I bought this album because it was $8 at Fry's. And because I liked the cover. And because it was produced by The-Dream, who I like also. With all of these factors in mind, I have just one thing to say: "Ooooh, shit, damn!"
Fine, I have a few other things to say. How To Be A Lady is Electrik Red's first album, and it's pretty great. I love a sassy girl group, and these ladies deliver sass in spades. You have to love a chorus that goes, "You don't fuck us, nigga, we fuck you" (W.F.Y.). When they spell out P-U-S-S-Y, the "P Is For Power." The girls are sexually forward and occasionally drift into ho territory (like in "On Point") but always in command. The lyrics are casually obscene and moderately explicit. It's probably not an album to listen to with your mom (though I guess it depends on the relationship you have with her). This is not say that there aren't a few slip ups, like a rather pointless Lil Wayne remix of "So Good." "So Good" is a fine song in itself (one of my favorites, actually), but the remix sounds exactly the same as the original until the last third of so of the song, in which Weezy tosses in a verse. And that's about it. Naturally, the "So Good" remix is by far the most popular Electrik Red song on iTunes right now.
Ultimately, what's really great about this album is the songwriting. The singers' vocal abilities are not so overpowering that they drown out the lyrics. Unlike the Spice Girls, which used various gimmicks to distinguish one member from another, or Destiny's Child, which was basically BEYONCE and those other two that nobody cared about, the ladies of Electrik Red don't (yet) have distinct personalities. Which is fine for now, because it means that The-Dream's songwriting ability really shines through, delivering plenty of attitude and memorable lyrics in the process. It's a great first effort for Electrik Red and I look forward to seeing what they have to offer in the future.
Standout tracks: "So Good," "W.F.Y.," "9 To 5"
(Image from Wikipedia. Hell yeah.)
EDIT: Upon further reflection and viewing the music videos Electrik Red has out so far, I do think that this girl group is following more of a Destiny's Child model, with a lead singer backed by the three others.
