With his performance for Loughborough Freshers Fortnight just days away, it seemed appropriate to review Naughty Boy's debut album 'Hotel Cabana'. From winning £44,000 on 'Deal or No Deal', Naughty Boy invested his winnings in pursuing a career in music production and really arrived on the music scene after helping Emelie Sande produce the 'Our Version of Events' album.
Now Naughty Boy has built on his success with Sande and has collaborated with a number of great artists including Bastille, Ed Sheeran and Wretch 32. The first impressions of the album were encouraging, Naughty Boy offers a great sense of variety to the tracks that make up 'Hotel Cabana'.
It is clear to see why many artists are now choosing to work with Naughty Boy. He seems to be able to adapt to artists' different styles. For example, the track 'Top Floor' is fundamentally acoustic, adapting to Ed Sheeran's unmistakeable style. The track 'No One's Here To Sleep' is a similar style to Bastille's successful hits and it clearly shows that Naughty Boy can adapt to work with different artists.
You won't hear explosive sounds that you'll associate with Guetta and Avicii. Instead, Naughty Boy's tracks seem to have the knack of providing something new for listeners, this was evident with his hit 'La La La ft. Sam Smith'. Just like his No 1 hit, Naughty Boy offers something new throughout his album. The track 'Hollywood' is a perfect example of this as it boasts the return of multi-platinum selling Gabrielle. Her distinctive voice works well with Naughty Boy's backing and will hopefully lead to Gabrielle leading a successful return to the industry.
Naughty Boy orders his tracks intelligently so that 'Hotel Cabana' seems to follow an order that keeps the listener wondering what distinctive style is going to come next. The album offers a laid back feel which is accommodated by the uplifting and very popular hits 'La La La' and 'Lifted'. There is potential for Naughty Boy to break into the top of the charts again with tracks such as 'One Way ft. Mic Righteous and Maiday' and 'Hollywood ft. Gabrielle'.
The album's laid back style does not cause it to drag because there is a brilliant element of quality that really suggests that Naughty Boy has left his mark on the tracks he has produced with his chosen artists. The theme of 'Hotel Cabana' carries throughout the entire album and the urban feel of the tracks suit Naughty Boy's image perfectly.
Label Music's verdict is that 'Hotel Cabana' boasts a very British influence throughout the entire album. There is an urban feel to Naughty Boy's music and it encourages the development of a very distinctive and exclusive style. Naughty Boy's quick impact onto the musical scene in recent months is something to be admired and 'Hotel Cabana' is an album that Watford's Shahid Khan (Naughty Boy) can be very proud of.
Our rating: 7/10
