Chico DeBarge's Musical "Addiction"

When you're born into a musical dynasty like Chico DeBarge falling far from the family tree simply isn't an option. The youngest of the DeBarge clan welcomes back his devotees with an introspective junior offering, "Addiction," a harmonic dependency strong enough to lure his fans from any withdrawal from 1997's "Long Time No See" by inducing a soulful seduction. From the horn-infused, foreplay-by-play anthems "Tell Your Man" featuring Joe and "Hey U," to the provocative "I Want U" and "I Forgot Your Name," DeBarge recounts the joys and perils of love like the bad boy that every good girl willingly falls prey. No stranger to assuaging the ladies with his falsetto, clean shaven head and smoldering features, Chico admits that unlike his indie project, "The Game," this album "is more like my first one and I chose to return to that formula because it worked for me."

Despite his album's title, Chico admits he's never been a sex addict, he's never balked at inquiries about his family's sordid history with drug addiction or his own. In 2003, DeBarge found himself addicted to the pain killer oxycontin, after healing from a knife wound he got during an assault at a Philly show. "My brothers and sisters didn't do the actual drugs around me but I still had a propensity to be addicted to drugs. However, I had it easier when it came to kicking my habit because it wasn't a lifestyle for me where I craved it emotionally or psychologically or my friends were addicts and I might be tempted to start using again. Every morning I wake up and I start the war with addiction because I'm not going to let it start with me." See, ladies, that's the kind of soldier and man we can't help but love and support by copping his album.