Cassie (by Cassie, Pop)

Cassie is a beautiful 19-year-old with a voice that sounds like it's made of spun sugar. Under the direction of Bad Boy Records' big guns and producer Ryan Leslie, she presents a collection of pleasant songs in CASSIE, all settled comfortably in the arena of flirtation, sex, and love. In "Me & U," Cassie provocatively sings, "Baby, I'll love you all the way down/Get cha right where you like it, I promise you'll like it..." -- a flirtation perfectly suited to her vocal strengths and the song's appealing arrangement. Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't quite live up to the promise of "Me & U." What does continue throughout the album are the sexy innuendos, though there's no explicit sexuality in the lyrics.

Cassie delivers some very mixed messages about how a young woman might conduct herself as she discovers the power of her budding sexuality. Though she sings of her flirtatiousness, it turns out that when the boys are the ones flirting, she doesn't think it's okay: "The day you play me/that'll be the day you're gone," she asserts in "Call You Out." Cassie delivers a good, but not great, performance. Most of the songs are lackluster filler, written with little humor or artistry. This young woman still seems to be feeling her way, both artistically and personally.

Released on: August 8, 2006
Label: Bad Boy Entertainment
Genre: Pop