In the hip-hop world, Remy Ma's got three strikes against her.

Strike one: She blew up too quick, dropping 45 seconds of fury into Terror Squad's "Lean Back" some 18 months ago. Strike two: History has proved "Lean Back" little more than a novelty song, and despite its total domination of the last half of the summer of '04, it fell off the radio faster than a John Kerry campaign ad. And, worst of all, strike three: A year and a half out from "Lean Back," she still hadn't released any solo material.

All it took was one verse in the biggest song of the year for the music rags to tout Remy as one of the top female rappers (not to mention sexist -- you ever hear Jay-Z call himself "the best male rapper alive"?). But two or three minutes into There's Something About Remy, her much-delayed debut, and you can't help but believe the hype. She's no novelty, no wash-out: She's a microphone fiend. And Something About Remy is a swirling, snarling beast of a record.

Lyrically speaking, Remy's not the most clever emcee. Her flow doesn't change much from track to track. Her voice, like a less-raspy Foxy Brown, could stand an occasional break from monotone. Like all female MCs, she's too eager to talk sex, too reticent to show emotion. But there really is something about Remy, the same something that made her a star after only a few bars. She's fierce; way fiercer than any of her peers, willing to spend track after track staring you down. And whatever her shortcomings may be, she's made the most unrelentingly tough rap record in quite some time.

There's Something About Remy kicks off with a spoken-word endorsement from the late, sort-of-great Terror Squad associate Big Punisher. I have my doubts that Pun, who's been dead nearly a decade now, ever met Ma, but the words he speaks are no less true. Ma wastes no time getting into "She's Gone," perhaps the album's best cut, a ferocious eardrum assault and grand announcement: Remy has arrived, and she's taking names. From front to back, There's Something About Remy is complete and total sensory bombardment, not allowing a second to breathe. You think Trina is hardcore? Try this.

Though There's Something About Remy sports production work from over a dozen knob-twisters, they've all managed to put their own spin on Remy's gnarly, nails-on-a-chalkboard style, and that sonic consistency makes this an album, not just a collection of tracks. Producers-of-the-moment Cool & Dre give Remy two of her finest cuts, and "I'm" rides a jerky, orchestral David Banner beat, a meeting of two scarily great hip-hop minds both working at top form.

Even Scott Storch, whose trademark slithering strings have been in desperate need of an overhaul for some time now, nearly tops himself on lead single "Conceited." And whoever this J-Notes cat is, his work behind the boards on "Secret Location" is the best modernization of Public Enemy's famed Bomb Squad noise-factory sound that I've heard in years.

But these tracks would be nothing without Remy's unflinching presence bleeding over every one. There's Something About Remy is a vicious, head-rattling record, flawed perhaps only by the fact that it's not something you're always going to be in the mood for. It might've taken Remy a year and a half to follow up "Lean Back," but when you hear Something About Remy, it makes sense. She wanted to give you plenty of time to forget she ever made a pop single so you wouldn't be shocked when she dropped an album this tough.

Grade: B