No real surprises here in Messy, the hip-hop R&B album from new-comer Gemma Fox. Having already had a massive underground hit with the irresistible head-nodder of a track ‘Messy’ in 2001, and being tipped as one of the top-ten-most-likely-to-succeed-acts of 2004, she follows up with a very tight and sleek album, produced by heavyweight Chucky Thompson – of Mary J/Faith Evans notoriety.
Sounding at times like early TLC , there’s no denying Fox has a great voice and is a competent lyricist, as she examines the usual themes, including single parenthood and even domestic violence in the debut single ‘Girlfriend’s Story’ (unlike Jamelia’s current record ‘Thank You’, Gemma Fox is a lot angrier, and less inclined to forgive “Not only was he ruthless/He was also stupid”). This riotous, funky song is bound to make a dent in the charts, alongside tracks like ‘Roles Reversed’ and ‘Good Man’.
Along with the voice, Fox has the attitude and substance to pull off a certain element of repetition in Messy. However she doesn’t quite dodge the usual pitfall of the genre, and has a tendency to lapse into Ali-G style faux-ghetto posturing.
Though not the most original sound in the world, Messy boasts some memorable, catchy songs and strong collaborations that are bound to elbow their way onto the airwaves in the coming months – certainly Fox may be the face to launch a thousand ring-tones.