Point 5ve formerly known as Lil’ ½ Dead is a 51 year old singer/songwriter & former rapper from Los Angeles, California who dropped his full-length debut The Dead Has Arisen & the sophomore effort Steel on a Mission under Priority Records back in the mid-90s. He returned in 2012 for his 3rd album Dead Serious to generally more mixed reception compared to his major label output & over a decade later, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg has signed him to Death Row Records distributed by gamma. to reinvent himself for a new extended play stylistically departing from the g-funk sound in favor of an R&B direction.
“Grown Man Business” featuring October London on the remix finds the pair singing about maturity while the funky “Unseen Life” produced by Uncle Snoop explains half of his life is nothing more than a film to him. The title track ends the 1st half singing about not being the same as he was while “Now or Never” encourages to wing it & not look back. “Finish Line” describes a relationship falling apart & “Keep It Warm” featuring Kanobby finishes with a duet about companionship.
Dead Serious came out back when I was in high school & regardless of that still not holding up compared Lil’ ½ Dead’s earlier material back in the day, Take a Look at Me Now marks a welcoming celebration of this new era in his career. The production’s obviously much smoother than his earlier material & I’m sure some will find themselves disappointed with the lack of rapping on here, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear how well he could sing.
Score: 7/10