 Truth Hurts Ready Now
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With her aptly titled sophomore disc, Ready Now, former Dr. Dre protege Truth Hurts rebounds after an unauthorized sample on the hypnotic, bhangra-driven single "Addictive," halted the sale of her 2002 debut, Truthfully Speaking. This time, the sassy Detroit songbird is under the protective wing of neo-soul forerunner Raphael Saadiq, whose gospel-and-funk-infused production gives Ready Now an intimate, melodic quality her uneven debut lacked. Throughout the engaging disc, Truth, whose smoky, seasoned vocals recall former En Vogue and Saadiq collaborator Dawn Robinson, addresses the familiar themes of falling in love ("U"), infidelity ("Lifetime"), and unrequited love ("Catch Read More 22"). But Truth isn't the type to pine for long. Instead, she unleashes her inner bad girl on the Middle Eastern-flavored "Phone Sex" and the piano-accented plea, "Love U Better." On the latter track, she boasts: "I'm on my knees/Oh sugar, you know what that means." Ouch, it sounds like the truth never hurt so good.
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