"We sellin' like Bon Jovi," Ronnie DeVoe drawls on BBD's "Scandalous." This is typical pop hype, but Bell Biv DeVoe should be happy their lyrics weren't screened by fact checkers. BBD (Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and DeVoe) hasn't clocked platinum units since their 1990 debut, Poison. Back then the trio, an offshoot of '80s superstar boy group New Edition, laced smooth harmonies to rugged beats and misogynist lyrics, making their first one of the best (and most widely imitated) R&B records of the era. After the moderately successful '93 follow-up, Hootie Mack, Bell Biv DeVoe are back, trying to appeal to an audience that's now saturated with thugged-out Romeos and has no idea how groundbreaking the trio was. Sadly, BBD does their legacy little good with this lackluster effort. Now in their 30s, Bell, Biv, and DeVoe still think the lady is a tramp, but while they once spit out their sex-you-ups with a bad-boy bite, new cuts like the thumping "Dance B----" just sound bitter. The vibe is better when the trio lets the love flow, as on the silky "I Ain't Going Nowhere," which proves BBD can still make the females swoon. FORMAT: Compact Disc CONDITION: Brand NewGENRE: R&BUPC: 044001645723LABEL: Wash HouseNO. OF DISCS: 1 TRACKLIST:1 Nuh Wan Dat2 Don't Worry3 Let Me Love You4 Good Cry Ft. Chaka Demus5 Rose Petals6 Sweet Love7 I Got You Ft. Aarahdna8 Blaze It for Days Ft. Lion Fiyah & Gappy Ranks9 Cut This Off Ft. Tenelle10 See Dem Deh11 Brighter Days12 Lock It Off Ft. Fiji13 Vex Me14 Raggamuffin Ft. Buju Banton & Gramps Morgan
