First Lady

Faith Evans, wife of the late Biggie Smalls, has probably seen more sympathy in her 10 bumpy years in the recording business than she knows what to do with. But that doesn't curb our compulsion to cheer over her latest triumph, The First Lady, her debut release on Columbia after stepping away from Bad Boy Records, is a hoot-and-holler worthy affair that has nothing to do with misplaced pity. Out she storms on opener "Goin' Out Tonight" with Pharrell and Pusha T, thrusting her graceful but sturdy voice over a propulsive, hand-clappy beat. In the space of a single track, she's navigating the Motown-ish thumps and funky guitar riffs of the first single, "Again," to lay bare the facts behind her 2004 stint in rehab. Throughout, Evans' breathy voice seems incapable of jumping the groove—here's an R&B princess with a jazz diva's sense of timing—and on songs like "Mesmerized" she slinks into a ‘70s soul place that leaves us wishing we could time-travel together more often. Tacked to the end for fans who discovered Evans via the Coach Carter soundtrack is her collaboration with Twista from that film, the hip-hop track "Hope." --Tammy La Gorce