Ms. Jade: Girl Interrupted

Girl Interrupted marks the full-length debut of Philadelphia's Ms. Jade, but listeners might experience a sense of déjà vu upon listening to the album's first single, "Ching Ching." Jade sounds eerily like Eve, with whom she shares more than just a hometown: Her round-the-way-girl-with-a-grudge persona echoes Eve's feminine and fierce image. If that weren't enough, on Girl's intro, Timbaland calls Jade a "wolf in a dress," an image that can't help but bring to mind Eve, a self-described "pitbull in a skirt." There's an unmistakable "Is it Eve" quality to Jade's debut, but Jade has one big advantage over the first lady of the Ruff Ryders: Girl was produced almost entirely by Timbaland, one of hip-hop's best, most popular, and most sought-after producers. Consequently, the result is a Timbaland album much in the same way Clipse's Lord Willin' was a Neptunes album. Having one of rap's most revered producers in her corner gives Jade a head start, and she needs it. Like Missy Elliott, she devotes much of the album to attacking fakes, no-good men, and back-stabbing friends–when will a rapper finally come out with an album defending these much-defamed folks–;but she lacks Elliott's weird wit and playful delivery. Lyrically, Jade comes out pummeling, but Timbaland's squiggly synths and inventive production carry the album. Ms. Jade doesn't carve out a distinct identity until Girl Interrupted's last few songs, but the producer's beat wizardry still helps make her debut better than any of Eve's records.