Return Of Dragon
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''Return of Dragon'' is the second solo
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American R&B recording artist
Sisqó Mark Althavan Andrews (born November 9, 1978), known professionally as Sisqó (stylized as SisQó), is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. Following his tenure as lead performer of the R&B group Dru Hill, he quickly reached success as a sol ...
of the group
Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B boy band, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 by Tamir "Nokio the N-Tity" Ruffin, and as of 2023, is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven top 40 ...
. It was released on June 19, 2001 on Def Soul Recordings. The album did very well on the charts but its singles, "Can I Live" and "Dance for Me", were commercial disappointments compared to his debut album, ''
Unleash the Dragon ''Unleash the Dragon'' is the debut solo studio album by American R&B singer Sisqó of Dru Hill, released on November 30, 1999, on Def Soul Records. Sisqó recorded the album during Dru Hill's hiatus. It includes the hit songs "Got to Get It", " ...
'' (1999). Despite the fact that Sisqó announced a third single, "Dream", this never materialized due to the commercial failure of the album. The song "Without You" was originally planned to be featured on
Dru Hill Dru Hill is an American R&B boy band, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 by Tamir "Nokio the N-Tity" Ruffin, and as of 2023, is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven top 40 ...
's third album, ''
Dru World Order ''Dru World Order'' is the third studio album by American R&B group Dru Hill, released on November 26, 2002. It is Dru Hill's first and only album to be released under Def Soul, an R&B division of Universal Music's Def Jam Recordings. It was a ...
'' but tensions grew between the group while working on the album and it was put on hold. ''Return of Dragon'' was later certified
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by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for excess of one million copies. ''Return of Dragon'' would be Sisqó's last album until '' Last Dragon'' (2015). After he returned to his group, following the release of this album, Sisqo was dropped from Def Soul Recordings and his group two years later.


Critical reception

''Return of Dragon'' garnered generally positive reviews from
music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...
s. At
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, which assigns a
normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
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rating of 61, based on 9 reviews. David Crowley of ''
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' praised the more romantic songs off the album for showcasing Sisqó's vocal abilities, concluding that, "''Return of the Dragon'' largely shows Sisqó's growth as a musician and a man. And you don't even need a thong to enjoy it."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Jason Birchmeier commended the record's songwriters and producers for crafting a lean track list that offers catchy singles, calling it "an energetic, slick, and stylish album with plenty of subtle sex and overt gloss — everything early-2000s pop listeners demand in their superstars." He concluded that "In short, Sisqó gives you exactly what you want — assuming you liked his debut album — offering a can't-miss collection of should-be hits and even more of his ceaseless crooning." Tom Sinclair of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' praised the album's mixture of raunchy sex anthems and sensitive love ballads, calling it "a vast improvement over a debut that felt as artistically flimsy as the subject matter of '
Thong Song "Thong Song" is a song recorded by American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer Sisqó. It was released on February 15, 2000, as the second single from his solo debut studio album, ''Unleash the Dragon'' (1999). "Thong Song" garnered four Grammy nomina ...
'." Barry Walters, writing for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', said that despite the commendable efforts of the producers to experiment with R&B instrumentations, they fall under the weight of studio mixing and Sisqó's shortcomings as a lyricist, calling it "a messy album, one that's instrumentally inventive, melodically underdeveloped, vocally overcooked and lyrically just plain lazy." Victoria Segal of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' was critical of the glossy production and so-called romantic lyrics throughout the record. Britt Robson of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' also gave a review concluding that "Musically, "Return of Dragon" is much stronger than its predecessor. A phalanx of producers (most notably Al West on "Infatuated," Teddy Riley on "Can I Live" and Nathan "N8" Walton on "Last Night") provides catchy, digitized riffs that give the up-tempo tracks the panoramic sheen of a video game. Sisqo lives up to his end of the bargain with a double-threat blend of stirring R&B vocals and sharp rap cadences. The lyrical content of the tunes and the way they are juxtaposed for maximum stylistic contrast throughout the disc, however, are fickle to a fault and laden with superficial sincerity."; Ending with ""Return of Dragon" is practically destined to move millions of units. Sisqo, who in interviews frequently alludes to his blue-collar upbringing, has a right to be proud of that. Yet to all but his most delusional fans, it's a thoroughly impersonal triumph."


Track listing


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2001 albums Sisqó albums Def Soul albums Albums produced by Teddy Riley Albums produced by Tricky Stewart Albums produced by Warryn Campbell