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Consistency is definitely key when it comes to Shaffer Smith, aka
Ne-Yo. Whether it’s his thought-provoking songwriting capabilities, comfortable harmonies, or his effortless ability to make hit record after hit record, his success rate is one that not too many in the music industry can contend with.
Switching labels, the Arkansas-born singer/songwriter has finally jumped the
Def Jam ship and has now found a new home in the form of the legendary
Motown label. Releasing his fifth studio album
R.E.D., which is an acronym for
Realizing Every Dream, things seem to have come a long way for Ne-Yo since the disappointing commercial reception he received for 2010’s
Libra Scale.
Already with a UK number one single featured on the album - "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)" -
R.E.D. is an album full of promise. With lots of highs and a few lows, most of all it sees a return to the type of songwriting his fans know he’s capable of.
Throughout his career Joe Budden has been considered many things - an outcast, a drunk, very much up himself, and more recently a sucker for love. While he may admit to being, or having been, one or some of these things, something has been missed. How about survivor? Judging from his recent verse on "Want You Back" with Fabolous and Cassie, as well as a few older joints, and his Slaughterhouse entries of course, Joey has physically, mentally, and emotionally been through the wars.
Bringing to the table his first official solo project since the conception of hip-hop supergroup Slaughterhouse, of which he is a part alongside Crooked I, Royce Da 5'9", and Joell Ortiz, Budden might have finally silenced his critics.
Consistency is key, and as far as the rap game goes there are a handful of individuals who deliver time after time after time. While an unlikely source of such consistency, mainly due to his endless array of sidetracking lyrical and street beefs - there have been a few embarrassing secrets dug up too - Jayceon Taylor, aka Game, seems to be a rhymer that the hustlers ride with, the girls scream for, and his peers unquestionably admire. Much of his music has proved timeless, if slightly repetitive occasionally, and his level of sales has maintained a respectable level during a declining climate that sees the Compton representative’s total sales sit close to the ten million mark.
With new album Jesus Piece marking his fifth major label release, Game has put together a conceptually stellar project that features near perfect production and cinematic tales of a road less travelled, unless of course you perceive yourself as a gangster. After switching album titles at least three times [two of them being Soundtrack To Chaos and F.I.V.E. (Fear Is Victory’s Evolution)] the decision to run with Jesus Piece was more to do with the conceptual split screen that glorifies street life whilst worshipping faith in a higher being than anything else. 
Unlocking ones potential can change the way in which eyes are cast upon you forever. For some it happens instantly, while for others it can take over a decade. The latter of the two time frames has never applied as much as it does right now to Brooklyn spitter Fabolous. Back to hit fans over the head with another dose of his Soul Tape series, Fab has without doubt crafted the project of his career.