Reviews have not been broken into any sub-divisions - they cover all forms of black music. From African, reggae, hip-hop, R&B, garage, blues, jazz, rock, Afro-Latin, to gospel. They're however listed in alphabetical order on artist name.  We’ve tried to highlight British acts by using red text. Most of the reviews have been used in Kwaku's African, and hip-hop & R&B columns in Gargamel magazine (‘The international word in reggae and urban music’). This mega reviews feature contains mainly releases between Oct. 2004-2005.

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29^th Chapter ‘Full Time’ (The 29^th Chapter) With contemporary groups like Raymond & Co, Siani and Four Kornerz now on the block, British gospel R&B and hip-hop has gone up a notch or two, particularly as they are in business terms competing with those in the secular market. For a own label operation, the quality here, from the press pack to the CD and content is impressive in its eye to detail and quality. This is the gospel quartet’s sophomore set, and very enjoyable and impressive it is. The beats should grab any hip-hop fan, irrespective of faith. Whilst they’re upfront gospellers, they drop their rhymes over mellow beats like the R&B-laced socio-conscious ‘Deeper Love’, the jiggy, dancefloor-primed ‘Get Back Up’, or the head-nodder ‘Fellowship Of The King’, which features fellow gospel hip-hoppers.  

57^th Dynasty ‘Boro 6, Vol. 2’ (FasFwd) Finally got my hands on the finished stock! It’s curious looking at the cover of the album, which reads ‘A dynasty truly like no other. Only time will tell’. That last bit is telling since the group has since fizzled, and their proper second album ‘DIY Ethic’ is in limbo. Although it does have a Parental Advisory sticker, and I’m not down with the gun bravado that is ‘Hooligans’, there are enough songs that don’t warrant it, plus this is one rap group saying stuff that hip-hop heads and youth on the road ought to hear. Producer Charlie Parker’s chorus singing on the socio-tipped ‘Estates’ gives it an interesting folky, poppy feel. Also features rhymes by MCD. ‘Brethren & Sistren’ is a positive, beautiful sung cut, with R&B/reggae backing. Another positive track, which brought me into personal contact with the group is the Estelle-blessed ‘Break Free’. Intelligent, hard, dark, mellow, sweet, upbeat, this album covers it all. A useful British hip-hop document. Look out for rapper Paradise’s new act The Good Samaritan Project, who will soon drop their conscious ‘The Forgotten Curriculum LP’.

Abram Wilson ‘Jazz Warrior’ (Dune) Harrow based Dune Records has quietly been doing its thing – getting jazz musos like Soweto Kinch, Jazz Jamaica, Denys Baptiste, and Gary Cosby out there, where their albums have been garnering award nominations, and occasion bagging the gongs! Trumpeter/vocalist Wilson first establishes his muso credentials by opening with ‘Pedal Herlin’. A slow-building instrumental that gradually revels Wilson’s trumpet sound. This is followed by a vocal rendition of Wonder’s ‘Golden Lady’. Wilson’s soul-jazz version takes the song deeper into quite-storm territory. Wilson blows a storm on the delightful ‘ Monk’, and adds rap on ‘Jazz Warrior’ and the very accessible soul-tinged ‘Groove So Heavy’. ‘Tango’ may not have a tango rhythm, but that abd ‘Supernatural’ are definitely two of the best compositions on here. ‘Take It Forward’ is an obvious candidate for dance-floor action. Wilson successfully straddles between serious and accessible, straight up and eclectic jazz.

Aesop Rock ‘Fast Cars, Danger, Fire & Knives’ (Definitive Jux) Kicks off with the Blockhead-produced funk-based grooves over which Aesop drops his lyrical rhymes, aided by Metro. No gangster stuff here, just straight up hip hop with a rapper that must have a lot of fans among those that enjoy listening to real rhymesters. It really doesn’t matter what he’s on, Aesop has a nice, listenable delivery. Case in point is ‘Holly Smokes’. What’s he on about? Who cares, it just sounds interesting. Actually the mellow, moody, jazzy backed grooves is a reflection on the Christian religion. On Aesop’s produced jiggy beats for ‘Rickety Rackety’, he and Camu Toa & El-P talk about the street scene without going negative and gangster.

Afro-Celt Sound System ‘POD’ (Real World) If you’ve seen the ACSS live then you’ll know that their genre, Western and African, modern and traditional instrument, merging style’s essentially dance music. Thankfully this package comes with a DVD in which one can see them in concert, where kora, violins, dhols, djembes, flutes and haunting Celtic singing and Wolof rapping mix intoxicatingly. The audio CD contains remixes of previous tracks, though the housey and garagey trips are not out of place, because of the dance oriented style of the group. A useful sort of best-off package worth checking out.

Akon ‘Trouble’ (SRC/Island) I have to confess a liking of Akon’s sing-rap vocal style, which is best demonstrated on his hit single and opener ‘Locked Up’. This track, which doesn’t glamorise being locked up, comes with two extra remixes, one featuring UK’s Taz. The song about staying with probation rules, ‘Trouble Nobody’, could well be the follow up single, especially as it has a strong sing-along chorus. Ditto: ‘Bananza  (Belly Dancer)’, and the uplifting ‘Ghetto’.  is another with crossover potential.  ‘Show Out’ is a club-banger. Akon passes as a singer on the ‘Lonely’ nu-man track and ‘Don’t Let Up’. Akon rides a Dave Kelly-produced dancehall rhythm with ‘Gunshot’.

