Jay Sean:
Me Against Myself

Release Date: 08 November 2004

Reviewed By: Nooreen Kara

1. Intro (Balcony skit)

2. Eyes On You

3. One Night

4. Don't Rush

5. On And On

6. Stolen

7. Come With Me

8. Holding On

9. Interlude (Irony skit)

10. Dance With You

11. Man's World (Ramta Jogi)

12. I Believe In You

13. One Minute

14. Meri Jaan

15. Me Agains Myself

Raghav - Storyteller
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‘Ne gal son jaa’ – you what?? For me and you English speaking folk, this translation equates to ‘Listen to what I have to say’, and that’s exactly what Jay Sean wants you to do with his new album, ‘Me Against Myself’. Being the first major Asian artist on the British urban/pop scene, Jay Sean, real name Kamaljit Jhooti, has something to show, and something to prove.

The intro sets the course for the CD, with Jay Sean rapping before Rishi Rich, playing the part of management, comes along and demands that Jay sing what he describes as ‘nice songs’ about girls as UK hip-hop doesn’t sell.

I’ve listened to this CD a number of times now, and I’m having crazy mixed thoughts about it. Being the first British Asian to go mainstream, there is nothing to compare him to – Jay Sean is setting his own standards. Also, there’s the fact that the album is so diverse. Fair enough, the majority of songs are indeed ‘nice songs’ about girls, but notably the styles and genres Jay uses vary incredibly.

Firstly, there’s the pure R&B tracks, namely the soft ‘Come With Me’ and sophisticated ‘Holding On’. Both of these are highlights of the CD, and show Jay to have an excellent singing voice, some introspective and emotive lyrics and huge talent. Jay Sean, clearly influenced by role models such as Musiq Soulchild, dabs into the more soulful genre for the well-crafted ‘One Minute’.

Then there’s the rap side of things, featured mainly on ‘Me Against Myself’. On this title track we see ‘Jay Sean the rapper’ battle against ‘Jay Sean the singer’. This song has endless comparisons to Eminem in an ‘8 Mile’ set-up – basically if Jay Sean disses himself, there’s nothing left for the critics. There’s a decent alternating beat and although the raps aren’t exactly 2Pac level, there’s some nice tongue-in-cheek punch lines – ‘So which one's your lover? Rishi Rich or Juggy D?/Probably Rishi he sees you as his bitch doesn't he?’

Jay’s home culture is also given time to shine on songs like the Asian-influenced ‘Eyes On You’, which reached No.6 in the UK charts. As the piano melody comes into play, the infectious summer hit is instantly recognisable. OK, so hardly groundbreaking lyrics of the year – the chorus is sugar-coated, throw-away stuff, and the song is supplied with a series of Beyoncé-esque ‘uh-oh’s at one point – but it’s possibly the most groundbreaking idea of the year and succeeds in being incredibly memorable and original.

The follow-up release from ‘Me Against Myself’ is the heartbreaking ‘Stolen’. If you’ve seen the video, you’ll notice it has a much more mature look than the video for ‘Eyes On You’, matched by the alluring lyrics. This song is one of the best on offer, with a classy mid-tempo mood which showcases Jay’s singing skills perfectly. It uses a sample from ‘Chura Liya’, an Indian song taken from the Bollywood movie ‘Chura Liya Hai Tumne’, once again highlighting his native roots.

‘Dance With You’ (Nachna Tere Naal)’ can’t go without a mention. Created with his mentors and producers Rishi Rich and Juggy D and giving Jay his initial taste of chart success, this Desi dance floor track brilliantly fuses together some punchy Punjabi lyrics and dohl percussion instruments with some excellent English vocals; (I found myself trying to sing along to this track without even knowing the words!).

Being a debut album, there’s bound to be some below par tracks. I’m not really feeling ‘Don’t Rush’, which is more “poppy” sounding and commercial than the majority of the others. However, Ruff Ryder’s Jin is rumoured to have remixed this track for the forthcoming single next month, so who knows, a rap/pop collabo could work.

It’s the mature R&B tracks that are currently on heavy rotation on my CD player, but I like that there is a mixture of different ideas – everything from Bollywood to soul gets a look in. There’s a good variation of slow and faster-paced tracks so there’s no chance of the album sounding like a single one-hour track. The excellent production from the Rishi Rich Project also helps to develop this debut further into a success.

Jay Sean not only creates a new chapter in his life with this album, but also a new one in the British urban scene. The standards are set... Raghav and any other future Asians to grace the British urban scene, follow suit.

3.5 out of 5

Top 3 tracks:
13) One Minute
6) Stolen
15) Me Against Myself

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