Monica - The Makings of Me

Monica (born with the unglamorous surname, Arnold) tries on a tougher, more mature sound on her fourth album. The Atlanta homegirl tackles an ex-boyfriend’s cheating on the plain-talking “Sideline Ho” and teams up with local heroes Dem Franchize Boyz on the finger-snapping “Everytime Tha Beat Drop.” She even braves a lightning-fast rap with Twista on “Hell No.” But the album suffers from too many boring ballads like the breathy “Get Away” and the highly irritating, designer-name-dropping “A Dozen Roses.”