1st Born Second - Bilal
1st Born Second Image
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.4 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 9 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: The debut album from 22-year-old Bilal Oliver features production work from Raphael Saadiq, Dr. Dre, Mike City and James Poyser. The first single is "Soul Sista," which originally appeared on the Love and Basketbal soundtrack.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. E! Online
    100
    It delivers the ultimate knockout--sticky R&B grooves and a heavenly falsetto that point to greats like Marvin Gaye ("Soul Sista") and Stevie Wonder ("Queen Sanity").
  2. CDNow
    80
    Sharing with Marvin Gaye and D'Angelo the ability to sing in forceful anger while seducing you with sweet talk, this 22-year-old Philadelphia singer positions himself to become the next great soul man.
  3. Sonicnet
    80
    While Bilal's vocal gymnastics -- high-arching notes, off-rhythm choruses and complex harmonies -- add texture to these songs, many of them sound too musically similar to everything else in the neo-soul movement. He's at his best on the tracks that he or his partner, Dahoud Darien, have produced themselves.
  4. Blender
    80
    And if he occasionally errs on the side of self-indulgence... so be it; for every moment of youthful overreach, there's another that shows a promising new talent in first bloom. [Aug/Sep 2001, p.121]
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See all 9 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. [Anonymous]
    10
    This is one of the best albums of all time. Sometimes, For You, and Love Poems.. are a few of my favorites. I have been listening to this album for years. Each time thatI hear it, I fall in love with it all over again. I cannot wait until his next project is released.… Expand
  2. hab76rich
    10
    buy this album!
  3. VamseeC.
    9
    Maybe he stretches himself, but his pipes can handle it. Check out his contribution to Guru's Jazzmatazz.
  4. SuneR
    9
    Really good... he has a fantastic voice.

See all 5 User Reviews

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