I was introduced to Keyshia Cole when I heard the track "I Changed My Mind" which featured and was produced by Kanye West. I felt that she was a nice, fresh voice to the music scene and it didn't hurt that she was easy to look at. The next track that I heard was "We Could Be" and eventually I heard "I Just Want It To Be Over" and I was convinced that I would pick up Keyshia's debut once it was released.
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The Way It Is was released in 2005 and once I listened to the disc it instantly reminded me of Teedra Moses' Complex Simplicity because of the song content and the attitude and feeling in the voice. "The Way It Is" was a late bloomer on the charts but once Keyshia's 4th single, "Love" was released it drove "The Way It Is" to platinum sales. My personal favorites were all of the singles, which included "I Changed My Mind", "I Just Want It To Be Over", "I Should've Cheated", and "Love", as well as, "Love, I Thought You Had My Back", and "We Could Be".
I began to hear "Let It Go", which also includes Missy Elliott and Lil Kim, a couple of months back and that's when I learned that "Just Like You" was going to be released on September 25, 2007. "Let It Go" sets the tone of the CD at the beginning as Keyshia is headed on a night on the town with her girlfriends because she has just broke up with her man. The theme isn't new but with Missy Elliott's reworking of Mtume's "Juicy Fruit" sample the track ends up being a song that will be in the clubs for awhile and my intsant favorite. Biggie would be proud as he also used the same sample for his introductory single, "Juicy". "Didn't I Tell You" is produced by The Runners, who are credited with producing Rick Ross' "Hustlin'" and has also done work on the latest CDs from UGK, Chamillionaire, and DJ Khaled. Bay Area veteran Too Short is also featured on the track but he tones down his usual sexually explicit tales about women to tell Keyshia that if she is feeling bad about her breakup that doesn't need to sit around the house and cry she needs to be out on the town with her friends and homies. Basically, this track employs the same idea that Usher's "U Don't Have To Call" did. "Fallin' Out" has Keyshia explaining how she is falling out of love with the man in her life because they aren't doing the essential things that couples must do to be together by keeping good communication and spending quality time with each other. Scott Storch must have been taking notes from Rich Harrison because "Give Me More" sounds just like something that he would have created for Amerie on "All I Have" or "Touch". However, Keyshia is able to put her own touch on the track. She is just wondering why the man in her life can't do the things that he use to do for her. "I Remember" is a sweet slow jam that has Keyshia reminiscing to the times where her past relationship caused her to endure heartbreak. She is wondering why the love of her life is no longer there and how she will find a way to go on, eventhough she still loves him. The next single, "Shoulda Let You Go" features Amina and is produced by Rodney Jerkins, also known as, Mr. "Darkchild". The track would be better if it didn't sound like the same track that he produced for Mary J. Blige, "Enough Cryin'" that was on her latest full length CD, The Breakthrough. "Heaven Sent" has Keyshia talking about a relationship that seems to be going back and forth for some reason. It doesn't seem as if there is any stability at all. However, Keyshia still wants to try to be the one in his life since she feels that he is the one for her. "Same Thing" is an interlude that has Keyshia being fed up with the arguments and lies that is going on between her and her man. "Got To Get My Heart Back" is an uptempo jam that has Keyshia once again trying to figure out what went wrong in a relationship and she is trying to repair her heart because of the bad experience. "Was It Worth It?" is produced by Bryan Micheal Cox, who has done production for past CDs by Jagged Edge, Usher, Joe, Bobby Valentino, etc. The song is a nice slow jam. However, we are on Track 10 and basically every song is about heartache, break ups, arguments, lies, unfulfilled promises, etc. So everything gets repetitive after awhile. The title track is refreshing because Keyshia takes a break from the heartbreak and explains to everyone how she is going through struggles like the average human being. She wants to you to get to know the real Keyshia excluding the celebrity status. This is clearly one of the best tracks on this CD. "Losing You" starts off with a nice old school Natalie Cole sample in "Sorry" and the track also features Anthony Hamilton whose latest CD is Ain't Nobody Worryin'. "Southern Comfort" was a CD of old songs that Anthony had made before signing with JD. Keyshia is trying to figure out if she is losing her man and Anthony is explaining to Keyshia that she is the one in his life and he has no intentions of leaving. Keyshia gets caught up on "Work It Out" as her man finds out that she is seeing another man. She finally wants to be honest about the situation and expects him to be patient why she is figuring out what she wants to do. However, her man is also seeing someone else so Keyshia is trying to figure out if relationship #1 can be worked out so that both parties can get their priorites straight. There is also a remix of "Let It Go" that features TI and Young Dro that is included on "Just Like You" which is decent but it's not as good as the original version.
I have no idea why "Last Night" featuring P Diddy, Diddy, or Puff Daddy is on here but Keyshia clearly made the song worth listening to. In conclusion, I fell that Keyshia has made a nice 2nd CD and has clearly avoided the sophomore jinx. However, the heartbreak theme was overplayed to me. In my opinion, there should be a better balance of songs. The quality is there and you will not have to skip any tracks, I just hope that next time around Ms. Cole will be able to tell us about some good things that are happening in her life. If you liked "The Way It Is", you will enjoy "Just Like You".
