Big Bub had been the front man of the New Jack Swing group Today for several years before he decided to put out a solo project. His debut album, Comin At Cha was hyped up, as the record itself likes to show. The opening and several tracks on the album repeat the refrain "Bub putting out his solo record" in some form or another. So how did Bub's solo record stand up? We decided to take a look and see.

Comin At Cha came out at an interesting point in R&B music. Today had been a well-known group in the new jack movement, so for Big Bub, he was largely expected to carry on that persona. And the album is an interesting blend in that regard. The first half of the album is new jack track after new jack track. Then we hit the single Telling Me Stories at the halfway point, and the album just pivots. It goes from the hard pounding snare to slow crooning ballads, and that's our experience for the rest of the album.

When looking at Comin At Cha, it feels to me like Big Bub feels more comfortable on the New Jack tracks. I Don't Mind, Touch Me, Talk Dirty all have such pounding beats and pack so much energy into them, it sucks you right into it. The tracks are infectious and everything is just clicking. The guest performers hype the songs, and Bub's neverending stream of ad libs just work. It's a fun album and you can see why this style of music clicked during the late 80s and early 90s.

And then Comin At Cha just pivots. Tellin Me Stories starts up and the beat slows down. When I first came to this track I was confused. This was a single for the album, but is nothing like what we'd heard to date. I came to understand it as I heard the rest of the album, but doing a clean split in the album was an interesting choice. It's likely a product of the cassette period where one side would be the New Jack tracks while the other side would be the slow jams. But looking at it today from the world of streaming and cds, it was a bit of a double take.

So how were the ballads? They were fine. Tellin Me Stories was a solid track. Bub can sing, and the tale of a woman lying to him was heartfelt. His riffs and ad libs are effective on the ballads too. But the ballads are definitely the weaker half of the album. The lyrics are underwhelming, and it's clear the tracks just don't have a lot of meat to them. Simon Sez and 24/7 are conventional pillow talk tracks, and Work It Out is interesting in how it does attempt to tell a narrative, but it's so focused on employment status, it feels a bit weird and one noted.

Hot takes on the album Comin At Cha song by song:

1. I don't mind - new jack in full effect, pounding beat, repeating chorus, an instrumental run off, this track is jamming. Big Bub is loaded with the ad libs
2. I want you for me - Chill chorus, Big bub riffs pack the track with such a feeling of just grooving along, feeling the sounds
3. Touch me - Roaring chorus, some guest rappers and hype up.
4. Hittin Skinz - repetitive, long run of chorus to end the song. Sensual, but mostly feels a bit cheezy
5. Talk Dirty - this track slaps. Lyrics are cheesy but the beat is great, the chorus is repetitive but gets you bouncing
6. Tellin Me Stories - While the new jack jams are solid and get the head bouncing, Big Bub's delivery on this ballad shows his talent. This was one of the singles, about the girl you love lying to you. This song is a sudden pivot in Comin At Cha's content.
7. Work it out - With that title I was expecting a pounding new jack track. Instead this continues the slow down of telling me stories. It's a charming song all the same. The verses are a bit weak, as it's so focused on a job. I appreciate it telling an evolving narrative, but it just feels like so specific it's hard to connect. Still, it's a nice song.
8. Take My Heart - Loving, crooning. Gives me Gerald LeVert vibes sometimes... His riffs, emotion in his delivery
9. Simon Sez - Getting slow and sensual, we're all in on teh bedroom talk here. Big bub is fully into an effort to seduce here
10. 24/7 - More sweet and sensual pillow talk here. Bit boring to me though

Favorite tracks on Comin At Cha: I Don't Mind, Talk Dirty, Tellin Me Stories