On "911", Jean and Blige's previous duet, the two beautifully played out a ghetto romance tale complete with police evasions and bullets taking the place of Cupid's arrows. He comes up with another original vignette on their newest collaboration, "What About The Baby", which follows an estranged family in the process of reconciliation.

The song opens with Jean speaking on the phone to his young daughter after a lengthy separation. When she asks of his whereabouts while she and her mother struggled to make ends meet, he stammers through a series of valid excuses (Mama kept him at bay with restraining orders; he wasn't mature enough) but in the inside the innocent query has him falling apart ("A grown man ain't supposed to cry/ So why does water fill my eyes?/ When I hear your voice," he sniffs). In the mother role, Blige has her own issues to deal with. Her heart still bruised from his infidelity ("What if she knew you chose another over her mother?"), she still isn't quite sure if letting them talk is the best idea, yet she cautiously agrees to give him another chance at being a Dad. This all leads to a blanket of impassioned wails as both parents try to make things right for the dual love of their seed. If your corneas don't sog up following such an emotional apex, odds are, you ain't human.

Wyclef's awkward genre mash-ups and questionable guest stars may leave you cold at times, but you can't deny the man's talent for constructing timeless gems like this one. Like a Tyler Perry screenplay condensed into a four-minute hip hop-soul nugget with it's powerful performances, reality-based storyline and hopeful resolution, "What About The Baby" instantly reminds you why Mary J and the oft-under-appreciated Clef were two of the best artists to emerge out of the '90's urban landscape. Now, if only he and Lauryn could work through their problems, think of the classics that could be being made...



DL: "What About The Baby" (YFH)