LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME

Epic Records

A “sexy movement,” Yung Berg has declared in recent interviews, is in full flower.

First there was “Sexy Lady,” an exuberant, hard-to-hate slice of pop-rap on which this Chicago rapper briskly catalogs the women who fall victim to his charms. They’re divas. They carry Louis Vuitton bags. They enjoy a nice meal at Benihana. But no matter their charms, they’re never quite enough, as the song’s hook says: “It was nice to know you/ But I gotta move on.”

Soon after — too soon? — came “Sexy Can I,” a delirious collaboration between Yung Berg and the intimacy-obsessed singer Ray J. This time the Vuitton (luggage, not a handbag) belongs to Yung Berg, who mostly plays second fiddle while Ray J pants and coos. Together, though, they neatly capture the mischief of young men at play.

Both songs appear on this debut album from Yung Berg, which sticks scrupulously to the same themes, often without the charm of those two hits. He’s likeable but dull, rapping with nursery-rhyme cadence and simplicity. When he attempts intricacy, his words fall all over one another, scrambling for dry ground. (Twista, avatar of syllabic density, raps circles around him on “Where Do We Go.”)

Only in fleeting moments does Yung Berg threaten to advance the sexy movement. “Manager,” which features whispers by the singer Lloyd and a whimsical beat by Mr. ColliPark, suggests that business is sexier than pleasure. And on “One Night,” with the singer Trey Songz, Yung Berg’s cup still runneth over. “You should have known I could never settle down with you,” he chides. “I’ll see you in Atlanta when I’m bouncing through/ I got 24 hours for you.” Again Yung Berg is leaving, and he’s only just arrived.

— Jon Caramanica,

The New York Times