Sex Playlist was three years old when Reasons, its intended follow-up, was shelved by major-label Atlantic, making The Kinection the first solo Omarion album in six years. Independently released by the singer, this still sounds like a natural progression from Sex Playlist, if on a tighter budget. O gets the dancehall crossover move out of the way with the Busy Signal collaboration "Goddess," then settles into plush slow jams and atmospheric ballads for the duration. The moments that sound most casual on the surface actually feature some of the singer's most nuanced and subtly powerful performances. Take "Unbothered," where it becomes increasingly apparent with each refrain that he's merely numbed himself to fight off slipping into the opposite state. A clutch of boilerplate tracks is countered by the fruit at the bottom that is "I Ain't Even Done," supported by a typically choppy and woozy beat from unlikely match Knxwledge, plus an intro and verse from Ghostface Killah. Omarion follows the beatmaker and MC off-course by lashing out with an embittered but resolute vocal regarding finances and domesticity. Likely a one-off -- the track circulated through unofficial channels in 2016 -- it nevertheless hints at Omarion's left-field prospects if he were to completely disregard commercial trends, sales, and streaming figures.
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