It’s a more introspective Jaheim who greets listeners on this sophomore follow-up to his 2001 platinum debut Ghetto Love. Reaching back to his ghetto roots, the singer/songwriter discourses about everything from self-esteem and survival to romance and mother love. While listening to Jaheim’s rich baritone is like stepping into a Teddy Pendergrass/Luther Vandross ’70s/’80s time warp, his street-edged viewpoint brings a hip, contemporary spin to the proceedings. With Still Ghetto, Jaheim follows through on the promise hinted at on Ghetto Love; in the process, he also comes into his own. Whether providing an uplifting message (the self-esteem anthem “Fabulous,” which interpolates the McFadden & Whitehead-penned classic “Wake Up Everybody”), paying a loving, defy-you-not-to-cry tribute to his mom (“Everywhere I Am”), or pairing with female counterpart Mary J. Blige (“Beauty and the Thug”), Jaheim is a study in contrasts who has nowhere to go but up.—GM
