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JoJo

by JoJo

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Few will accuse JoJo of being a musical revolutionary--hers is a streetwise, modern R&B sound that owes a lot to Destiny's Child and a little to opposite-ends-of-the-genre artists Angie Stone and Aaliyah--but there is a freshness about her. This, on mulling it over, is a quality that's hard to miss when you're 13. Those who haven't ventured beyond the radio hit "Leave (Get Out)," though, will want to take this self-titled debut for a spin if only to be among the first to discover an artist who's figured out how to effectively blend innocence with attitude. It's not the lyrics but the delivery that grabs hold and gives way to compulsory head-bobbing: JoJo may not be "That Kinda Girl," as we learn three tracks in, but instead of putting her point across shyly, peppering the song with flirty vocal question marks, we half-expect her to tell us to step off. The same expert ferociousness fuels "Baby It's You," which embraces sincerity--love for all the right reasons--and power-kicks materialism to the curb. It's not always the case that you can judge a CD by its cover, but with JoJo there's no harm in projecting. Sulking from inside her plastic cover, the artist seems at once woebegone and willful, menacing and mopey. Pop scenesters will do well to keep watching. --Tammy La Gorce