This female artist sings about the pain of infidelity (“I’m Gone”), dysfunction (“Be Careful”) and divorce (“What About”). “NoGreater”claims God “can calm any sea/He can ease my troubled mind and give me victory/I’ve come to know my Heavenly Father.” Proclamations of romantic love boost “Lean on Me” and “Nothing Can Compare.”
The disc opens with “Good Life,” on which a male rapper boasts of drug use and sexual desire with “thoughts perverted.” Obscenities (most notably the f- and s-words) get a workout on “Time to Move On” and “Vegas.”The latter includes the not-so-ladylike threat, “[Your] tellin’ lies makes me wanna kick your f—ing teeth in.” Sparkle’s remake of Minnie Riperton’s number-1 hit from 1975, “Lovin’ You,” cites a sexual obsession as the emotional core of a relationship. She dumps one lover for another on “Straight Up.”
With Jekyll-Hyde precision, her sweet voice can croon love ballads or tear through profane hip-hop. That inconsistency dulls Sparkle’s luster. Marijuana. Sex. Anger. Obscenities. Teens partial to female R&B acts will do much better with Christian music from Out of Eden or Terri Carroll.
