Girl Interrupted
label: beat club | interscope

producers: timbaland, the neptunes, dan & jay (the beat brokers).

guests: nelly furtado, nesh, timbaland, jay-z, missy elliott, nate dogg, lil mo.
year of release: 2002
 
Despite her wearing a baseball cap and a basketball jersey on the front cover, Ms Jade is all lady. And despite one track being done by The Neptunes and one by Dan & Jay of the Beat Brokers, this album is also to some extend a Timbaland record, as he's doing every other beat on here. And with the man behind the board, the big stars line up to be on this record. That's why Nelly Furtado is dropping by to do the hook on "Ching Ching" the first single and once you heard this song you know why. The beat is incredibly catchy and the baby hook, in combination with Nelly's unique voice, give this immediate hit character. And Jade is asking for what she deserves: "boy money ain't everything, married minus the ring / [...] since day one it was ours it never was yours / look at the bigger picture, study the ghetto scripture / held your back when you was broke fronting cause now you richer / [...] enough talking I'm through, my lawyer will be calling you". There's also a part two on here, where Timbaland is again offering a verse and where the beat gets mighty rowdy.
On "Count It Off" Jay-Z stops by to do some spitting over a nice stepping beat. After this get you going song, Missy steps up to sing over "Really Don't Want My Love". The potato coach partnership is fled with Jade saying: "I don't know what's wrong with you, is you my dude or a detective / try to look at it from your perspective, but I can't". And she's no one that feels comfortable in a cage. There's too much energy in her, and part of that is let out on "Jade's The Champ", over a typical Timbaland stomper. And she offers lyrical details like "take your best shots, I promise I'ma throw back".

tracklisting
1. Intro
2. Jade's The Champ
3. She's A Gangsta
4. The Come Up
5. Ching Ching feat. Nelly Furtado
6. Get Away
7. Ching Ching - Part 2 feat. Timbaland
8. Step Up
9. Interlude

10. Count It Off feat. Jay-Z
11. Really Don't Want My Love feat. Missy Elliott
12. Dead Wrong feat. Nate Dogg
13. Feel The Girl
14. Big Head
15. Different
16. Why You Tell Me That feat. Lil Mo
17. Keep Ur Head Up feat. Nesh
The lyrical content then also varies with "The Come Up" talking about the stereotype that "females don't get along with other females", with her not restraining herself to that though, as "this verse I'm talking bout a guy that's actin' just like a girl / jacking me, sweating me, riding me, doing it tough / you never get nowhere in life doing that female stuff". "Different" is Jade taking a proud stance and she speaks on how different she is, without apologizing for it.
However, even a Timbaland hands in boring beats like on "Step Up" and "She's A Gangsta", while The Neptunes show how to do it better on "The Come Up". And yes this is cool, as it opts for a little guitar plucking and gets rid of the one sound the Neptunes usually use. "Dead Wrong" works better with a little Arabian and Oriental twist, and while Jade struggles to say something worthwhile, she definitely "got the club bouncing and shaking they frames". One thing that Timbaland is excellent at is doing minimal beats that have more gaps than filling, but still work. With another example being "Big Head". In contrast "Why You Tell Me That" is plusher with actual strings offering the background music to the sour tale of disappointed love. And similarly getting strength out of a tragedy is "Keep Ur Head Up", where Jade refuses to let the world keep her back crooked.
So say whatever you wanna say about Jade, but it takes a lot of talent and guts to not be overshadowed by Timbaland's production. You need character and you need to be able to ride some of the more complex rhythm structures. Jade can do that, and that's already a proof of skills and her words ring of truth when she said: "who else you know can breathe life into a murdered track?". And while all of that doesn't make her to be the best rapper ever, it makes her to be more interesting than a generic babbling one hit wonder.
review: tadah
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