Mya: Three-Song Review from her Upcoming Album, Liberation

Mya Harrison is a bit of an R&B vanishing act. She remains relevant for a year or so but then vanishes for a few years working on a new project. Liberation is Mya's fourth solo album and has been in development since 2004 when it was under the name of Control Freak. In the meanwhile Mya switched record labels from A&M Records to Motown Records. This delayed the album which gave Mya more time to work with different producers and writers. Is Liberation worth the long delay?

The first single off of Liberation is Lock U Down featuring rap superstar and mixtape assassin Lil Wayne. The track is a mid to up-tempo song produced by hit-maker Scott Storch. The song features Mya's very light vocals over a minimal Storch beat. The highlight of the song is Lil Wayne's 16 bar verse. The song was very flat peaking at number 101 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Chart.

On Ridin, Mya sings over a beat my Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. This is one of the passable songs on the album. The song tells the story of how Mya in a desperate search to find her man goes out riding around town to find him. This song tries to show off her soulful vocals. Although Mya is not the best singer, she manages to stay in key and deliver the song with an emotional presence generally missing in her music. The lyrics border on childish but it still isn't a bad song.

On Walka Not A Talka featuring Snoop Dogg, Mya sings over a very pop-dance inspired track produced by J.R. Rotem. The song sounds if it was meant for a pop singer like Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson and not an R&B artist like Mya. The song is catchy but the lyrical content just comes off as contrived and derivative. The highlight of the song is definitely the bridge which shows off the musical talent of J.R. Rotem. The Snoop Dogg verse is a typical Snoop Dogg song which seems like it would fit on any collaboration he has done to date.

Mya's Liberation was supposed to be our first glimpse at who the real Mya is. But after listening to these songs, you're left with the feeling that you've wasted your time. The songs are overall bland, and the few bright spots don't justify purchase. Mya's Liberation gets 6.5 out of 10.