Looking at the charts today, with it's many DJ-hosted posse cuts and producer-as-"rapper" vanity offerings, the notion of strictly being a behind-the -scenes hit crafter has been replaced with the "I wanna be a star in my own right" ideal of our instant-celeb reality show/ YouTube culture. Add ATL songwriter/ producer Sean Garrett to that ever-growing list. Following in the footsteps of The-Dream, Garrett, the man behind Usher's "Yeah", Destiny's Child's "Lose My Breath" and Chris Brown's "Run It", has opted on using his chart-savvy song-crafting knowledge to make his own R&B star dreams come true.

The carnal "Grippin' On The Bed" marks his premiere in front of the mic, and while it shows that Garrett isn't the best singer (his whiny, high-pitched vocals will have you reaching for the volume dial on first listen), his know-how when it comes to winning melodies and hot hooks makes this a decent debut.

His non-flashy frame leading to a brush-off reaction from a fox he meets on the street (she's more into the "boys with big toys"), once Sean breaks it down what he does and how much he's actually worth, her interest suddenly piques. Within moments, he's got the dollar-sign-dreamer in the titular position screaming for mercy while the next-door neighbors bang on the walls begging them to 'quiet down'.

After an appealing build-up on the first verse, Garrett unfortunately drops the ball, spending the rest of the record annoyingly stroking his loverman super-ego (once, can we have a male singer who admits to average bed skills?), but the track's ear-friendly lullaby-soul treatment makes up for the eye-rolling detour into typical conceitedness. Ludacris, who can never let a sex song go by without his input, pops up on the tail-end, his malleable flow and top-notch one-liners ("Sit your five dollar ass down cause I'm gon' make some change") helping make Garrett's transition into the spotlight a successful one.



DL: "Grippin' On The Bed" (YFH)