Backstory: As America's reigning second-fiddle, Kelly Rowland has done surprisingly well for herself despite having to live in the perpetual shadow of her better known Destiny's Child compatriot, Beyoncé Knowles. Rowland's 2002 solo debut, "Simply Deep" paled in sales next to Beyoncé's "Dangerously in Love," but it did spawn a number one hit: "Dilemma" featuring Nelly, which also won the 2003 Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Five years and several conceptual redirections later, Rowland returns with her second solo offering, "Ms. Kelly."
Why you should care: Rowland's debut was full of slightly more experimental takes on R&B than her work with Destiny's Child, and her sales reflected it. "Ms. Kelly" is clearly intended to speak to the hood. On the opener, "Like This" featuring Eve, Rowland goes so far as to shout out her "six-fo" as she glides over a slick acoustic drum-based Polow Da Don beat. Switching into a delivery that would best be described as "middle eastern," Rowland does her best to make it bounce on "Comeback," one of two Scott Storch productions she was fortunate enough to snag.
Verdict: Whether or not her new urban artistic direction has anything to do with Beyoncé's untouchable street credibility is up for debate, but short of taking up with Fabolous, Rowland as hip-hop diva is not a bad look. Given the overall bangability of this effort, odds are she'll have several songs in high rotation this summer.
X-factor: For any new image to work, Rowland needs to choose her public appearances more carefully. There's something slightly suspect about someone who has co-hosted "The View" singing "The way you talk to me/You know how I like it, boy/Ghetto, so ghetto/That's how my baby rolls," on a track called "Ghetto." Not even a contribution from Snoop Dogg overcomes the thought of Kelly kickin' it with Barbara Walters.
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