Cheri Dennis

Cheri Dennis is the R&B sensation signed to Bad Boy Records and I can honestly say they have found a pretty good talent in Cheri Dennis. She has style and voice (actually being able to sing rather good) but she doesn't have the material to catapult her to stardom. Diddy should let his artists grow because on this album it seems Cheri Dennis is not reaching up to her potential almost like she's holding back. Songs such as I Love You, Portrait of Love, Remind You, Dropping Out Of Love (the best cover of Biggie's Sky Is The Limit I've ever heard! I was waiting on a singer to kill it and she did it with ease! Great song), Showdown, Ooh Ooh, and Caught Up really show we she can do and what she has to offer. However too many flat out wack songs (Alright, Spaced Out, etc) and interludes that should have been real songs really hinder this release. If she's able to release another, which I hope she does, I know it will come out better. But in today's industry it doesn't take long for somebody else to come take your thunder ( Keri Hilson is about to drop) . Hopefully Cheri can get another chance because she does actually have the talent to shake things up.

There is alot going on in this track, for some it would be great for others well its so,so.

Cheri Dennis debut album has been finally released, after an unbelievable series of delays. As result of the thousand changes of release date, we've heard the first single "I Love You" almost two years before the complete album. I know that these things are a part of the business, but i'm still speechless.
Many reviewers have already described the songs in a proper way, so i wish to focus my attention on the main weakness of the project. I know, i start to sound like a broken disk...but even this time i must criticize the musical production. I'm aware that currently "Bad Boy" isn't the label with the best reputation in the creativity branch, but i could compare their current standard with productions like Total's albums. Those was really good disks, and i'm talking about a decade ago...not a century ago. So, it seems that this label has really lost on the way the capability to made a musical production above the average.
The two singles released until now are good tracks, even if i can't define these songs using the word "unforgettable". But, in many moments, Cheri's album sounds like Cassie's album...and this isn't a positive note. Even the help of some different producer (Darkchild and Timbaland) doesn't change too much this trend, because both have provided standard tunes...where standard mean rather far from the peaks of their respective skills (and this is a remark that comes from an huge Timbaland fan).
However, Cheri show a good potential...and she must be surely appreciated for her perseverance to accomplish this project, considering the above mentioned troubles during the pre-release phase. I think that this is enough to look with trust at her following album, hoping that in the meantime even the production team will help her to grow as the good performer that she could be.

Oh, how an artist signed to Bad Boy Records suffers and waits. Cheri Dennis has been signed to the label since 2001, or possibly even earlier, and she has not seen any of her hard work or time come to fruition until now? Well, I must give her props for patience! In the fall of 2005, she finally released her debut single "I Love You," which was a minor hit. It's an alright track, but definitely not the type I would introduce an artist to the world with, especially since Jim Jones and Yung Joc took time away from Dennis showcasing herself. Anyways, after a week or two, that song came and went. A slew of new artists and albums came out on Diddy's label--including himself and Danity Kane--yet Dennis was put on the back burner and it seemed she would most likely drop off the face of the earth without ever having a disc with her name on it. However, around November of last year a video for "Portrait of Love" came out of nowhere. It was a very new sound for her and quite refreshing to my ears; it's a laid-back, 80's synth pop inspired groove that is undeniably catchy. It fared a little better on R&B outlets and channels like VH1 Soul, but it still didn't make much impact elsewhere. A few days later, the album In & Out of Love was released... only on iTunes, though. Imagine that: six plus years of sitting around for an iTunes only release! Luckily for me and many others who prefer having physical releases, this was eventually released in CD form in February 2008.

To be completely honest, although I really had been anticipating this album since 2005, I also really wasn't expecting much. At most, I thought it would be an average album with standard female R&B fare without much personality; at worst, it would be a typical Bad Boy release with a few good songs and a whole lot of filler. Anyways, I bought this the day it came out, but it actually took me a month or two to actually listen to any of it. (I was a little pre-occupied with the new Erykah Badu joint.) But when I did finally give the disc a spin, I was pleasantly surprised.

Sure, there are a few of the same-ol'--but good ol'--formulaic female R&B songs that we've grown accustomed to over the years. There are the two or three ballads and "baby-making" tracks at the end of the album ("Showdown," "Ooh Ooh," etc.) and unnecessary rap cameos from Yung Joc, Jim Jones, and Gorilla Zoe; still, there are also an equal amount of tracks where Dennis steps out of the box a little bit and makes a stellar track. "Portrait of Love" is one of those to me and even after hearing this song way too many times--and I mean way too many times--it still appeals to me. "Remind You," which I believe may have been the third single, packs a punch with horns, staccato piano notes, and quite forceful vocals and lyrics filled with attitude that I wasn't expecting from her. "All I Wanna Do" and "Dropping Out of Love" both are mid-tempos with bouncy grooves that remind me of something I can't quite put my finger on. (A modern version of What's the 411?, possibly?) "Pretend" is a heart wrenching and dramatic power-ballad drenched with soul and nice harmonies. Both interludes are fantastic and I wish they were extended into full songs. However, "Spaced Out" is by far my absolute favorite track of this set. I see that other reviewers aren't really feeling it but I cannot resist. The production sounds a bit like the Neptunes full of spacy synths and crisp percussion. The song is like something Kelis, Outkast, or maybe even Janelle Monae would do. Even the lyrics are quirky and Dennis owns the track, unapologetically bragging about her unique swagger that is lightyears ahead of everyone else's. To put it quite simply, it is three minutes and forty seconds of pure, other-worldly perfection on my ears. Also, most of the production on this album is top-notch quality stuff. Ironically, some of the most underwhelming beats here to me are on the Timbaland-produced "Act Like You Know."

The bottom line: I didn't expect much from this album quite honestly, especially after all the delays. I thought if I was lucky it would be a decent album full of the usual female R&B clichés. (And there's not necessarily anything wrong with that if it's executed correctly... I'm a sucker for that stuff!) While this applies to a few tracks on In & Out of Love, there are just as many tracks that bravely venture out into a bit more daring territory and that's when Dennis truly shines. The songs are generally great, as is the production. Cheri's vocals sometimes get a little thin, but at most points, her instrument is strong and controlled.

Key tracks: Spaced Out, Portrait of Love, Pretend, Remind You.

I really enjoyed this album. It's good just to cruise with your friends; it has a 90's type of vibe. I just felt that her album wasn't promoted enough by bad boy records.