The Introduction of Marcus Cooper

Album Review

On his own, and a little grown-up, Pleasure P switches from the bluntly detailed encounters of Pretty Ricky to relationships on The Introduction of Marcus Cooper. It's not that the singer has forsaken obviousness altogether — lines like "Deep sea diving in your treasure/I'm giving you all this pleasure" leave nothing to the imagination — but the crudeness has been severely reduced, and even when it peeks through, it tends to be within the context of monogamy, not conquests. Unsurprisingly, Pleasure P excels most when he's at his most refined, when he's not trying to raise eyebrows, and when there's space in the arrangements, as on "Your Love" (which cleverly incorporates the chorus from Cheryl Lynn's "Encore"), "Did You Wrong" (a lullaby-like ballad in which he takes to a knee before his woman), and "Fire Lovin" (which spends more time on the wining and dining). A treat for those who liked what the singer brought to Pretty Ricky but who couldn't get past the sleaze overload.