Shai's 1992 debut, If I Ever Fall In Love, reached number three

on the Billboard R&B chart and number six on the pop chart. Their next

two efforts, Right Back At Cha (1993) and Blackface

(1995), didn't do quite as well commercially. And so with flagging sales

and minor single rotation, the quartet was dropped from its label (MCA)

and producer Carl Martin abandoned the group in order to pursue a solo

career.

Now on Big Play Records, a more mature Shai are looking to get their

groove back. Unfortunately, the band seems destined for one-hit-wonder

status. The new album is more blunder than wonder, the group a mere

shadow of a once-vibrant R&B ensemble. "He's Doing You Wrong" and "Can't

Stop The Rain" are refried concept songs with cheesy spoken-word

introductions. "It's Hard When You Love Someone," is a powerful acoustic

song that might have mainstream appeal were there polished lyrics,

which, well, there aren't.

The best songs here are collaborations between Shai and other artists.

The bouncy title track, "Destiny," features the Blastmaster, KRS-1,

serving up razor-sharp rhymes as the threesome approaches perfection.

Their sexy collaboration with missjones on "Hold On To Love" captures

the lovely R&B falsettos that Shai do so well. And "Before I Go"

showcases a lazy, Lenny Kravitz-like funk. But overall, Destiny

sounds flat and strained. And without the help of original producer

Martin, Shai's beats are dull and relatively charmless.