As one of the biggest artists to emerge in the past 15 years, Beyonc Knowles is inhabiting a hemisphere where greatness is just considered good enough, and sometimes fans’ expectations border on the unreasonable. So B’Day, which comes on the heels of her quadruple-platinum solo debut Dangerously in Love which won her five Grammy Awards in 2004 has a tough act to follow.

The album’s lead cut “Deja Vu,” a dynamite hybrid of soul and hip-hop, has already come under fire as being a less effective pairing with boyfriend Jay-Z than their last collaboration, the blockbuster single “Crazy in Love.” Despite the criticism, the track has been filling dance floors and hit #1 on two of Billboard’s singles charts. But what about the rest of B’Day?

Well, it’s obvious that hanging out with the Jiggaman’s rap-world friends has rubbed off on Beyonc: B’Day is a sonically harder, decidedly more street LP than Dangerously in Love. B has chalked that shift up to Deena Jones, her fierce character in the upcoming film “Dreamgirls.” Beyonc drew inspiration from the assertive siren, who knows when to play to her man’s ego to get what she wants.