“Nikka,” like “nukka,” holds a special place in the vernacular of the streets. But Nikka B., who hails from Oakland, grew up smack in the middle of the 13th Ward, and made her name in Mid-City, makes sure to let you know that’s pronounced with a long e on her debut mixtape.

That mix of uptown and ghetto is the hallmark of her style; glitzy without being shallow, sexy without being seductive, hard without being a threat. It’s the perfect soundtrack for the tough female urbanite, with Nikka spitting some quite literally ass-kicking rhymes over a backdrop of flashy new-school R&B.

As the album keeps flowing, production maestro Ratty Scurvics—yes, that one, of Black Market Butchers fame—tosses a few curveballs, like the action-movie piano soundtrack flourishes of “Let’s Get It Started” and the full-on rock move of the closer, “Ima Boss.”

But, more importantly, Poison Girl, Inc. gets sonically harder as it expands, making it the perfect ladies’ night out for women who don’t always get over by being ladylike.