Remember Jenny from the Block? Because JLo wants you too.
A lot has happened in the world of Jennifer Lopez over the past few years. She stole America’s heart when she joined American Idol. Came back in a majah way with ‘On The Floor’. Had a few dud singles. Slayed a Celia Cruz tribute. Got divorced, and still managed to stay on everyone’s good side.
None of that erases the fact that her last album flopped harder than the new Mariah single.
*ignites old feud*
Love? was a filler album and nothing more. There were 3 decent songs on it and the rest sounded like music you’d hear at a bowling alley on a Tuesday night in 2009. This is one of the reasons she’s heading back to the block for her new album; Gonna serve us some urban jams , ya dig?
If ‘On The Floor’ proved anything it’s that JLo’s still got it. When she’s got the right material there’s nothing stopping her. The question now is whether or not new single ‘I Luh Ya Papi’ is the right material?
We can’t talk about ‘Papi’ without talking about her other new songs first.
January brought the mid-tempo ‘Same Girl’ – not to be confused with the iconic R.Kelly/Usher duet ‘Same Girl’. The song was written by Chris Brown and brought Jenny back to a more Rhythmic sound. There was no Pitbull, no RedOne. It was time to get real again.
February gave us ‘Girls’, produced by DJ Mustard. The hazy club cut sounded like the step child of ‘Rack City’ and ‘Pour It Up’. It had a catchy chorus and reiterated that girls just want to have fun.
The problem with both songs is that neither is that good. I will admit, I’ve been liking ‘Girls’ more ever since I heard it play on 105.1’s Power After-Hours (aka driving home at 12am). I don’t think either song was meant to be a hit, but rather, build buzz for her upcoming urban realness. Needless to say, expectations were high for ‘I Luh Ya Papi’ and French Montana’s feature raised the stakes.
‘I Luh Ya Papi’ debuted today on LA’s Power 106. The Detail produced song was completely different than what I expected and wanted. I was thinking the song would be #BANGER . A little more like ‘Get Right’ than ‘All I Have’. ‘Papi’ falls somewhere in the middle.
‘Papi’ is the most urban thing we’ve heard from JLo since ‘Get Right’. The beat rely’s heavily on a weird synth in the background and heavy drums layered on top. We’re definitely getting a more urban Jenny, with some sing-talking and attitude filled commands in the verses.
“Hold Up / I could get you runnah”
The highlight of the song is the chorus filled with some latin flavah. The spelling of the title indicates the playful nature of the song, and this is where JLo sounds most natural. It’s also enough of an earworm to stay with you after the songs done.
French Montana holds it down on his verse with some clever word play. I like how he played off the latin vibe of the song. Plus, I’m loving the New York connection. When I read that he was on the song I was expecting some rough raps from him; Some, “I ain’t worried bout nothin”. But I think it was a good move to go the route he did. Montana showed another side on the track, plus it will only rise his stock being on the song.
I’m still not sold on ‘Papi’. I’m finding some serious flaws in the pre-chorus and bridge that prevent that song from entering smash status. The lyrics of the bridge are too over the top and the melody of the pre-chorus doesn’t fit. It’s weird considering that it leads into the songs best section.
JLo’s has a weak voice to begin with, so it’s better to leave her with more production. The ‘Papi’ is a little too quiet and it reveals her lack of vocals a little too much.
*Plays ‘Get Right’*
Do I think this is a step in the right direction? Yes.
Do I think this will be the next big single? No.
Will I spell love as luh for now on? Yes.
Now Jenny, give us some more (better) songs from the block.
Listen to ‘I Luh Ya Papi’ below
Theezy Knows Best 