Q (1/01, p.94) - Included in Q's "50 Best Albums of 2000".
Q (3/00, p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...on the strength of this, [SisQo] looks set to enjoy a bank account-friendly solo career. The recent single, 'Got To Get It', is a scintillating slab of R&B....Like most of [his] tunes, it's about sex..."
Muzik (4/00, p.106) - 4 out of 5 - "...Showcasing both his and fellow band member Nokio's growing production skills....this is a new Dru Hill album in all but name."
The Source (1/00, p.194) - "...all the crisp, clean vocals and predictable, yet satisfying synthesizer instrumentation of any Dru Hill tune...
Personnel includes: Sisqo, Dru Hill, Make It Hot, Lovher (vocals); Beanie Sigel, Ja Rule, Nokio (rap vocals); Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds (various instruments); Bruce Dukov (violin); Nate Morring (piano); Jae Dea (keyboards, bass); N8 (keyboards); Jarod Barnes (drums, percussion); Kiehl (programming); Shae Jones, Butler (background vocals).
Producers include: Sisqo, Nokio, Montell Jordan, Warren Campbell, Babyface.
Engineers include: Jane Fairchild, CJ Devilla, Anthony Jeffries.
Recorded at Larrabee West, Los Angeles, California; The Tracken Place, Los Angeles, California; Enterprise Studios, Burbank, California; Record Plant, North Hollywood, California.
UNLEASH THE DRAGON was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, Sisqo was nominated for Best New Artist and "Thong Song" was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and for Best R&B Song.
Since 1995, whenever he hasn't been guesting on tracks by artists like Mya, Sisqo has been cutting his teeth with Baltimore's gritty soulsters Dru Hill. On UNLEASH THE DRAGON, he unfurls his soulful, sultry, and sensual voice in the solo arena. While the backbeats are of the Teddy Riley stop-start variety, his baritone vocals are like those of Luther, with just a touch of a Teddy growl. While the lyrics don't cover any new ground, do soul torch-songers really need to explore new topics? Love, after all, is eternal.
Sisqo is aided in his coming out by a requisite cast of rappers. He chose the perfect reggae-drenched toasters for UNLEASH THE DRAGON in Beanie Sigel on the title track and in the underappreciated Ja Rule on the remix of "You Are Everything." The latter is one of the more alluring male siren songs, the best urban hang joint this side of Maxwell's best efforts; that is, of course, unless you also consider "Your Love Is Incredible" or "Incomplete." Okay, so Sisqo doesn't stray far from the Dru Hill formula, but it's an appealing formula that makes for an auspicious debut.
