Issues

The R&B N2U makes is sophisticated and assured, as if they worked through their bad-boy phase and made at least a couple albums prior to Issues. But this is their debut, and no member has even hit his late twenties. Their extended team of songwriters and producers can be credited, in part, with this contradiction. Chris Stokes, the engineer and apparent name-giver behind Immature/IMx and B2K, put the group together with the intent of filling a gap on radio — quite possibly the void left whenever K-Ci & JoJo aren't active. Like their elders, N2U make a lot of theatrical ballads, though the subject matter tips more heavily toward seduction than devotion; "Breakin' the Law," with its painful driving metaphors ("You're body's making moving violations," "Careful 'round those curves," etc.), is one example, not likely to be any high school's prom theme. The second time out, the group will hopefully show some more distinct qualities. Until then, at least four songs from Issues are worthy of being staples on courtship mixtapes.