Two years since his previous effort Gutter Rainbows hit stores, Brooklyn rhymer Talib Kweli drops off his fifth solo album Prisoner of Conscious. With an array of featured guests, a magnitude of rhythmically responsive instrumental backdrops and more subject matters than a book of short stories, the 15 track lyrical get down is a tempo frenzy of intellectual poetry.
Another weekend has passed us so it's time for our regular Monday mixtape round-up. Last week saw a swarm of Hip-Hop goodness from the likes of Busta Rhymes, DJ Green Lantern and Styles P, plus London indie group The xx provided our alternative music fix with a stream of their upcoming album, whilst Lady Leshurr and Delilah each get one in for the girls with mixtape releases.
Catch up on all the goods below.
With his name permanently etched as a powerhouse in the R&B history books, eight-time Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and producer Tank has earned a reel of songwriting [writing for fellow R&B artists Omarion, Keri Hilson, Jennifer Hudson & more] and production credits as an associate member of production team The Underdogs throughout his blossoming career.
Having moved from Barry Hankerson’s Blackground record label to Atlantic Records in 2010, the singer placed his focus back onto his own material serving up a new album, Now or Never, and mixtape, Diary Of A Mad Black Man. Two years on from his last LP, the 'underrated' R&B novice brings the world his fifth studio album, This Is How I Feel.
Rather than taking a break after being on the scene for over ten years, Mary J Blige shows no signs of slowing down collaborating with DJ Khaled and Diddy Dirty Money earlier on in the year. The queen of R&B went back into the studio to create a few more tear-jerking ballads and foot-moving jams for her tenth studio album My Life II: The Journey Continues - the sequel to her album My Life released in 1994.
Arguably the most revered group of the late '90s and beyond, Yonkers' The LOX lyrically (and at times physically) shook the competition into submission. With each of the members playing their part - Jadakiss being the franchise and Sheek Louch the street general - it was Styles P who somewhat surprisingly managed to stand comfortably on the fine line between critical acclaim and hood props. With albums touching the nerves of a college kid, activist or gang member, Pinero, in some peoples eyes, was the real gem of the group instead of the much lauded Kiss. With rap now being dictated by the more emotional of rappers, Master of Ceremonies aims to inject that rough house, honest dialect with which Styles P has reigned.
It's become almost mandatory that every rapper, DJ and so forth claim that he or she is the best in their field. But when making it a slogan for your team or set, that's when the naysayers will multiply in abundance. Just ask Miami DJ Khaled, whose continuous hollering of 'We The Best' has put him under the firing line by many. But for every doubter, there's an abundance of supporters, including some heavyweight talent which goes from Miami all the way to NYC. So how will an album fare from a DJ who (fortunately) does very little rapping? This is the question that We The Best Forever will hope to answer.
Since his last studio album, Graffiti, Chris Brown has worked on a host of features and mixtapes and kept his PR machine turning, trying to repair the damage done by the infamous incident with Rihanna. Now, Breezy puts forward his latest effort in the form of his fourth studio album, F.A.M.E.
Unfortunately, this album doesn't do much to reinforce the promise Brown showed in his early days. His debut and sophomore albums suggested he had a lot to offer and would take up the mantle of one of the world of music’s best performers and artists - however, this album is not an example of someone who could carry on the legacy of the likes of Michael Jackson or even Usher.