Let There Be... Eve: Ruff Ryders' First Lady

Padded with distracting and often tasteless guest appearances, ”Let There Be… Eve: Ruff Ryders’ First Lady” — the debut by the foremost female from DMX’s posse — sounds more like a jumbled Ruff Ryders collage than a solo portrait. But intimate tracks like ”Love Is Blind” and ”Heaven Only Knows” suggest an artist struggling to shake a gang mentality. Next time, Eve, put a muzzle on the snakes. C+