Trey Songz – Trigga Reloaded

A tired re-release...

"She said I'd never be as big as Trey Songz, boy was she wrong," Drake once said. And boy was she wrong. It's hard to say when Trey Songz (real name Tremaine Aldon Neverson) peaked, but it certainly wasn't recently, and 'Trigga Reloaded' goes absolutely no way towards changing that.

The production is sleek – really sleek. But the lyrics are exactly what you'd write if you were trying to pen the archetype of the tried-and-tested R&B sex jam. "Put your hands in the air if you're loving tonight" from 'NaNa' is such a lazy hook that even Pitbull would give it a second look.

Nicki Minaj guests on 'Touchin, Lovin', but sadly it's another is this really the same girl that slayed 'Monster' moment from one of the most frustrating artists of the last five years.

There are, of course, a plethora of terrible euphemisms that we have R Kelly to thank for. "Cake's on the menu / Ain't I supposed to eat it too?" and "Working up an appetite and baby you my breakfast" – which is exactly what you think it's about. There's nothing sexy about meal-based oral sex metaphors. The album frequently skirts between seedy, lothario and the downright ridiculous. 

The fact that this isn't a great record shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, given that it's a re-release of something that hasn't even been on shelves for 12 months yet. Presumably to push sales up, 'Trigga' still remains Trey's lowest selling album to date. It fell some way short of moving 500,000 units in the US, so the goal is presumably to see the re-release hit that (Gold) mark.

So what does 'Trigga Reloaded' do right? It's hot in places, but doesn't have the hypnotic self-deprecation that litters The Weeknd's best moments, nor does it have the introverted honesty that Drake has all but copyrighted.

Hearing Trey Songz talk about who he's fucking isn't the most thrilling event and offers little to nothing to carving out an identity. There's barely anything here to distinguish him from a whole host of other artists. If all you're looking for is a handful of disposable DJ Mustard and Mike WiLL Made it club-bangers ('Late Night') though, then this should just about keep you content.

5/10

Words: Matthew Cooper

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