Queen Latifah’s new studio set, “Persona,” represents a turn away from her ’00s work. But it’s not quite the return to rap that it’s been billed as. About half of the album finds the successful singer/actor making the kind of pop-inflected R&B once heard from En Vogue or SWV. (One track, “With You,” even treads into disco, complete with an Auto-Tuned “Believe”-style vocal from Latifah.) Cool & Dre handled the bulk of the album’s production, setting the star’s vocals against head-nodding beats that come reasonably close to more youthful urban-radio fare. “Hard to Love Ya,” with a rather humdrum cameo from rapper Busta Rhymes, summons a bit of Rihanna’s authoritative sass, and The Neptunes appear on the reggae-grooved “If He Wanna.” But the highlight is “Fast Car,” where Latifah and Missy Elliott channel the goofy exuberance of OutKast’s “Hey Ya!”

Following a pair of vocal showcase albums that involved classy yet fun spins on the likes of Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, Nina Simone, and Billy Strayhorn, Queen Latifah enlists producers Cool & Dre to help concoct a willfully schizophrenic set of pop-oriented material. As anyone familiar with her recent screen and studio work would expect, Latifah’s shifts from character to character are not rocky. “What’s the Plan” is an obvious Cheryl Lynn circa-”Encore” impersonation, albeit one streaked with Dre’s vocal effect-driven gibberish. “Cue the Rain” works a rocking backdrop — not unlike a fist-pumping cut off a mid-’80s soundtrack — with quotes from Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.” One of the more contemporary tracks, the sleek and flirty “Take Me Away (With You),” features Marsha Ambrosius and is surprisingly effective. Just about all of it is enjoyable. Few vocalists who can sing and rap can display such versatility on one album. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

Click here to download