Tracklist
1. Ai Ai Ai
2. Shu Li Zhen
3. Ge Shou Yu Mo Te Er
4. Ai! Feat. Fama
5. Si Ren You Feat. Fiona Sit
6. Shou Tuo Shou
7. Tou Xiao
8. Goodbye Melody Rose
9. Shi Ren De Qing Ren
10. Tuo Nan Dai Nu
11. Love Interlude
12. If you leave me now
13. Chun Feng Cui Zhi Cui Cui Feng (Mix)

Ai Ai Ai uses an interesting mix of strings and Khalil’s calm beats. The strings give the song a real classical feel but the rhythms are clearly soul, and it combines for a really pleasant song. I love everything about this song: the melodies, the lyrics, and rhythms. Even though “ai” is repeated, it doesn’t sound old or repetitive. Around the end, he’s backed up by a bunch of people and it sounds great.

Shu Li Zhen picks up the pace a little, using clapping and a lone violin. I especially like the chorus melody, which is a little sweet but definitely retains his light R&B and soul genre. This track has a happy and upbeat feeling to it, but at the same time there’s a little sadness.

Ge Shou Yu Mo Te Er starts off with acoustic guitar and I like the different kinds of percussion instruments he uses in the arrangements, which give each piece more individuality. The internal rhythms in the chorus are really nice and sometimes this song gives me a country feel. I don’t really like country that much, but I like this song.

The chorus in Ai! has a really catchy rhythm. Most of the time they are just backed up the beats but at some points there’s also a piano. There’s also a rap here. This is a pretty good song, I suppose, but I’m always annoyed with it by the end.

I really really like Si Ren You. It starts off with a conversation between two friends (ex-es?) that at the same time is sweet and heart breaking. Like in the chorus, they sing “I guess after all, we can only just be friends.” The song is really actually a conversation but still sung - at the beginning they talk about each other’s boyfriend/girlfriend. The melody is so great and their voices go together so well. I just love it.

Shou Tuo Shou has a jazzy feeling to it with the bass as its beat and big-band brass. I love the fun and upbeat feeling to this track. It’s kind of short, though, not even three minutes long. This piece, especially, shows how many genres his fuses together.

Tou Xiao goes back his usual simplistic style with just his beat and a couple of select instruments backing up his soulful singing. The chorus is especially good but the verses don’t stick out too much. For some reason his voice sounds a little off, but besides that it’s a good piece.

I’ve always liked Goodbye Melody Rose. I think it’s the ominous piano melody that plays throughout the entire song. There’s also some string parts in here, which just further the ominous and hurried feeling. Plus the melodies are really well done as well.

Shi Ren De Qing Ren has some really interesting, very ethnic sounding instrumentation. I don’t really like the verses that much, but the chorus is really well done, especially the vocal back-up which sounds just impeccable.

Tuo Nan Dai Nu is a pretty fun track, with its bouncy tempo and rhythms. Everything about this track has this “feel good” vibe. What’s really interesting about this song is that all the lyrics are repeated, except translated into English. And what’s really great is that is sound so good both ways. The beats and rhythms are so good and I really like the piano and string parts in the arrangement.

Love Interlude is similar to his Prologue in his debut album. It’s Khalil just talking a bit with a computerized voice in the background listing off the definitions of love.

If you leave me now is an R&B flavored ballad. It’s all in English and Khalil’s English is perfect, as expected. I really love this song because the melody is so sweet and the tempo is perfect. I love how he varies parts of the verses/melody near the end. As much as I love sweeping arrangements and complex pieces, simplicity is always welcome because who doesn’t like a classic sound?

Chun Feng Cui Zhi Cui Cui Feng is a remix of Chun Feng Cui from his first album. It’s really beautiful, but keeps the best parts of the original track.

