NME Reviews

R Kelly : Fiesta

Unifying R&B from the king Kelly...

Let's cut to the chase. The original version of this song is nothing more than r&b that 's been influenced by Ricky Martin. But then busting through the door with his crew comes Jigga (Jay Z) toughening the maiden effort with a lumbering bass, Kelly's surly delivery and Jay Z's authoritarian delivery.

This is beach barbecue music (that's assuming you live near a beach that isn't as filthy as the ones in the UK, with sand, not pebbles, where people won't try and bum-rush the event and eat all your food and touch up your cute cousin and her crew who are profiling in their itty, bitty thong-tha-thong-thong-thongs). The mood of the remix is undeniably carnal, lyrically nonsensical... great flirt music in fact, the sort of music that makes chicks fling their heads around like they've got long hair or seductive, long eyelashes, the sort of music that makes guys bob their heads like their a background member of the Wu Tang - unifying r&b in fact. All hail king Kelly.

soul mama

6 out of 10

Add your comment

NME Alerts

Get NME news delivered direct to your desktop. Find out more

Please sign in

Forgot your password?

Register with MyNME

Every Tuesday

  • Breaking News stories
  • All you need to know about the week's NME magazine
  • Live, Album and Track reviews
  • Tip offs about the most important Gigs
  • All the latest NME.COM video exclusives

Every Friday

  • NME.COM's free mini-magazine
  • Gig listings for the weekend
  • All the most important Album and Track reviews
  • The week's biggest News stories
  • Competitions - with exclusive music prizes
  • plus loads more!

In The Magazine

This Week's Issue
  • The ultimate guide to the week in music
  • Agenda-setting news and fiery comment
  • Must-read interviews with the planet's hottest bands
  • Hundreds of UK gigs listed every week
  • Unrivalled access to the artists that matter
  • Subscribe today and get 1/3rd off NME