Foxy Brown - Brooklyn's Don Diva (CD)

All Music Guide

You'd think seven years turbulent years that involved a bout with neartotal deafness and inpublic temper issues that led to some time behind bars would allow Foxy Brown more than enough time and experiences to make Brooklyn's Don Diva anything but a reheated version of 2001's Broken Silence, but that is what it most resembles, as opposed to a bold step forward or a reclamation of her power. A couple tracks and a few stray lines aside, these verses could have been dashed off by the MC at just about any earlier point in her career a shame since the hypnotizing likes of "Too Real," featuring snaking and skanking production from Statik Selektah (and a verse from AZ), and "Star Cry" hint at how potent the album could've been, given the soulsearching tension between anger, sadness, and swaggering combativeness. During the latter, she temporarily rejects her possessions and fame, fights back tears through "I'm just like y'all, but I probably hurt more/After 13 years I feel I deserve more."... But these moments are few and far between, moderately satisfying only for those who have been eager to get their hands on a new Foxy Brown album since the 2005 single "Come Fly with Me" (unfortunately not included here). Retraced steps, backed by an assembly line of knockoff production work, are the rule. - Andy Kellman, All Music Guide Read more Less