Keke Wyatt

Wyatt, if you can't guess by the ultra-generic title, is yet another hip-hop diva wannabe. Early in her career she was in a nascent version of what would become Destiny's Child, and she uses them and Mary J. Blige as blueprints for her debut. The LP is produced, written and played by Steve Huff, so in many ways it's as much his LP as it is Wyatt's. Wyatt has overdubbed multiple vocals to obtain the now-standard intersecting vocal lines and contrasting background harmonies. If she's smart, next time around (if there is one) she'll stamp a little more of herself onto the record, because her vocals are the only facet that rises above the mundane. All that overdubbing reinforces the sterility and claustrophobia that coats everything in a slick sheen; some of us prefer a tad more spontaneity and genuine grit. Still, this is state of the art 21st century R&B, whether it's for better or worse, depends on you, I guess.