Born to Do It Tracks
1. Fill Me In
2. Can't Be Messing 'Round
3. Rendezvous
4. 7 Days
5. Follow Me
6. Key to My Heart
7. Last Night
8. Walking Away
9. Time To Party
10. Booty Man
11. Once In A Lifetime
12. You Know What
13. Rewind
Born to Do It Review
After laying down a memorable vocal on Artful Dodger's "Re-Wind," the biggest hit to date of the latest U.K.-spawned dance craze known as two-step, Craig David's debut record carries lofty expectations. Born out of the R&B/hip-hop and U.K. garage styles of artists like Romanthony, MJ Cole, and Timbaland, with dashes of spastic drum & bass-style rhythms and DJ scratches, two-step is waiting for its first major breakthrough. On his debut full-length, Born to Do It, it's immediately obvious that this breakthrough won't be supplied by David, only because his style isn't really proper two-step at all. His smooth tenor and hip-hop-oriented, verse-chorus-verse song structures are much more in line with the urban soul and new jack swing sound of artists like R. Kelly, Sisqo, and D'Angelo. Still, for an artist who just turned 20, this is an incredibly assured record with a sweet, romantic core that only a cold cynic could deride as youthful naiveté. In addition, while only occasionally hinting at the darker passions of true two-step, the record drips with an advanced rhythmic sense that manifests itself everywhere, from the clever wordplay in the lyrics of songs like "Fill Me In" and "7 Days" to the bells-and-whistles production on the giddy "Time to Party." For those after a true introduction to two-step, there are better choices (start with MJ Cole's Sincere, the Vital 2Step collection, or just jump a plane to London and go club-hopping), but still enjoy this record for its boyish pleasures, teasing sexuality, and irresistible grooves. --Matthew Cooke