Rising Down. On first listen I was kind of skeptical. The album opener "The Pow Wow" is a little TMI. I wish it could have been hidden track zero (they used to exist but now its illegal). There is no need to hear it every time as "Hello, hello" going into "Rising Down", is the real start of the album. I'm usually against guest verses as the first voice on an album, and despite the heat Mos Def drops I still stand by that. But what its an indication of is the overall. There are…

Easily going to be one of my favorites this year. Nneka is but only one voice but the way she's able to convey the complexities of a Halfcast From Africa is absolutely beautiful. Clever songwriting, and high production values make No Longer At Ease a must hear.

Seriously whenever I hear it I'll stop what I'm doing and just start paying attention. It is truly a blessing she has been a part of my life.

I had no idea what to expect when I first heard about this collaboration. Dead Ones was in heavy rotation over the summer. I think it's going to be the joint for winter.

Probably the two most influential tracks of late for me. I'm humbled everytime I hear them. I've gotten into Autechre late but Corc & Eutow are part and partial to my growing fandom.

What you haven't heard There? You're only missing out on the absolute best album released this year. A perfect combination of soulfulness with jazzy inflections, sprinkled with the type of social relevence your soul desires. Can't find it? I know I had to order from Germany. But the good news is its on iTunes if you dig that type of thing.

Let me guess, you slept on Pick a Bigger Weapon. Damn shame too. I mean everyone's talking about the whole everyman MC experience and all, but no one this year really put it to wax like Boots.…

We all know Stevie Wonder's number one competitor for the last decade and a half has been his own catalog. Like most living legends he's been faced with the hurdle of surpassing the unsurpassable and unfortunately his last three efforts really haven't held up to the standard. Not that they weren't good (well some of them weren't) but they weren't that old Stevie that a listener expects when they put on a Wonder album.

This time around he really comes to task. Now there's no need to blaspheme and say this is better than Songs in the Key of Life…

In my estimation this album marked the peak of the last reniassance in hiphop. It was a test for the market as it came out at a time when fans had a choice between it and the jiggy life. Unfortunately fans chose to get jiggy.

You gotta be a Ghost fan to appreciate this joint which refers to a line off the Supreme Clientele album. One of the best examples of an artist growing up on wax.
The Pretty Toney Album

Perhaps one of the most tragic tales in music. This album was under promoted because Cree was signed to a Sony/Work label that was trying to launch a Jennifer Lopez music career. Considering the recent developments on J.Lo and payola, the fans really lost out on this one.

Produced by Lenny Kravitz this is probably one of his best work (save that one song he actually sings on which is the only low point in the album). If you can find it, get this album.