Khalil Fong’s second album continues with his fresh mix of hip-hop and soul. Actually,Ai Ai Ai was the first album I listened to from Khalil. I was really taken by his melding of different genres, not to mention how diverse his influences seem to be. A few of the songs are pretty reminiscent of a few tracks off his debut album, but as a whole this is a very strong album - and definitely worth a listen, even if you think you won’t like it (seriously!).

Buy this album: CD + DVD

Tracklist
1. Prologue
2. Mei Mei
3. Chun Feng Chui
4. Mei Tian Mei Tian
5. Nu Ren
6. Jiao Wo Zen Me Shuo
7. Na Pa
8. Nan Yin
9. Wo Men Neng Bu Neng
10. Tiao
11. Zong Jie
12. Gan Chang
13. Deng Zhe Ni Hui Lai

Soulboy is Khalil Fong’s debut album, released on November 18, 2005. It’s in Mandarin, despite the fact that he is actually based in Hong Kong. The compositions are a mix of soul and R&B and though I don’t usually like genres like this too often, I really enjoyed this album. It’s worth a listen even if you don’t like soul too much.

The Prologue is just a short spoken introduction with some beats behind it. It’s outwardly in English, but in the background the Mandarin and Cantonese counterparts are spoken.

The first track, Mei Mei (meaning little sister) was dedicated to his cousin who had just turned 18 at the time, how sweet! The beats and rhythms are very catchy and the little instrumentals in the back are super nice. I also like the chorus melody especially; it’s been in my head a lot lately.

Chun Feng Chui is mostly a capella, with the exception of the shaker as the beats and a short piano interlude. I love love the chorus here, but what is really outstanding about this song is the rhythm of the lyrics. The backing vocals sort act as the instrumentation that’s missing and it gives the entire song a really unique sound.

The first ballad-y song is Mei Tian Mei Tian. I really like the guitar especially in the arrangement. The rhythm is great, but it’s not as pronounced as the previous songs, which make it feel a bit softer than the rest. The chorus is nice, but I like the verse melody more.

Next is one my favorites off the album, Nu Ren. The beats are really nice and I love the rhythm in the verses. But I especially love the chorus; the melody, rhythm, lyrics are all just so good.
I also really liked the strings in the arrangement.

I don’t particularly like Jiao Wo Zen Me Shou. The beat is really nice and the short beat-boxing in the middle is rather interesting, but I didn’t feel that the melodies were too special. Or memorable.

Na Pa has a bit of a bossa-nova feel, mostly because of the arrangement. The beat is still there, but not prominently at all. The melodies are nice and there’s a sweet little interlude in the middle.

Nan Yin starts off with a sad piano melody and later incorporates more elements. I especially like the pace of the lyrics, which is a bit quicker than rest. The repetition in the chorus is also rather good, pretty catchy. The arrangement is also especially nice.

Wo Men Neng Bu Neng goes back the nice beats and guitar melodies. The arrangement has a few extra little elements, giving the song a bit of individuality. I also really like the chorus of this piece.

The next song, Tiao, starts off super nice beats and awesome rhythms in the verse. There is a lot of repetition in it. There’s also a short rap section, but it’s slightly different from standard rap sounds.

I really like the simple guitar part in Zong Jie. The shaker is also nice. I like the melodies; they’re rather pretty and sweet, especially the chorus. The simplicity in the verse is also nice. The slight differences in the ending to the chorus spice it up a little.

Next is Gan Chang. I like the catchy beats, but the chorus is especially nice. It’s slightly fast-paced and the simple melody is quite nice. I also like the arrangement, especially the strings and the little piano solo at the end.

The last track is Deng Zhe Ni Hui Lai is a remake of a Chinese oldie. I’ve never heard the original, but this version feel very fresh and modern. It’s very repetitive, but the same melody is never repeated too often. The beats are also especially nice.

There’s also a hidden track. It starts off with a conversation in a cafe with a woman in mostly Cantonese. As for the actual song, it’s like the rest of the album. The beat and rhythms are nice and I like the brass parts. The chorus is also pretty good.