The difference between the smooth R&B for lovers made by most vocal groups and what we get from brothers Joel "JoJo" Hailey and Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey is soul. The pair sings with the thunderous, lung-busting testimonial fervor you'd expect from guys raised in the Pentecostal church of North Carolina. Coupled with the chops they worked out as half of Jodeci, it's no wonder the duo's aptly titled Emotional makes many other R&B records seem anemic by comparison, even if K-Ci and JoJo mine the same lyrical turf. Ergo, pronouncements of eternal devotion in songs like "I Don't Want" (anybody else but you) and "Down for Life" (written and produced by Babyface) are propelled as much by K-Ci and JoJo's dulcet tones as they are by the lush layers of strings and synth. If only that feral beast called love was as consistently pleasing as these two. --Kim Hughes
