In 2003, this group of four Atlanta-based sisters released a
Jermaine Dupri-produced single on Warner Bros. ("Miss P.") and appeared on
Da Brat's "In Love wit Chu." An album for their label was due to follow, but it never surfaced, and mega-producer
Jazze Pha eventually swept them up for his Capitol-supported Sho'nuff label. Though they're still in their late teens and early twenties, they write a lot of their lyrics, and they sound as sure of themselves on
Unappreciated as any R&B group with a handful of albums behind them. However, it's clear that they're very much under the influence of their inspirations and contemporaries (from
Destiny's Child to
Ciara) and aren't yet able to distinguish themselves from what they've absorbed as music fans.
Unappreciated is a boilerplate R&B album that's pleasant and likeable, yet it doesn't leave much of an impression and lacks character. Lead single "Do It to It," produced by
Don Vito and Cheese, is emblematic in that it's the best track on the album and bears a tremendous resemblance to
Ciara's
Jazze Pha-produced hits (all the way down to its cadence). ~ Andy Kellman