Roy Wood$ – Say Less (Album Review)

Roy Woods season is finally upon us, and R&B fans everywhere should rejoice! I feel like the soft-spoken R&B singer from Canada brings this unique flavor to the game, one that I think will eventually takeover the genre. But can I be honest with you guys for a second? I’m not sure I understand it, which is why I think a full body of work like this is imperative for my views on it moving forward.

TOP 5

5. WHAT ARE YOU ON

‘What Are you on’ is that unapologetic yet smooth tune that I’m sure will make you reevaluate that last shot of Tequila you were thinking about taking tonight.

Much like most of this album, this song sorta focuses on island vibes to establish a rhythm. The track is also very smooth, as Roy Woods comes across like that little dude in your head telling you to keep the recklessness going.

The number 1 thing that will confuse you about this song is how soft Roy sounds vocally, but yet he drops some pretty A1 lyrics on his verses. This n—-a doesn’t hold back one bit when it comes to carefree lyrics, which tells me that Roy still seeks that respect from the thugs of the world.

4. MONDAY TO MONDAY

‘Monday to Monday’ finally has Roy Wood$ talkin’ that s–t! This might be the first time I heard him mention money on this whole album.

Even though the instrumental is as silky as it gets, there’s still this trillness to it that allows him to pop his s–t effectively. While his lyrical content rivals some of your most reckless rappers, he still approaches the song with his signature sly persona.

3. SOMETHING NEW

‘Something New’ is that H&M music that I usually find the bombest sweaters to when it comes on in the store!

Nowadays, I feel like these are the type of tracks that are standard for the R&B stars of today, as artists usually tend to focus on transferring all the good vibes that they have in their current lives into the music. On this particular track, Roy Woods throws us for a bit of a curve ball though. Even though he speaks about all the wonderful things he can possibly do with his lover on his verses, there is still this level of frustration that he sneaks in the song to make it feel a little more dramatic than the tracks that are like it. I think this is genius, because it allows listeners to have two different feelings that contradict each other when you hear it.

2. LITTLE BIT OF LOVIN’

‘Little Bit of Lovin’ is catered for me, you, your parents, your grand parents, and anyone else who wants to get down at the family reunion!

I think it’s pretty tough to hate a gleeful R&B track like ‘Little Bit of Lovin’, mainly because it has so much positive energy attached to it. With the beat giving off this tropical feel, Roy lets his listeners know that it is ok to fall in love, despite it coming with someone using up all the damn toilet paper from time to time.

With Roy often succeeding in heartbreak music, It’s pretty refreshing to hear him glow a little on this song.

1. SAY LESS

Word to the wise: Never tell your girl to say less…..

On ‘Say Less’, the Canadian singer creates this vulnerable track that dives deep into his relationship with an individual that is more concerned with fighting then doing the hanky panky. Even though you can tell this person is combative to his demanding words, his angelic voice can’t help but make them at least take his requests into consideration.

I love songs like these, because it focuses on the little things in a relationship. None of our relationships are perfect, so when we hear a track like this where the singer doesn’t mind expressing that — real ones will say “PREACH”!

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. MEDUSA (4/5)

2. LITTLE BIT OF LOVIN’ (5/5)

3. SAY LESS (5/5)

4. TAKE TIME (4/5)

5. SOMETHING NEW (4.9/5)

6. TOP LEFT (3.8/5)

7. BB (4/5)

8. BACK IT UP (3.9/5)

9. GLASSES (3.9/5)

10. THE WAY YOU SEX (4/5)

11. MONDAY TO MONDAY (4.8/5)

12. WHAT ARE YOU ON (4.5/5)

13. BALANCE (4.3/5)

14. IN THE CLUB (4.4/5)

15. B-TOWN (4/5)

16. UNDIVIDED (4.3/5)

OVERALL RATING

(8/10)

This is a very interesting R&B album. Yes it contains the same sobering vibes of the music that you hear today, but I think Roy took that approach to another level. I feel like Roy heard what everyone else was singing about in the industry, and decided to break it down to a micro level. I applaud him for doing that, because it establishes this bond with the listeners that I think is pretty personal.

Don’t you feel like this n—a saps about everything on this album? He saps about a happy relationship, he saps about a disappointing one, he even saps about sapping for goodness sake! I feel like he literally created a sapping for dummies audio book with ‘Say Less’, and it does get annoying at times. Luckily for us, the instrumentals he chose to sing over do vary in emotions, so even if he approaches a song with a simping ass attitude, at least the beat is in a good mood.

When I rate albums, there are a few things I look for, and one of those things are ‘Quality of Music’. I think Roy nails this category, as I feel like every song you get from him on this project contains maximum effort. From the vocals to the production, every aspect seems to mesh so well together, something that I think points to him logging lots of time in the studio per song. Where I do think he struggles a little bit is in his lyrics, which I feel doesn’t live up to the juicy topics that he decided to sing about. Or maybe this was his intentions? Maybe he wanted to come across as a dude that doesn’t understand it all when it comes to love? Whatever the case may be, ‘Say Less’ actually said a lot to me, which probably means Roy Woods succeeded in dragging us into his world of confusingly constructive R&B music.