For Tremaine Neverson, known to most as Trey Songz, the strategy has always remained the same: continue to build. After a debut album (Gotta Make It) that went unnoticed by the masses, the young talent from Virginia continued to build on his brand until listener's ears were finally glued to their radios. Last years triumph, Ready, reintroduced a more confident, Trey (sans braids) to the rest of the world. The result was nothing short of a homerun for a kid who only a few years ago, had only a year to turn his dream of singing in to a legit shot at making it big. The process of continuing to build remains a year later, as Trey Songz opting out of the taking a break route, returns with the quick follow-up to Ready, with Passion, Pain & Pleasure. Songz continues to use the same formula that help catapult Ready to platinum sales. The main agenda here is sex. The album opens up with "Love Faces", which tries to go beyond the groundwork built by "Neighbors Know My Name" ( a sensual cut from Ready). Other highlights can be found on "Massage" an ode to doing just that. "Tonight, I got your neck, shoulders, back/ Baby, I'ma touch on all that...lose the panties and the bra/ I'ma start with a massage", Trey tells the lady of his affection. Trey invokes the likes of R. Kelly, circa, 1993 or even Jodeci in their hay-day. Where Trey stumbles is when he tries too hard to recapture the magic from his last outing. The Nicki Minaj-assisted-first single, "Bottoms Up" is a cheesy copycat of his song "Say Ahh", which is the most successful single of his career. Plus Trey gets bodied on his own song by Nicki Minaj's song-stealing verse. "Unusual" features Drake, but it fails in comparison to Trigga and Drizzy's previous efforts. Mr. Steal Your Girl makes up for his shortcomings with cuts like the ballad "Please Return My Call" or the second single "Can't Be Friends". While this album will continue to build onto the much deserving- success Trey has experienced in the past year, this album seems rushed at times, probably due to the fact that Trey and co. wanted to strike while the irons still hot. You can't get mad at Trey for trying to continue his winning streak, we just wish he didn't swing so early while at bat. I rate this 3.5/5
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