Keyshia Cole Way It Is CD

Personnel: Keyshia Cole (vocals); Chink Santana, Eve, Jadakiss (rap vocals); Ron Fair (harmonica, organ); Chops, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Joel Peskin (horns); Steve Rodriguez, Tal Herzberg (bass instrument); Jason Stallworth (drums); Metro City.
An advantage Keyshia Cole has over a lot of her young contemporaries is experience. As a foster child growing up in Oakland, she went through a lot of downs, and from the sounds of The Way It Is, her first album, she's had her share of complex relationships. Cole had a hand in the writing of just about every track, and she has a number of major players -- Kanye West, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, Mya), E-Poppi (Missy Elliott, Destiny's Child) -- in her corner. With only a couple exceptions, The Way It Is is about the ugly parts of a romantic relationship, so there's little room left for upbeat material. From the opener, "(I Just Want It) To Be Over," the album seems to be set up like a linear narrative about a crumbling relationship, but it doesn't quite play out that way, with the scenes shuffled out of order. ("Love," one of the positive songs, comes after the song where the punk gets dumped and before the song where he's called out for changing.) None of it's all that profound, but Cole sells it all extremely well, especially on "I Should Have Cheated," where she tires of an accusing and hypocritical lover ("I should go have my fun and do all the things you say I do"). Cole's voice is sweet and ringing, like a wiser version of Lil' Mo who has had to weather a tremendous amount of drama. She could be around for a while. ("Never," her hit song from the Barbershop 2 soundtrack, is included.) ~ Andy Kellman
Far from the usual fizzy pop practiced by contemporaries like Beyonce and Kelis, the debut album from Oakland-born singer/songwriter Keyshia Cole is full of sophisticated, adult R&B that bridges the gap between the neo-soul likes of Alicia Keys and the inspired, kinetic hip-hop of Kanye West. Keys and West both guest here, on the singles "(I Just Want It) To Be Over" and "I Changed My Mind," respectively, but Cole is a compelling enough performer that she's not overshadowed. Similarly, guest spots by John Legend (on "I Changed My Mind") and Eve (on Cole's 2004 debut single, "Never," reprised here) never take the focus from Cole's warm and soulful vocals. Comparable to Keys, Mary J. Blige, and even '70s R&B divas like Betty Wright (especially on the outstanding woman-done-wrong rampage "I Should Have Cheated"), Keyshia Cole effortlessly bridges old school and new, and THE WAY IT IS promises even better things to come.Vibe (pp.137-138) - 4 discs out of 5 - "Cole must be commended for a superb vocal performance....Her pure emotion gives you something you can feel. That, she gets right every time."