Album Review: K. Michelle, AWBAH (Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?)

K. Michelle

Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart? (to be released Dec. 9, 2014)

On “Hard to Do,” the sixth track on K. Michelle’s sophomore release AWBAH, she flat-out saying “lately I been in my feelings.”

I was like “when are you NOT in your feelings?”

K. Michelle has evolved from “reality star with a record deal” to a full-fledged player in the realm of R&B. It didn’t take her long to become the voice of the heartbroken. Ever since R&B’s queen of relationship misery, Mary J. Blige, proclaimed that there was No More Drama, few female artists have been able to bare their souls on wax at MJB’s level. K. Michelle’s leading that pack.

And that’s why she stays in her feelings — which is evident by this release.

Say what you will about K. Michelle but the woman isn’t afraid to say what’s on her mind, or admit her own faults. The opening track is appropriately titled “Judge Me,” where she outright refuses to ever bite her tongue. And on the first single, “Love Em All” she brags about running through dudes like Adrian Peterson.

Usually, when women admit to sleeping around we wind up with trash like this:

But K. Michelle smashes double standards. If dudes can creep, so can she. You gotta respect that boldness.

But K. Michelle’s at her best when she shows vulnerability. She’s so mad on the weepy “Cry” that she says “you gon’ pay me in tears.” “Maybe I Should Call” is by far the album highlight, even if it’s downright depressing. Foolish pride allowed her to lose her man to another woman and now she’s broken. “Maybe that’s why I ain’t got a man/Cause I be doing too much thinking…Heart is feeling useless/Probably should’ve used it less.” Yeah, it’s kind of a pity party but you don’t mind being invited to it.

“Maybe I Should Call” is a keeper, but besides that track, there’s not much else here that you’d want to take home to meet mom. The biggest problem tends to be with vocal issues. K. Michelle seems to have better control of her powerful voice than on her first album but it still gets overbearing at times. The album’s over-the-top lyrics wear out their welcome, too. I know a lot of y’all love K. Michelle’s ratchet songwriting but it doesn’t take long before it gets annoying. It hurts tracks like “Build A Man,” where K. Michelle takes the best parts of former lovers to construct her perfect man. Conceptually it’s a cool idea; lyrically it just comes off sounding like Mr. Potato Head.

And “Drake Would Love Me” had a brother cracking up. Playa please, Drake is the rap Taylor Swift — after a couple of dates, he’s talking greasy about the same women on his albums. If that guy is the measuring stick for relationships, you ladies are in big trouble.

But maybe that’s why K. Michelle ends the album with “God I Get It,” an open prayer where she admits that she constantly makes the same mistakes over and over.

AWBAH certainly will resonate with some listeners but, like her love life, K. Michelle gets tripped up by recurring bad habits.

Best tracks: “Maybe I Should Call,” “Love ‘Em All,” “Cry”

3 stars out of 5