Kevin given two and a half stars

Taken from the August 23rd issue of People Magazine

With his Caribbean lilt and ready R&B pop hooks, St. Vincent’s native Kevin Lyttle may be today’s answer to 80s star Billy Ocean.
On Lyttle’s self-titled debut, the 26-year-old singer makes radio-friendly reggae that may not win over purists but could turn new fans on to the genre. {{more}}Which is exactly what he has done with the infectious first single, “Turn Me On”, an international hit that recently reached the Top 10 in the United States. The song, which along with 10 other tunes was co-written by Lyttle, gets its spicy groove from “soca” a fusion of calypso and soul with East Indian elements. Lyttle continues to put the dance in dance hall on beach-party tracks such as “Call Me” and “I Got it” (one of four cuts featuring Jamaican star Spragga Benz). Ultimately, though, the CD feels as light as a Caribbean breeze, and it suffers from the repetitious rhythms common in much of reggae. And when the slight-voiced Lyttle tries for a change of pace on his island flavored cover of Terence Trent D’Arby’s 1988 hit “Sign Your Name”, he fails to put his own signature on the tune.