Cole explores relational phases, her heart bobbing up and down like a buoy caught in a motorboat’s wake. Amid that turmoil, she seeks deeper commitment (“Give Me More”), wants to learn from her mistakes (“Shoulda Let You Go,” “Heaven Sent,” “Got to Get My Heart Back”) and tries to salvage a relationship on the rocks (“Fallin’ Out”). On “Just Like You” she’s out to make her dreams come true and be dependable, and she credits God with providing the strength to make it happen. Taking an unfaithful man to task, the woman dumping him lays out the consequences and asks, “Was It Worth It?”
Cutting a cad loose is better than her approach on “Didn’t I Tell You,” where she matches his carousing (“I’ll be popping my bottles, rolling ’round clubs/ Hanging wit my girls and having my fun”). Muffled s-words and a use of “hos” mar that track, while racial slang appears on “Got to Get My Heart Back.” “D–n” pops up several times. On “Let It Go (Remix)” Young Dro and T.I. talk about taking a vacation from family that involves chasing strippers.
Even with names such as Lil’ Kim, Too Short, Diddy and Missy Elliott on the guest list, Cole avoids the overt sexual commentary so common within this genre. Good decision. But songs chronicling love’s ups and downs (mainly downs) suffer from profanity and alcohol.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
