Is it time for Craig David to grow up? The Time is Now, review
The rise and fall and rise again of Craig David has been one of the more heart-warming stories of modern pop. He was a British teenage prodigy who became a transatlantic star in the early Noughties as a poster boy for UK garage, a homegrown R’n’B genre that briefly rivalled its American counterpart for cutting-edge invention.
From the outset, David demonstrated narrative wit, silky vocal skills and confident hip hop flow. But there was a cheesiness to his persona that attracted critical derision, much of it centred on the credibility divide between supposedly superficial rap-dance music and gritty indie guitar rock. David was nominated for seven Brits in 2001 and walked away empty-handed, something that still rankles in Britain’s black music community. Meanwhile, comedy TV series Bo Selecta! cruelly mocked his style and appearance.
It would be another decade before the resurgence of British rap’s grime genre (rooted in garage) lent him the lustre of a veteran pioneer. His 2016 comeback, Following My Intuition, was David’s first number one album since his 2000 debut, Born To Do It.
As the title implies, his new album is intended to bring his sound up to date, affirming his place in the contemporary pop pantheon. Employing eight different producers, it is packed with snappy, hook-laden songs, and plush electronic arrangements and rhythm tracks.
David seems intent on covering all dance bases, from house and afrobeat to reggaetron, hip hop and old school 2-step garage. It is bright and busy, peppered with guest appearances. But the risk is that this extremely versatile star winds up sounding like a guest at his own party.
His producers have overused Autotune, which is counterproductive for a singer with David’s range. He sounds as if he is trying too hard to please, sometimes affecting a subdued Drake-style drawl, sometimes a Carribean lilt, his accent careening from one side of the Atlantic to the other.
Gimmicky hooks abound. David is arguably Britain’s most technically accomplished R’n’B singer since George Michael but all that skill is worth little if there is no substance to what he is singing. Does anybody really need another song rhyming “superstar” with “brand new car”?
Here is a 36-year-old man who’s suffered the slings and arrows of fortune, yet his subject matter hasn’t really moved on from the concerns of teen pop. His efforts to sound up to date result in the cringeworthy For The Gram, a tribute to Instagram that includes the couplet: “Now I’m speaking emoji/ Wink wink smiley.” I can think of an emoji for that and it’s not a smiley face. It’s time for David to grow up.
Craig David: The Time is Now is out on Friday
