::ALBUM REVIEW::

Bangin' beats and fly urban production from top names like Darkchild and Warryn Campbell all make Kierra "Kiki" Sheard's sophomore effort appealing from a first glance. "This Is Me" builds off of the well-known character of "I Owe You" while incorporating new direction from an amazing and lengthy list of producers to help guide Sheard through elevated hip-hop-spice and urban R&B material. Kierra "KiKi" Sheard, the daughter of one of Gospel's familiar voices Karen Clark-Sheard, is proving to be a dominant force in the industry even at the young age of eighteen. While her lyrics play on the lines of safe and inspirationally-driven, Sheard reveals sparks of creativity and maturity in her music while exploring new levels in her faith.

Rodney Jerkins III, mostly known in the music world as Darkchild, uses the sounds of Usher and Destiny's Child to create "You're The Only One". Purely the right choice to open up this infectious contemporary set. With club beats and deep bass highlighting the groovy rhythm, Sheard flows across the lyrics like a hip-hop princess. Warryn Campbell's "Yes", another dominant hip-hop cut, uses the familiar bump-thump foundations in Amerie's "1 Thing" and Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" and attempts to prove a point that sampling is the cool trend today. It does spark cool emotions that urban gospel can borrow the devices in today's music crazes, but getting away with it and calling it original may be another problem. "It Is What It Is" feels just right for Sheard and her audience as she deals with the familiar questions about heaven and hell's existence. It may be a never-ending theologial pulse for debate, but Sheard responds back with "it is what it is" on the chorus and that being nice in life isn't good enough. Tastefully done from an evangelistic standpoint. Attached to the moving lyrics is a very friendly pop/R&B musical arrangement. PAJAM enters into the scene with "Wrong Things"; which almost reminds us of the studio production they released on Karen Clark-Sheard's "Finally" - even to the background vocals. J. Drew, a new face on the recording scene and Sheard's brother, offers three futuristic selections ("No Never", "Faith", "Have What You Want") to the mix. Even though all three cuts feel complex within its outer structures, they do showcase signs of promise for the upcoming producer. Not too many ballads make the light of day on "This Is Me", so it should relax and caress the ears of many listeners when the Quiet Storm-influenced "Hear This" finally plays. Probably one of the strongest faults about this album is the fact that there are too many uptempo jams and not enough transition songs to fall upon.

Seems like other musical influences like rock music and Euro-pop tends to get in the way of the project's direction and almost feels like another way to send Sheard towards new and tougher ideas. "Change", featuring Tommy Sims and P.J. Morton on keyboard duties, gets a dose of heavy metal guitar input and brassy drum work; sending Sheard into an intense loud workout. PAJAM's "Scream", a bonus cut from the Special Edition, feels like a mix of club and pop while losing some of its affection with the song title itself, obvious chorus lyrics and the lack of instrumentation. Another bonus cut, "Always By My Side", feels breezy and falls in the line of modern neo-soul creations. With all of the musical influences attached to this album's makeup, it is very hard to believe that Sheard has almost forgotten the gospel sounds. Even though her mother and aunts (the Clark Sisters) have dabbled in contemporary/urban gospel, they have created a rich legacy upon the blueprint of gospel music with their remarkable achievements and groundbreaking gospel inventory. Seems as if Sheard is trying to overshadow those contributions with her indulgent musical choices which includes a high-density of urban work and not even samples of church-friendly material.

After a brush of impressive sales in the states and Sheard's growing popularity in Japan (taking the #1 spot on their album charts) with her debut project, EMI Gospel decided to release two editions of her latest album release: the regular version (which features thirteen tracks in all) and the Special Edition Format (which contains bonus cuts and a live version of the title cut). But don't compare this idea with the one used on Donald Lawrence/Tri-City Singers' "Finale'". You get all of the album features on both projects, so don't sweat when you see both versions and believe it to be difficult when deciphering which is the better choice. "This Is Me" is a likeable, fun record and bears a number of enjoyable moments, but is it enough to convince and satisfy gospel audiences? The possibilities are there, but in this scary and ever-changing music industry, one needs more than possibilities to stay afloat.