Do you know how to step? No, I'm not talking about walking, the dance. Whether or not you do - or even know what it is - R. Kelly's got your back through the process. What
Happy People was "designed" for as Kelly says on one of the tracks is to just "make you feel good" and it succeeds on both discs despite the stark contrast in style between the two. See, the first disc is full of upbeat songs about love, happiness, and just all things positive with many of the instrumentals having light bass lines, horns, and flutes. The second disc however, is almost completely comprised of slow, religiously themed R&B cuts that might put off some people with all the God loving - and might throw off people based on his legal history - but even as a non-religious person myself, I do get a sense of joy while listening to the
U Saved Me side and that's the whole point of the album; to make you feel good.
The
Happy People side starts off with the short but oh-so-sweet "Weatherman" and if you dislike this song for its rhythm or positivity, you're kind of out of luck as the rest of the first disc is just like it. Even with this, the album never gets repetitive due to Kelly's vibrant production and soulful singing. Kelly actually produced the whole album and wrote the lyrics by himself like the rest of his albums. If you've heard his previous album,
Chocolate Factory, or have heard the hit from it "Step In The Name Of Love," this album is basically that stretched across an eleven track album and it is perfect.
The
U Saved Me side starts with "3-Way Phone Call" and as good as the singing is, it's pretty cheesy. The plot goes as follows: Kelly is feeling bad, his sister calls, she tells him God can help, she calls a friend from prayer, they all sing Kumbayah. Thankfully, Kelly's voice can hold a track no matter how dull the song may be story-wise or instrumentally. Despite easily being his most religious album,
U Saved Me doesn't have any gospel songs like his self titled album had multiple of.
In the end,
Happy People/U Saved Me stands as one of Kelly's strongest and most consistent albums with no real flaws to find. However, unlike all of his albums before this, especially
Chocolate Factory, this album really doesn't have any highly memorable tracks. In addition, none of the songs on the
Happy People side really have much depth to them. I think the
Happy People side was comprised of all of the cut stepping songs from
Chocolate Factory because of the constant references to it and all the times he says "Chocolate Factory" and calls it "the Chocolate Factory album." Even still,
Happy People/U Saved Me is a highlight in R. Kelly's discography and an album worth checking even if you are unfamiliar with R. Kelly.
