Trey Songz - Passion, Pain and Pleasure Album Review

Since the golden age of unmatchable male R&B singers (Babyface, Brian McKnight and R Kelly), it has been a tedious job filtering through the wannabes and one album wonders to find any legit R&B stars. The bar has been set, and it has been set high.
Though R&B will never be what it was, there are still a number of boxes that must be ticked before a male artist can join the ranks of today's leading men, like Ne-Yo, Usher or Chris Brown. Trey Songz seems to be a likely candidate. Singing ability and honey smooth vocals? Check. Abs that put professional athletes to shame? Check. Longevity? With his fourth studio album now released, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, only a year after his last, it's pretty safe to say that he's filling many of the requirements.
Trey's second studio release in 2007, Trey Day, is still his best album to date, however his latest shouldn't be disregarded. Songz has co-written most of the tracks on Passion, Pain & Pleasure. Other writing credits go to notable artists such as Johnta Austin and Mario Winans, both also producers on the album. The record hit #1 on the US Billboard R&B/Hip hop albums chart in 2010 and #11 on the Australian Urban Albums Chart this year.
Singles include Bottoms Up featuring Nicki Minaj, Can't Be Friends and Love Faces. Much like Songz's last release Ready, in 2009, the album has an R Kelly feel, consisting of predominantly bedroom music. This genre is Songz forte, however his best tracks to date are the less explicit ones like Missing You and Can't Help But Wait.
Stand outs on Passion, Pain & Pleasure include Doorbell, Can't Be Friends, and though it's a bit of a stock standard club jam, Bottoms Up should do well. It's a shame Already Taken from the Step Up 3D soundtrack wasn't included on the album. The Usual would prompt high expectations as it features today's most promising rapper Drake, and their recent collaborations are the most exciting R&B/rap duets since R Kelly and Jay Z. However compared to Successful, The Usual is a bit of a letdown.
Although undoubtedly talented with several decent albums under his belt, what makes Songz a worthy player in the urban scene is his clever mixtapes. These impressive additions to his discography as well as his work with Drake, are guaranteed to keep Songz as one of the artists to keep an eye on. He recently supported Usher in his Australian tour but it won't be long before Songz is selling out crowds on his own, providing he isn't too busy in rehab for sex addiction or juggling court cases following in R Kelly's footsteps.

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