Raven: This Is My Time

By Lady C

Fresh out of high school, Raven-Symone is ready to break into the music industry with a new identity.

“This Is My Time” is not her first album. She released “Here’s to New Dreams” at age 8 and, in 1999, released “Undeniable.”

The entertainment industry has been Raven’s home since she was 3, playing the role of Olivia on “The Cosby Show.” Now she has her own Disney shows: the series “That’s So Raven” and TV-movie “The Cheetah Girls.”

With this kind of past, it’s hard to accept the older artist she’s trying to be. Raven has the looks down pat, but her focus is a bit off.

The album has a good sound, but it leans toward the teen crowd – not good for the adult she wants to be seen as.

The only song on which she halfway accomplishes sophisticated lyrics is “Overloved.” In it, she says: “I need to find somebody, who can’t sleep at night/Without holding me/Without holding me tight/I want someone who sees me, all the time in their dreams/And then wakes up, thinking just of me/Spent time on my own/Spent time living free/Now I just want to be, overloved.”

The potential for Ms. Raven-Symone is there. She’s young and still needs to find her identity outside Disney. Maybe the fourth album will be her “time.”