Ollusion

Background

Omarion asked for a release from Sony BMG in early 2009, in mid-August he was announced on the roster of Lil Wayne's label Young Money Entertainment. After rumors surfaced that he was dropped for leaking "I Get It In" later that week it was proven to be false as an interview with Lil Wayne himself he stated that it was 'just business' and Omarion asked for the release. He ultimately released Ollusion on his own imprint, StarrWorld Entertainment.

Singles

"I Get It In" featuring rapper Gucci Mane, was released as the lead single from Ollusion on November 24, 2009. The song was previously recorded with Lil Wayne but re-recorded and released featuring Gucci Mane, because he had left the rapper's record label Young Money Entertainment The song as co-written by American singer-songwriter Tank, in collaboration with Omarion and J. Valentine, and produced by the duo Song Dynasty. The song peaked at number 83 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 20 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Original version of the song peaked at number 89 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Speedin'" was released January 12, 2010 as the second single. The song as written by Omarion and group 253 (Derek "D.C." Clark, Michael "M.I." Cole, Emmanuel "Peanut" Frayer and Chris "Breez" Fuller), and produced by the same. The song debuted at number 73 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 5 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. "Last Night (Kinkos)", was released May 11, 2010 as the third single. It debuted at number 88 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Official remix for the song features West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg.

Critical response

Ollusion received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 4 reviews. Allmusic's editor Andy Kellman found it "Almost all of these beats would be classified as snapping, slapping, or smacking before banging, flecked with details yet simultaneously somewhat half-assed-sounding. Given the number of partially detached vocals, filled with android-in-heat impersonations, clipped-phrase drop-ins, and messing around, it's as if Omarion wanted to make a concerted attempt to downplay his vocal ability, which only adds to the album's weird, teasing charm.". Monica Herrera of Billboard magazine wrote that the album "The set come off more like a bid for street cred than maturation. Lyrics full of hip-hop bravado over dirty, and distortion-heavy beats. But when Omarion reaches for the high notes, he shines like a seasoned star.". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that "Clunky lyrics are everywhere, undoing some of the progress Omarion has made. The otherwise lovely "Speedin'," Omarion's most convincing song here.".

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 and number seven on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with first-week sales of 19,300 copies in the United States, far below his last album, which also debuted at number one with 188,000 copies. Ollusion sold 78,000 copies as of May 4, 2012.

Track listing

Track list credits adapted from Allmusic.

Personnel

Credits for Ollusion adapted from Allmusic.