NME杂志赞誉为“英国R&B乐坛最完美、杰出的歌手”、英国权威音乐杂志Q誉为“本世纪首位英国流行乐坛巨星”，并受到U2、Jennifer Lopez、Sisqo、Usher等共事过之乐坛巨星推崇；年仅18岁以首支单曲Fill Me In勇夺全英单曲榜冠军，成为英国乐坛首位最年轻便夺下英国金榜冠军的Craig David俨然成为英国流行乐坛最佳代名词。
这位1981年5月5日出生于英国Southampton的年轻小伙子，自小于PCRS 106.5FM电台担任DJ并于Club播放歌曲，直至遇上了Artful Dodger之中的Mark Hill后改变了他一生的命运。在名制作人Mark Hill的制作与护航下，首张专辑《Born To Do It》中首支单曲Fill Me In于2000年3月，成功的夺下英国金榜冠军，顺势推出的第二支单曲7 Days也顺利的登上英国单曲榜冠军宝座。专辑于2000年夏天同时夺下英国专辑榜冠军，推出至今已缔造全球5百万张销量与全球7个国家的冠军宝座。
当99年首度亮相于Artful Dodger的年度2-Step Garage国歌单曲Rewind中时，年仅18岁的Craig David那温文尔雅的美妙嗓音早已让人过耳不忘，也理所当然成为当时锐不可挡之UK Garage风潮的最受瞩目新星。然而事实证明Craig David这位来自英国南汉普敦的大男孩远远超过大家期待，尽管单曲Fill Me In依旧包含流畅2-Step Garage元素(此曲让Craig David成为英国流行音乐史上最年轻的冠军男歌手)，但事实上他所带来以家乡生活为题材的首张专辑Born To Do It (天生好手)却是一张以Urban Soul、R&B、Hip Hop为主干的作品，写下的是英国近代Urban Music重要的一页。
也正因如此，Born To Do It不仅得以横扫英国与全球流行乐坛―曾获六项英国MOBO音乐大奖提名并累积超过七百万张的全球销售量，也在美国市场上取得极大的回响。更让乐迷所津津乐道的是单曲7 Days在美国发行时，还收录了金牌Hip Hop监制兼Guru亲密合作搭档DJ Premier操刀Remix、东岸Underground Rap名将Mos Def献声Rap的全新Hip Hop Ballad版本。
成功进军美国市场的甜美果实似乎进一步反映在新专辑的首发单曲What's Your Flava?中，清晰浓郁的西岸G-Funk韵味突显了Craig David意欲再度攻陷美国市场的强烈野心，是以这张睽违两年多的全新Follow-Up专辑Slicker Than Your Average中除了有当年慧眼识英雄提拔Craig David的前Artful Dodger成员Mark Hill与二人制作团体Ignorants(Shola Ama、Pet Shop Boys)操刀制作外，还有美国当红金牌制作单位Soulshock(Mary J Blige、Destiny's Child、Whitney Houston、2 Pac)坐镇，自然为整张专辑流畅讨喜的英国R&B风格平添不少美式Urban Soul气息。即将作为下首单曲发行的Hidden Agenda轻快的民谣乐音，颇为有趣的是2 Step Back曲如其名送上轻盈的2-Step节拍，彷佛提醒大家不要忘了他是崛起于2-Step Gage圈。
至于感伤Moody的Rise & Fall不但拥有绝对足以媲美7 Days的商业潜质，最让人瞩目的是此曲竟得到前The Police乐团主唱、英国知性男歌手Sting的跨刀。加入93年单曲Shape Of My Heart的动人旋律之余，Sting本身更重新填词并献声合唱，以前辈姿态教导新人演艺生涯的危机与陷阱，促成了两代英国流行音乐巨星难得的一次合作交流。
by Christina Fuoco
The former British teen sensation kicked off his singing career with the stellar Grammy-nominated Born to Do It, which blended 2-step, R&B, and pop. With his second release, Slicker Than Your Average, Craig David shows a different side. While Born to Do It was filled with romantic lyrics, Slicker Than Your Average shares David's feelings about fame, with a small dose of his trademark love songs. On the title track, David takes a stab at those who criticize his "squeaky clean" image and musical style: "Now they're telling me that I'm too R&B/How I turned my back on the whole UK garage scene/Now they're stressing me when/I know there's so much more to see." Broken hearts and playing the field are prominent topics as well. Musically, Slicker Than Your Average is a collage of styles -- dance ("What's Your Flava?," "Eenie Meenie," "Fast Cars") and 2-step ("2 Steps Back") as well as R&B/pop ballads ("World Filled With Love" and "Rise & Fall"). "Rise & Fall," a song featuring a guest vocal by Sting, is among the highlights on the album, as are "You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til the Well Runs Dry)," "What's Your Flava?," and the Beatlesque "World Filled With Love," which is filled with soaring harmonies. Slicker Than Your Average is stronger than the average sophomore effort, and it proves that Craig David's abilities are innate.
