MONIE LOVE”In a Word or 2” Warner...

MONIE LOVE

“In a Word or 2”

Warner Bros.

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A combination of substance and sass, Monie Love’s second album is tougher and funkier than the pop-hop featured on 1990’s “Down to Earth.” Throughout the album, the London-born, Brooklyn-raised Love, whose real name is Simone Johnson, doesn’t shy away from tackling subjects usually dodged in hip-hop.

On “There’s a Better Way,” Love arranges the suicide journey of a high school friend who discovers he is HIV-positive. Packing a proud feminist punch, the Prince-produced “Born 2 B.R.E.E.D.” smartly responds to last year’s single-mother brouhaha by attacking the notion that there’s a “by-the-book” method of parenting. The song also explores the deterioration of inner-city schools, angrily asking, “So tell me what do the kids learn at school / How to pack a pistol, how to play class fool?”

The album’s lone love song, “In a Word or 2,” is a sexy, ethereal homage to passion distinctively co-written and produced by Prince. Coupling his lilting background vocals with Love’s slow, sultry rapping, “In a Word or 2” should definitely leave listeners clamoring for mo’ Monie.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).