In Brief:

** J. J. Fad, “Not Just a Fad,” Ruthless/Atlantic. This heretofore lightweight West Coast trio has always been pitted against Salt-N-Pepa, the New York-based rap unit whose style is far tougher and grittier. This time around, J. J. Fad’s idea of fighting fire with fire is to come on like Luke Campbell’s dream dates--though they do close the album by chastely thanking “the man up above.” This is still a young group in dire need of a well-defined image--not to mention a subscription to Ms. magazine.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (a classic.)