The obvious touchstone here is Rihanna, what with the badgirl saunter and Grace Jones-ish hoodie. But as much as we love the Rih, sometimes she doesn't come with the oomph we'd expect from someone trying to give us juvenile delinquent-face: instead of Billy Idol snarls and erase-you dismissals, we get a blank slate. Enter Amerie, who has this tough lady thing down without overdoing it. Maybe it's the inherent intelligence she conveys, expressive eyes, or who knows, it could just be the chainlink fence, like she's hanging out by the dumpster behind the school on the “smoking hill,” or whatever was your school's equivalent to the place the cool arty kids liked to talk smack.
