Akon: Freedom

"Na na na": Akon steals a note out of Britney Spears's latest lyrical book.

I've never been a fan of the money-women-guns style of urban music, but even given initial misgivings Akon's latest release, Freedom, was still disappointing. If you've heard the first single, Right Now (Na Na Na), you'll have a good idea of what the rest of the album has to offer: a collection of ringtone-ready pop tunes that are catchy enough, but offer little else. Akon also steals a note out of Britney Spears's latest lyrical book, building entire choruses around the repetition of a word or phrase, from the "na na na" of the openers to the "we don't care" of (surprise, surprise) We Don't Care. For one or two songs, this is fine, but over the course of a full album, this formula grows somewhat tired. Mainly, though, Akon's lyrical shortcomings are the biggest let-down - and these are so glaring that not even the appearance of the usually reliable Lil Wayne does much to help. It actually comes as a bit of a relief when Akon finally reverts to gangster type on I'm So Paid and Troublemaker, but that's only because it's so embarrassing to listen to him spouting lines such as "more than a ring or a tattoo, it's your birthmark that reminds me of you" (Birthmark). The title track, however, is stellar - the least poppy, least clichéd and least sentimental song on the disc. Still, it is nowhere near enough to save this album. It's not that Akon's latest release is especially bad, either. It is just that, as a 55-minute session of the predictable and the unoriginal, it is not good.