The competition for the rap and R’n’B boys is certainly hotting up. While Destiny’s Child may have grabbed the popular vote on a massive scale, the likes of Eve, Missy, Kelis and Aaliyah are all staking their claim.

The contest is about to be blown open by the return of Brooklyn’s Foxy Brown, back after what would appear to be a troubled two-year absence (her sleeve notes talk of “humiliation and embarrassment”).

There is much here that is familiar – the at times grating street language, the plethora of guests, the stuttering R’n’B beats. But Broken Silence has a lot more to offer than most of her contemporaries. Blame it on her personal life but there is a measured maturity to the album, both in her persona and musical approach.

Samples from the more obscure end of the musical spectrum (as well as Mister bloody Mister) mix with inspired contributions from Ron Isley, Kelis (on the almost comically pop ‘Candy’) and ragga man Baby Charm. It all gets tied up on the astonishingly plaintive title track, detailing Brown’s wounded state of mind (“when the records stop selling and the crowd stops yelling, all I have is me”) and easily the most emotionally raw and touching moment to emerge from the hip-hop camp in years. Game on.