5 songs on two cds!"

But in all fairness, Disappear and Halo are pretty nice too.

PS. Sorry Miranda, I love you!