essentially came out of nowhere in late 2003, when the Staten Island singer's caught fire on national radio. Initially, figured into the song's success -- with its numerous expletives removed, the track sounded like on TV. But there was also a visceral directness in that listeners responded to. Its spare, quietly surging arrangement was slow-jam pretty, as was 's bold, -inspired delivery. But its supposed warmth only put the shrillness of "You thought you could keep this sh*t from me" and "F*ck what I said, it don't mean sh*t now" in greater relief against the tepid backdrop of early 21st century radio. In a landscape of constant innuendo, people responded to 's cold glare and boldface dismissal. His debut plays off the song's success; includes not only the uncut audio version but its video as well. Helming principals and have also followed through with a handful of songs that retain 's stuttering, streetwise production. situates snippets of beats around a simple organ loop as lays down another kiss-off; it's reminiscent of ' in both its sound and conversational tone. isn't as imaginative, copping for its heavy-handed celebration of groupie love, but are better combinations of conventional genre bravado and interestingly off-kilter style of and his crew. The remainder of isn't as strong, relying on posing and unremarkable filler. But the album is still quite promising, especially with such a statement-making single. ~ Johnny Loftus