Review
For better or worse, each generation of R&B singers tries to delve deeper into the topic of sex as if increasingly graphic descriptions might penetrate its mysteries. On this solo outing by Dru Hill's flamboyant frontman, sex is the topic du jour.
The silver-topped Sisqo is a compelling figure: As a singer, he possesses the power and soulful roughness of classic rhythm & blues artists. In collaboration with producers Montell Jordan, Babyface, and others, he's created a cutting-edge album that goes beyond the Dru Hill formula. All of this makes Unleash the Dragon a provocative listen. However, without the other Dru Hill members (who appear on "Addicted"), Sisqo occasionally lets his lyrics slip into the puerile.

On the mid-tempo swooner "Your Love Is Incredible," great sex is the prerequisite to love; the slow drag "How Can I Love You Tonight?" finds Sisqo telling another man's woman that it's wrong to be with her, apparently while between the sheets. On the banging single, "Got to Get," Sisqo promises sexual and material compensation, if only his lust object will "let me hit, let me hit it …"

More ambitious is "The Thong Song," which grafts "Eleanor Rigby" strings over a brisk drum track as Sisqo growls, hollers, and raps. This is a great composition; one can't help wishing it were about more than a scrap of lingerie. Sisqo's softer side emerges on "Incomplete," a ballad that explains that money and fame are nothing without love. A curiosity is "Enchantment Passing Through" from the Tim Rice-Elton John musical Aïda, a pop ballad that provides Sisqo's most nuanced performance.

Unleash the Dragon is not any more sex obsessed than other albums by young R&B artists (something Sisqo's fans won't mind); it's just that his sheer talent demands a broader thematic canvas.