Tweet

Being the protegé of someone famous offers obvious advantages, especially in the earliest stages of an artist's career. The rub arises when the junior performer tries to stand alone -- or, in the case of Tweet, a songstress under Missy Elliott's wing, fly solo. It's Me Again, Tweet's second album, avoids confronting such potential pitfalls head on, and as a result, it tumbles into many of them.

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More About

• Missy Elliott
• Charlene Keys
• Hip-Hop and Rap
• Cultural History

The sophomore album by the woman born Charlene Keys isn't a disaster. Still, no song here is nearly as distinctive as "Oops (Oh My)," the smash that powered Tweet's debut, 2002's Southern Hummingbird, and because her vocal mentality is that of a background singer, she often sounds like a guest star on her own disc. That's especially true on "Turn Da Lights Off" and "Things I Don't Mean," featuring cameos by Elliott.

As her spoken intro to the CD makes clear, Tweet's happy to be back on board, but she can't remain a passenger forever. If she wants to stay aloft, she needs to push her way into the pilot's seat.