Than a Woman", Aaliyah's vocal harmonies interplay against minor key string and guitar sounds, while "Loose Rap" features underwater noises, low-key electronica in the style of the Neptunes, and harmonically soft vocals declaring "it ain't just rhythm and blues". Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone compares the album's experimentation to the sounds on Outkast's Stankonia (2000), Sade's Lovers Rock (2000), and Missy Elliott's Miss E... So Addictive (2001). According to Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani, "like Elliott's genre-bending So Addictive, Aaliyah provides a missing link between hip-hop and electronica." The lyrics on Aaliyah explore the intricacies of romantic love and phases in a relationship such as frivolous infatuation, issues near the end of a relationship, and heartache. Subtle, lighthearted humor and witty sound effects, such as comical vocal manipulation, intersperse the themes of heartbreak and eroticism. According to Citysearch's Justin Hartung, the record "transforms the confusion of young adulthood into exhilarating freedom", while Billboards Rashaun Hall says that each song possess a unique emotional identity that accompanies the music's sonic variety. Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In observes female empowerment-themed songs that show a "healthy self-respect" by Aaliyah, who "doesn't put up with unfaithful cads ('U Got Nerve'), mind games ('I Refuse'), self-impressed hunks ('Extra Smooth'), gossip and envy ('Loose Rap'), or physical abuse ('Never No More')". The key-shifting, drum and bass-influenced "Extra Smooth" addresses an enthusiastic courtship and is inspired by a conversation between Aaliyah and Static about how men try to act suave, while "Loose Rap" is titled after the slang phrase of the same name and dismisses romantic admirers who use trite pick-up lines. "Those Were the Days" dispassionately dismisses a male lover, while "What If" angrily threatens an unfaithful lover and by extension similar men. On "I Care 4 U", the narrator tries to console a friend who is heartbroken, but finds herself distressed by unrequited feelings she has for him. Aaliyah's vocals are sung in a restrained soprano style throughout the album. Vibe magazine's Hyun Kim argues that its songs draw focus to her singing more than her previous records, "bringing it to the forefront as opposed to hiding it behind the layered production". "Rock the Boat" is sung with breathless vocals by Aaliyah, who instructs her lover on how to please her sexually and equates her erotic high to a drug high. Ballads such as "I Care 4 U", "Never No More", and "I Refuse" are sung