1. Eleven9 (Intro)
2. Good Night (Feat. Reddy) *Title
3. Give It To Me *Title
4. 5-6-7
5. 11:30 (Feat. Masta Wu)
6. I'm Good
7. Give It To Me (Inst.)

Se7en has no doubt who he is, as he returns with his self-produced mini-album 'I Am Se7en.' This the first EP released through his own entertainment company Eleven Nine Entertainment, formed following his military service. He teamed up with production team The Stereo Types (Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber) for the fast tempo tune "Give It To Me."


The disc starts out with "Eleven9," named after his production company. It's an intro track as well as a love letter to his fans, thanking them for their "love and support." It's short, but there are some interesting stylistic choices, such as the phone call as a framing device. We get treated to Se7en's unique vocals as well.

On "Good Night," we switch to a smooth R&B groove, punctuated with techno highlights. Everyone here is on point here, with Se7en's trademark vibrato and a mellow rap from Reddy. The vocal work here is fantastic, and Se7en does plastic soul as well as anyone. One of the things I was impressed with was that the rhythms were reminiscent of chill and extremely soothing and hypnotic. "Good Night" is very much an exemplar of most of the disc.

If there were songs that were polar opposites, "Give It To Me" and "Good Night" would be two of them.  The transition isn't that jarring, since the bombastic part doesn't hit 'til the chorus. That's when Se7en goes over the top, belting his lines for all he's worth. It's definitely a party song, loud and nasty. "Give It To Me" is highly danceable and a lot of fun, but it's also the oddball on the album.

"5-6-7" has to be one of my faves. It's also one the more unusual tracks in that it is more dance pop than R&B. I love the repetition here, and Se7en's silky tenor combines with rougher vocals and even some falsetto for effect. I love the vocal range, and the techno wubs are front and center and unabashed. The only thing I could ask for is a longer running time.

The bulk of the album is slick R&B with some pleasant surprises. While it's nice to groove to someone's signature sound, cross-genre tunes are also a lot of fun. That's not what I expected, so the tunes on here form a poppin' sonic landscape. I even liked the collaboration with Masta Wu, and his superpower is to make an already bland song even blander.  It seems like Se7en's break with YG hasn't affected his skill any. In case you hadn't guessed, this EP definitely deserves a spot on your playlist.

MV REVIEW

Watch Se7en dance in "Give It To Me!"

If that sounds underwhelming, that's because the MV is, in some ways. I've never seen such a meh video paired with flashes of genius.

It's not cheap, or at least it doesn't look it, and I like the Bond-inspired silhouettes against a bright background, framing a scene with keyholes, figures reflected in sunglasses, scenes that look like jacket shoots come to life, and all manner of surreal things. Where it falls down is the run-down apartment and the dancing in front of neon tubes. Watching him get shot down by a beautiful creature in a bar had me snickering, though.



So what to give it? Well, I have to say that the dancing is pretty good. And the edits don't linger, and for every blah moment there's an assault of bright colors, so I suppose it's not that bad. Still, don't take my word for it -- watch for yourselves.

Score

MV Relevance..........6
MV Production.........6
MV Concept.............6

Album Production...8
Album Concept........7
Tracklisting..............7

OVERALL...............6.7

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