Bobby Brown

Don't Be Cruel, Brown's second solo LP, followed his departure from Boston boy band New Edition (but came before his star-crossed marriage to Whitney Houston). Released in 1988, this is classic New Jack Swing, produced by Babyface, Teddy Riley, and L.A. Reid. Includes Brown's best-known hit, "My Prerogative."

It's the eternal fast one/slow one problem--when he states his prerogatives and tries to make the world dance he's irresistible, when he masks his motives and tries to make the tenderoni moan he's an obvious con. But he earns his prerogatives: the internal rhymes and voice-electrobeat patterning of the title track are so tricky they're hooky. And since I've never been much of an expert on tenderoni, I'm willing to suspend judgment on the half that leaves me unmoved. (Grade - B+)