At Least It’s Aptly Titled

With the emergence in recent years of such sexually charged female rappers as Foxy Brown, Eve and Gangsta Boo, there has been growing impatience in hip-hop circles for the return of the smoothest-flowing, raunchiest and single most charismatic hard-core female rapper of the late 1990s, Lil’ Kim. But the Brooklyn rapper’s second album is a major letdown.

Throughout the album (in stores Tuesday), the Notorious B.I.G. protegee makes a point of insisting--especially on the otherwise forgettable “Single Black Female”--that she has always written her own rhymes. If that is indeed the case, then her skills have deteriorated dramatically since her debut album, 1996’s “Hard Core.” Such crime capers as “Revolution” and “Aunt Dot” are so aimless that Kim doesn’t even bother concluding the latter, saying at the end that there will be a sequel. Why?

With her tough talk, Kim positions herself as the heir to the late B.I.G.’s throne, but her words sound forced, unnatural and, most important, unbelievable. Even her songs about sex, a subject that had been her forte, are bland, thanks in large part to boring production from Sean “Puffy” Combs, Rockwilder and others.

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