Plies/Goon Affiliated Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic Don’t expect anything new from Plies on Goon Affiliated. His fourth album is the same formula as his previous efforts. “Go Live” is a record to bang in the clubs, “Get My Niggas Out” should satisfy the goons, and the bulk of the album caters to women. “Look Like” featuring Young Jeezy and Fabolous is the only song with a rap collaboration, and one of the album’s better songs. But annoying songs like “Bruh Bruh” and “Awesome,” along with “Rob Myself,” which is as ridiculous as the title would suggest, make Goon Affiliated the weakest Plies album to date. – Randy Roper Drake/Thank Me Later Young Money/Cash Money/ Universal Young Money is one of Hip Hop’s most powerful crews right now, and with Drake’s freshman release, Thank Me Later, there’s little question why. Drake’s mixtape success helped the Toronto native forge his identity but also set wildly high expectations for his debut album. It’s safe to say that Drizzy has met those expectations, wisely selecting production to complement well-constructed bars. “Light It Up,”“The Resistance,” and the Nicki Minaj-assisted “Up All Night” are among the standouts on this nearly no-filler album, which makes you wonder how long Drizzy can keep his streak going. – Rohit Loomba The-Dream/Love King Radio Killa/Def Jam R&B standout The-Dream returns as the Love King for his third, and possibly final, album. Twelve tracks deep, Love King is on par with Dream’s first two albums and finds him continuing the story of his former love, Nikki, on “Nikki Pt. 2” and telling us her heart belongs in chains at the bottom of a lake on “Abyss.” There is very little need for the skip button, although some may use it for “Yamaha” until it grows on them. Otherwise, tracks like the piano-driven ”February Love” find Dream in his comfort zone of craftily created R&B. Once again, Dream gives us an album that will probably be one of the year’s best in R&B. – Rohit Loomba 8Ball & MJG/Ten Toes Down Grand Hustle/E1 Take Ball & G, add a few Drumma Boy beats, throw in some verses from Dirty South luminaries like T.I., Young Dro, Lil Boosie, Bun B, David Banner and Slim Thug, let Grand Hustle oversee the whole thing, and you’ll end up with 8Ball & MJG’s eighth album. While that sounds good on paper, Ten Toes Down isn’t the Tennessee duo’s best work. Boring production, forced collaborations (especially “Fuck U Mean” featuring Soulja Boy), and lack of growth in 8Ball & MJG’s lyrics and storytelling still makes for a decent project that can give them relevance in today’s rap climate. But on the other hand, you’d expect more from their Grand Hustle album. – Randy Roper
Trina/Amazin’ Slip-N-Slide/EMI Considering Trina has lasted in the rap game for over ten years with minimal talent, this album is properly titled. While plenty of other rappers, male and female, have came and went, Trina brings a good body of work on her latest album (and believe it or not, I’m not talking about her figure). “I Want It All,”“Always” and “Make Way” show Trina’s growth as an artist and a woman, while cuts like “That’s My Attitude” and “Currency” give listeners the Trina that fans are accustomed to. I wouldn’t call Trina’s album “amazin’,” but the baddest chick did deliver a solid project on her fifth go round. – Randy Roper
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Paul Wall/Heart of a Champion Swishahouse/WARNER On Pall Wall’s fifth solo album, the H-Town emcee’s flow is as smooth as ever, but corny metaphors, which have plagued Wall his whole career, are abundant. Redundant lines like “flier than a mosquito” and “flier than a flock of pigeons” or “my wallet is stuffed like turkeys on Thanksgiving” and “my money’s stretching like Yoga class” are so laughable, it’s hard to take Paul Wall seriously at times. Wall doesn’t spit too much that you haven’t heard from him before, but his rhymes about chasing paper, grillz and boppers, over good production, along with guest appearances from the likes of Lil Keke, Bun B, Jim Jones, Z-Ro, Yo Gotti, Devin The Dude, Jay Electronica, Raekwon, Yelawolf and Slim Thug, and Paul’s reunion with Chamilionaire on “Round Here” make Heart of a Champion another decent addition to his catalog. – Randy Roper Lil Jon/Crunk Rock In an attempt to revolutionize crunk music, Lil Jon returns with Crunk Rock. But trying to revitalize this dead brand of rap music proved to be a tough task, for even Lil Jon. Listeners that appreciate Jon’s get crunk records will love the “Throw It Up, Pt. 2 (Remix)” with Pastor Troy and Waka Flocka Flame, and “G Walk” featuring Soulja Boy, but Jon’s elementary rhymes fail miserably, especially when he’s solo (“Get In Get Out”). Luckily, Jon mainly sticks to producing and chants, while taking a backseat to artists like Ice Cube & Game (“Killas”), Mario & R. Kelly (“Ms. Chocolate”), and teaming with artists like LMFAO (“Shots”) and 3OH!3 (“Hey”), which help salvage this mess of an album. – Randy Roper Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek (Reflection Eternal)/Revolutions Per Minute Blacksmith/Warner Bros. There’s not much left to be desired after listening to RPM’s, Reflection Eternal’s follow-up to their 2000 debut. Though Kweli and Hi-Tek haven’t been an official duo over the last 10 years, they’ve maintained an emcee/producer relationship, with the final product always the same – commendable music. From “Just Begun,” the super-collabo co-starring Jay Electronica, J. Cole, and Mos Def, to “Paranoid” with Bun B, RPM’s has a balanced serving of guest appearances. Along with socially charged songs like “In This World” and “Black Gold,” Kweli and Hi-Tek offer lighter fare like “Midnight Hour” with Estelle and “Get Loose” featuring Chester French, making this album both traditional yet surprising. – Ms. Rivercity Cee-Lo/Stray Bullets Cee-Lo Green deserves to be mentioned as one of the most versatile artists walking the planet. After succeeding in just about every genre but country and gospel, Lo pretty much meshes every form of music together on this effort that is only supposed to be a appetizer for Lady Killer. Even though 1% of the album features him rapping, Cee-Lo’s ability to stretch boundaries puts your personal preferences and nostalgia to the side. This is a truly unique piece of work. - Maurice G. Garland Big Boi/Sir Luscious Leftfoot Def Jam Even though this album has been completed for nearly three years, Big Boi proves that he specializes in making timeless music with an album that would be potent no matter the year. Here, Big proves that he is more than capable of being a solo artist. Now that he has all of the microphone responsibilities, Big takes the opportunity to speak on politics and community issues in a way that he might not have been able to on an Outkast album, but not without sacrificing fun nature that attracted people to ‘Kast in the first place. – Maurice G. Garland