Eve: Scorpion

Few hip-hop acts have made as auspicious a debut as Eve, whose first album and stellar verses on The Roots' transcendent "You Got Me" and Missy Elliott's "Hot Boyz" remix announced her as the most promising female rapper since Elliott or Lauryn Hill. Mixing swagger with playful sexuality, Eve represented a new sort of hip-hop archetype: the strong, assertive, undeniably feminine "pit bull in a skirt" who loves her man but refuses to be defined by their relationship. For her follow-up, the Philly native has expanded her sound, complementing the usual stable of homegrown Ruff Ryders talent with the likes of Teena Marie, Gwen Stefani, Damian and Stephen Marley, and Dr. Dre. The most impressive of these collaborations are "Let Me Blow Your Mind" and "That's What It Is," a pair of Dre-produced tracks that teasingly suggest what Eve can do when paired with one of hip-hop's best producers. Her sound and worldview have evolved, as well: Where her debut's "Gotta Man" reveled in the giddy infatuation of idealized love, Scorpion offers a more ambiguous take on male-female relationships. Taking a cue from Alanis Morissette, Eve tears into a trifling ex-boyfriend with the ferocity of a wronged blues belter on "You Had Me, You Lost Me," while on "You Ain't Getting None," she runs the gamut from coy to uninhibited in dealing with an aggressive suitor. Mirroring Eve's progression, the Swizz Beatz-led Ruff Ryders production team has evolved, too. Swizz and company have always aspired to a sleek, futuristic sound far removed from the rawer origins of hip-hop, but on Scorpion, they actually achieve it about half the time. For example, the single "Who's That Girl" initially sounds like a limp rewrite of "What You Want," right down to its Spanish-flavored, synth-heavy production and boastful lyrics, but it gets catchier and more endearing with each listen. While a step up from her promising debut, Scorpion is far from perfect: Eve is too smart for testosterone-heavy, shout-along nonsense like "Cowboy," "Scream Double R," and "Thug In The Streets." But, like Xzibit, she seems hamstrung by a fear of alienating the gangsta-rap crowd by getting too cerebral or progressive. If Eve pays more attention to her inner Lauryn Hill than her inner DMX, she'll no doubt make the leap from being one of hip-hop's top female MCs to being one of the best rappers in the world, period.