Pretty Ricky:
Blue Stars

Release Date: 24 May 2005

Reviewed By: Nooreen Kara

1. Play House

2. Your Body

3. Grind With Me

4. Get a Little Closer

5. Never Let You Go

6. Juicy

7. Call Me

8. Nothing But a Number

9. Grill 'Em

10. Get You Right

11. Chevy

12. I Want You (Girlfriend)

13. Shortly Be Mine

14. Can't Live Without You

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R&B records are being released by the bucket load these days. After exceptional singles from the likes of Bobby Valentino and O’Ryan, the follow-up albums failed to impress, so when I heard Pretty Ricky’s ‘Grind With Me’, I was slightly apprehensive about whether ‘Ricky’ could live up to the hype. At the time, I assumed it was one man, but in fact, it’s four brothers: Slick ‘Em, Spectacular, Baby Blue and Pleasure.  

Let’s begin with the debut single that is ‘Grind With Me’, or rather grind ‘on’ me in the explicit album version. It’s definitely the album’s standout track and it’s got that beat, those lyrics, and the vocals which just makes you want to ‘grind’ on that one person you’ve been thinking about. It’s the same over-sexual rhymes we love that pop up in almost every song. On the slightly-corny-but-still-fantastic ‘Your Body’, Spectacular spits, “She complain when she catch back spasms/ But she loves when she gets the back to back orgasm.”  

One thing I love about Pretty Ricky are their voices. Pleasure sings with perfection and the other three rap in brash, brassy voices that make each song seem that bit more convicting. 

‘Playhouse’ has that hot bouncy beat, but a word of warning – don’t let your kid sister hear the lyrics. With an adult twist on an extended metaphor of Peter Pan and Baby Blue insisting he’s your “Mexican lover” ’cos he likes “bangin’ up your pinyata”, she will be scarred for life. 

If you’re sensing a pattern of women, women, sex, women, you’re probably right. However, it’s about to be broken with ‘Grill ‘Em’ and ‘Chevy’. Both these tracks have catchy choruses, infectious beats and offer an alternative to the rest of the record, maybe even something the guys could bump. But, then again, there comes the more easily-forgettable fillers that seem to plague every record around these days; ‘Never Let You Go’ uses a beat that’s way too boy-band generic, and it’s not too brain-straining to imagine the Backstreet Boys singing ‘Can’t Live Without You’. Then there’s ‘Nothing But A Number’, which has the most annoying bass-line that it’s hard to listen to more than the first 10 seconds each time it’s played. 

‘Bluestars’, with the repeated sexual refrains and bold lyrics, is definitely one for those freaks out there. Pretty Ricky are unlikely to be the next Jodeci, or rather B2K, but don’t let their sugarcoated name deceive you; these boys are far from sweet! 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Best 3 songs:

Grind With Me

Your Body

Playhouse

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