702’s 2003 album Star went fairly unnoticed and was also very much overlooked by many fans of R&B/soul music. The album has that futuristic electronic sound with production from She'kspere and Pharell Willams of The Neptunes which was perfectly suitable for its time period.
Motown dropped the ball on 702 by failing to promote the Star album at all. Star had bad sales due to lack of promotion and advertising. No wonder the album failed to chart on the BillBoard. Yet somehow despite no promotion, the album was nominated for a Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year - Group, Band or Duo in 2003.
Now if Motown had focused on promoting this 702 album properly and not just putting it out there, then Star would actually have been a platinum success and not just another R&B/soul album that was overlooked and overshadowed by other female groups. The absence of Missy Elliott and her production sound is probably another factor as well.
Let Your Hair Down sounds very off key and out of tune. The instrumentation overlaps the vocals too much. The musical notes are very off key along with the signing. When you're up in the club and don't wanna get crunk, let ya hair down. But don’t listen to the song. Overall the song is terrible. It was a terrible way to start off the album with. Honestly the song Star should have been chosen as the first song instead of Let Your Hair Down.
Let Your Hair Down reminds us to just have a good time. Just relax and let the tension unwind. Quit stressing your looks and rock to this hook. Your attitude ain't even wanted. The chorus is simple.: “When you're up in the club or wanna get crunk/let ya hair down”
Star is the title track and hit song for this album. Pharell Williams of The Neptunes produced Star with his futuristic polished electronic production. Breakdown of the beats are smooth and epic. Honestly this song should have been a smash hit! It’s that good!
Star charted at #49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Chart. In 2003, Star reached #3 on the charts for US R&B. Star also got nominated for a Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Single - Group, Band or Duo. Sadly this song remains very much overlooked to this day.
Feelings is a song about how infatuation gets people doing strange things. Infatuation can have people loosing control. You have a person you love who is on your mind. You can’t live without them and you can’t let them go. Maybe you should just face it. This can't be circumstance. You’re in disbelief so many feelings. Love deserves a chance. Feelings. Nothing but these funny feelings. Everything about them is appealing. You feel these emotions so drastically. You feel infatuation.
Rhyming scheme for some of the lyrics in this songs are appropriately fitting. Analyze the lyrics below to get a better understanding.:
Only you on my mind
And it's hard to define
What makes me into you
Just like Venus and Mars
We were written in the stars
Thinkin' we should continue
I Still Love You was another 702 song which was produced by Pharell Williams of The Neptunes. The song I Still Love You was featured on the Malibu's Most Wanted soundtrack. The song I Still Love You samples DeBarge - I Like It.
Everybody needs someone by their side. Love is so simple. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. This should be known by the common person. Everybody needs a person for them to love and need. That is what this whole love song is all about.
Better Day (Ghetto Girl) is the story about a ghetto girl living in a ghetto world. The song has a mood of sadness hence the vibe. The song itself has a poetic vibe. It feels as if you are reading a poem from a poetry book when you listen to this 702 song. The song deals with pain of living in the ghetto.
She is against the world alone by herself. Problems in her ordinary life make her want to run away and hide. She can never get it right. She is surrounded by pain and empty dreams. Sadness and despair. She’s so alone living in the ghetto.
Like the seasons when they change, nothing ever stays the same. So she prays. She is praying for a better day. There’s gotta be a better day and a better way. She is trying to find a better way. Finally she had enough.
See many times she didn’t have a dime when the bills would multiply and keep growing. She has even contemplated suicide. This ghetto girl could not rely on her mother for emotional support or financial support. Her father sexually abused her way too much for to go back to him. That is what these lyrics mean, “And momma never had that special touch Her daddy touched her way too much”
She was a little ghetto child and then she turned her life around. At the end of her song is where she turned her life around. She found another way.
Jealousy is a song which deal with people whom are jealous. Theme for this song is jealousness.
People who are jealous don’t want others to be happy. They're just wishing they could be them. They're just wishing they could be them you. Or someone else. Some people are full of envy and jealousy.
The first verse sums up jealousy very well.
(Verse 1)
They say you're bad for me
They say you're no good
Don't want us happy
I say it's jealousy
Could be me
They don't even know you. Watching you every move as if they follow you. They have too much extra time on their hands. Really they don't know what they're talking about.Don't even look at them as friends. More or less acquaintances. They're so quick to backstab you. It's happened to me many times. Their attempts trying to turn me against you are terrible.
I don't see why they can't just leave us alone instead of always trying to break us up. You'd think they wanna find a love of their own. But they don’t.
The song Trouble has a Latin music feel to it due to usage a single acoustic guitar. A single acoustic guitar resonates with the reverb echo. The beat is smooth. Trouble contains excerpts from Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie.
Reality is a down to Earth song about the subject itself. There is so much more to life than just hanging out. You don't know what other people go through. Some people think they wanna live this life. People see the fame but they don't know the price. They don’t know or understand the realities of a star. It ain't that easy.
I rate this album, 4/5****!
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