Ms Jade :
Girl Interrupted- Jive Records.

Release date: 26 November, 2002

Album review by: B.Malkani

1. Voice, The/Intro

2. Jade's A Champ

3. She's A Gangsta

4. Come Up, The

5. Ching Ching - (featuring Nelly Furtado)

6. Rock Your Body

7. Ching Ching - (featuring Timbaland, Part Two)

8. Last Night

9. Interlude

10. Count It Off - (featuring Jay-Z)

11. Really Don't Want My Love - (featuring Missy Elliot)

12. Dead Wrong - (featuring Nate Dogg)

13. Feel The Girl

14. Big Head

15. Different

16. Why U Tell Me That - (featuring Lil' Mo)

17. Keep Ur Head Up - (featuring Nesh)

Philadelphia has introduced many talented artists into the hiphop/soul industry from The Roots to Musiq Soulchild, not to mention off course Jill Scott and the first lady from the Ruff Ryder camp, Eve. Ms Jade fits in nicely as the new addition to the Philly family. The album, 'Girl Interrupted' features singles 'Feel the Girl' and 'Ching Ching' featuring Nelly Furtado. If you’re a big fan of Timbaland production, you will definitely love this CD as Mr Timbo is allllllll over it; all but for one track produced by, who other then Pharell from the Neptunes.

You can tell this CD is straight out of Philly - For one the influences from Eve are all over the place, especially on the song 'Keep you Head Up' which bares some resemblance to Eve’s 'Love is Blind'. Nonetheless, you can most definitely give credit to Ms Jade as she flows well throughout the entire CD. Naturally, she covers most of the general topics but I guess in today’s hiphop game, its more about who you roll with (in this case its Timbaland, Missy and Tweet)and the way you portray yourself, in which Ms Jade has exhibited creativity.

Comparing Ms Jade to female rappers such as Lil’Kim and Trina would be a big mistake as Ms Jade does not sell herself on sex, but rather on topics such as being a gangster, note the tracks 'She’s A Gangster' and 'Step Up', which warn other emcees that they should only ‘step up’ if they wanna get hurt by her Philly attitude.

Lyrically, my favorite song would have to be 'Different'. Here, she spits lyrics about fitting into society and how, no matter what a person does, they can never please the rest of us. “If a ni**er got girls then he’s considered a pro / If a girl got ni**ers then she’s considered a hoe / If a white person hangs out with blacks he’s considered a wigga / And if a black person hangs around with blacks then he’s considered a ni**er.”

On 'Ching Ching part two', Ms Jade kills the track effortlessly as well as the hot track 'Dead Wrong', which features Nate Dogg. Also watch out for the middle interlude, which is nicely mixed in with “Count it Off” featuring Jay Z and 'Really Don’t Want My Love' with Missy, which discusses a failed relationship. Another
track which I love is 'Big Head', where Ms Jades lyrics lie nicely over Timbaland's beats, complimenting her style perfectly.

This debut has an ideal mix of cross over songs, everything from radio classics,
to party anthems to, chillin’ with your people tracks. Ms Jade attracts your attention on each, with her commanding voice, in which her style is a cross between Foxy Brown and Eve. Ms Jade collaborates with artists such as Jigga, Lil Mo, Tweet and Nelly Furtardo, which are immaculately mixed in with a lounge as well as a party feel using Arabic/Spanish and Indian samples. Ms Jade proves she can be a radio head as well as a gangster. With the usual hot Timbaland beats, its no wonder this ‘champ’ could not go wrong and it is clear that this female rapper will not be a girl interrupted.

Rating 3.5 out of 5.

Top 3 Ms Jade Joints:

3. She's a gangster
7. Ching Ching part 2
11. Really don't want my Love.

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