A diehard perfectionist, he was the guiding light of one of the most technically precise R&B quartets ever. He drops multi-platinum albums and blockbuster films like hand grenades. He’s garnered nominations from every major music award, such as the Grammys, BET, and MTV. He’s a lyrical lothario that ignites ladies of all ages with raw sensuality. He’s the boss of his own StarWorld imprint, directs his own music videos, and dictates his own destiny. He is Omarion, and he makes it all look effortless.

After four years away from studio and stage, Omarion is back with a vengeance. And the content of Ollusion, his third LP,is bathed in erotic subject matter, descriptive song lyrics, and sophisticated musicality, and demonstrates just how Omarion has matured along with his core listeners.

For his jump off single, “Get It In,” featuring Gucci Mane, Omarion reconnected with Song Dynasty, who was responsible for making the single “O” such a huge success. “A lot of people expect ballads from me, but on this song, I was able to just gig. It was the right record to showcase my swag.” The track lurches and reverberates as Omarion sneers his lyrics: “I be so L.A. / Got my chucks and my locs on/ I was in M.I.A. and M.I.A. superman on,” as whistles and horns take turns punctuating the stripped down rhythm bed. It’s a cut that’s begging for next level choreography, and Omarion delivers it on the video. “We’re raising the bar in terms of difficulty, and we’re doing things that are highly difficult to do while singing,” says Omarion. “I just want people to say, ‘Wow.’”

The swag doesn’t stop with “Hoodies,” as a liquid percussion track bubbles up from a future primitive soundscape. Omarion reps for hoodie rocking 80s babies everywhere with this 253 produced track. For the video, Omarion created a visual experience the combines “Billy Jean” and “Beat It,” in one thrilling masterpiece. “I’m cut from the cloth of Michael Jackson,” says Omarion. “Because Michael passed away, it’s a torch that I have to keep alive. I’ve studied his videos and Motown 25 so many times. I’m in that bloodline.”

He’s also taken a page from another soul-pop legend, Rick James, for “Code Red.” Using his best robo voice, Omarion slays this dance floor anthem, as he transmits: “She’s a very freaky girl/ you don’t bring home to mama…First you get the name and then you get the numbah!”

On “Speed’n,” Omarion turns his focus on a girl who’s hurting. Over the tragic and melodious 253 produced track, he wails, “When I looked over my shoulder/ It got a little bit colder/ It’s like I lost love from an angel/ Now I feel like a stranger” as a military style drum pushes the track along. “She needs love to survive,” explains Omarion, “and I’m the only one who can give her the amount of love needed to save her. I’m racing back to her love.”

He grapples with his own nagging suspicion that he’s got an unfaithful bisexual lover on “Bi” and then tempers his own lust for an interoffice affair on “Temptation.” The everyday details of cubicle life re-emerges in “Kinko’s,” a track comprised of strategically programmed high hats and a simple piano melody that holds the track together. After listening to Omarion’s sultry vocals on “Kinko’s,” you’ll never look at a copy machine the same way again.

Known for his sensual ballads, Omarion’s “Wet” is the aural equivalent of satin sheets, with its spare and pounding rhythm track and oozing vocal style. O’s graphic lyrics about whip cream and baby oils keep this song unpredictable and exciting.

As Omarion heads towards his album release, which takes place January 12, 2010, O reflects on his legacy. He says he’s a first rate entertainer who doesn’t act like a typical R&B superstar. “I just hope people recognize the realness and the honesty inside of me.”

Omarion’sstory begins naturally in his mother’s womb. Leslie Burrell, a promising young ballet dancer, was only 16 in 1984 when she realized that she was pregnant with the future OmariGrandberry. She kept her pregnancy on the low as she continued to perform. “We were doing recitals together while I was still in her belly,” says Omarion with a chuckle. Growing up in Inglewood, Calif., Omarionsays he benefited mightily from his mother’s gentle encouragement to grow and develop as a dancer. By five he was rocking his own recitals, the rhythm and movement percolating in his bloodstream.

It was around this time that the visionaryChris Stokes came into young Omari’s life and grew to become a father figure. Chris was a talent manager, a record producer, and eventually a movie director. He built B2K from the ground up, putting the members through hours of rehearsals, enforcing a strict disciplinary code, and molding the artistic vision of the band.

“B2K helped prepare me for what I am now,” says Omarion. “A lot of people don’t understand how much training we did. We never stopped. We were always rehearsing, traveling, dancing, and performing. We were kids, but it wasn’t about anything else. We liked to play video games but we had to spend our days as entertainers. The repetition in practicing our craft was humongous; it helped me prepare for the type of focus that I have now.”

By 2004, the group dissolved due to internal differences, but B2K still had one lasthurrahwithYou Got Served. Stokes wrote and directed the dance film to showcase the band’s prodigious talent and Omarion’s solo-worthy charisma. The film was an enormous success, and set a record for the highest grossing film on any Superbowl Weekend. More acting projects soon followed as Omarion appeared in The Bernie Mac Show, Fat Albert, and the horror flick Somebody Help Me.

Omarion hungers for more roles that will challenge his inner thespian. “I haven’t yet been able to do the type of movie that would showcase the type of actor that I can be,” says Omarion “I want to do a cop movie, an action movie, aMatrixor a Lord of the Rings. I can do sci-fi, and I can be a superhuman. I just don’t want to be typecast fordance movies.”

Until then, Omarioncan focus on his glittering solo career. His two previous albums debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.His 2005 debut, O, revolved around a slinky breakout title track written and produced by Song Dynasty, also known as the R&B singer Tank. Then the following year, he hit ‘em again with 21,an LP which proclaimed his newly legal status with a set of tunes like the swinging “Entourage” and the sultry “Ice Box.”

Sony/Columbia was the only record label Omarion had ever known, and yet he grew dissatisfied with company staffing issues, sensing that his projects stalled as a result. Still, Omarion’s four-year break gave the entertainer a chance to recharge creatively and spiritually. “Of course, I’ve been honing my skills and learned a couple of life lessons,” he says. Working ceaselessly since the age of 15, Omarion needed the pause.

“When you’re on the road, it’s a regiment. You go to radio, you get on the bus, you perform. It’s a set way of living,” says Omarion. “Habits come out of that, like throwing away your dirty drawers instead of doing the laundry like normal people. You don’t think about having a dirty clothes hamper.” Omarion savored the space to explore real relationships with women. He sheared off his trademark rows. He handled his own dirty laundry, literally and figuratively, and strategized his reentry into the music business.

Timbaland had masterfully assembled “Ice Box” a few years prior and O thought that he could roll with the V.A. producer’s label, but Omarion says,“Things didn’t work out.” Then in early 2009, he explored a label deal with Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money label. But that too ended prematurely due to “a conflict of timing,” says Omarion. Just asOtook issue with Wayne’s plan to put his red-hot third album on ice, EMI approached him with the possibility of a StarWorld distribution deal. Omarion seized the offer.

“This distribution deal with EMI is a blessing for a 25-year-old artist like me,” says O. “A lot of record companies own more of the artist and eat off of your creative efforts. My position allows me to receive some compensation for all of my creations. I own my own masters. I’m an entrepreneur, and I wear different hats.” And knowing Omarion, he’ll wear them with style.

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