Al Jarreau ‘Accentuate The Positive’ (Verve) The vocalist stylist shows he moves with the times, whilst still keeping the essence of what’s kept his career going for so long. He kicks off with the jazz work out ‘Cold Duck’, which has lots of adlibbing and skatting, plus a gorgeous tenor sax that draws one in immediately. You expect those ballads, so Jarreau obliges with smokey, bluesy, soulful gems like Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘The Nearness Of You’ and ‘My Foolish Heart’. He picks up the pace with Duke Ellington’s ‘I’m The Beginning To See The Light’, the playful title track, and ‘Groovin’ High’, over which he drops some vocal gymnastics. He certainly accentuates his vocal positives, particularly on the jazz-funky ‘Scootcha-Booty’.

Alexander O’Neal ‘Greatest Hits’ (Tabu) What more can one say than if you’re in the ‘80s, then you already know that O’Neal was one of the big draws. The big Jam & Lewis produced hits are here. Like ‘Never Knew Love Like This’, ‘Fake’, ‘Hearsay’, ‘A Broken Heart Can Mend’, ‘What Is This Thing Called Love?’, ‘Criticize’ and his Cherrelle duet ‘Saturday Love’.  

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté ‘In The Heart Of The Moon’ (World Circuit) This is certainly one of the most soul-satisfying roots music around. Touré & Diabaté’s guitar and kora performances, and songs, are bound to take you on a spiritual journey to a place you can be at peace and relaxed. This is essentially about two talented musicians using the strings of their instruments to communicate with your heart. ‘Kala’, ‘Hawa Dolo’ and ‘Monsieur Le Maine De Niafunké’ best show off the elements of composition, performance, and mood. A glorious mood album. Go discover

Ali Farka Toure ‘Red & Green’ (World Circuit) The ‘80s music that launched AFT’s career in the West – ‘Red’ was initially release in 1984, and ‘Green’ 1988. Quite frankly, I can’t tell the progression. Suffice to say AFT shows himself to be a fine roots, bluesy artist, particularly with his guitar playing. If you like his stuff, then get these newly remastered tracks to experience AFT set squarely within an enjoyable, rootsy context.  

Alias 1 ‘The Time Is Now’ (Nifty Productions) Alias 1 has some serious speed rapping talent, which he ably demonstrates on ‘Welcome To Alias 1’, which has a female R&B singer sultrily countering by telling Alias to stop his seduction, as she has a man. Since Alias has a hard MC-fyping vocal style as demonstrated on the club-banger ‘Roadblock’, I can not believe he’s the smooth R&B singer on the mellow, you’ve-been-checking-me ballad ‘Tell Me Babe’. That’s definitely the standout from this EP, which lacks focus, and begs the question is Alias a rapper, MC, singer, R&Ber or hip-hopper?

Aman Hayer ‘Groundshaker’ (Genie)  Brit-Asian bhangra producer/DJ and a posse of featured artists show the different fusions incorporated within today’s bhangra. Yes, most of us may not understand the Punjabi lyrics, and some of us may, like ragga, think some of the rhythms monotonous. However, there are reference points for those of us not in the bhangra scene to hook on to. For example, the lead in track and scne hit ‘Tharti Hilde’ may be a bumping bhangra, but it has English rap and hip-hop sensibilities. Ditto: Heer Ranjha’, and ‘Jaan’.  There’s also unadulterated bhangra cuts, like ‘Seetee’, Apne Begane’ and ‘It Kut’, whilst ‘Dil Tor Diva’ is a beats-based ballad dominated by strong female vocals, sweet strings and punching beats.

Alphabeat ‘Hours To flowers’ (Prolifica) A left-field jazz and electronica influenced offering over which singers Nina Miranda of Smoke City and Da Lata, and Diane Charlemagne of Goldie’s ‘Inner City Life’ fame, add a warm human touch. ‘Mosquitos, is a cool, straight-up big beats jazzy, instrumental dance track. ‘Opium & Orange’ is a tenor sax featured dubby track. The Diane featured ‘Real Thing’ is a great jazz-funkster, that gives much space to the exciting musical.

Angá Díaz ‘Echu Mingua’ (World Circuit)  Cuban congo player gets his time to shine. But as co-producer, he concentrates on putting together a great musical album. Hence it’s not a conga or percussion fest. A track like the jazzy ‘Gandinga’, does break down to allow the conga to shine. But perhaps the track that most people will check out is ‘A Love Supreme’.  Díaz’s impressive cover of John Coltrane’s composition takes it into a Latin jazz mood, replete with turntablism, muted trumpet, swirling strings and Yoruba chants! Malian singer-guitarist offers his haunting ‘Tumé Tumé’, which has some turntablism, earthy flute lines, and atmospheric sounds. These Afro-Cuban stars just keep on coming

Angela Johnson ‘Got To Let It Go’ (Dome) The Cooly Box singer-keyboardist drops an enjoyable sophomore solo set. It’s refreshing to see a sister write, produce, sing, and play almost all the instruments. And she does it well. Although the arrangements are augmented by brass or violin, the mostly rhythm-focused music allow Johnson’s lead and charming backing vocals to find space to shine. Like the Jeremy James-featured ballad ‘Let’s Get Together’, or ‘I’ll Always’, a sweet sounding song which doesn’t bring the jilted beau down softly, despite the “I’ll always love you” declaration.

Anita Baker ‘My Everything’ (Blue Note) I’ve noticed that some of our vintage artists embarrass themselves by trying to sound modern by either using young producers or hip-hop flavours. Not Anita, she’s back, strong, and she sounds like she always has been – real classy soulful singing and fine songs. Whilst it’s unnecessary to highlight particular tracks, because there are no fillers, cuts like ‘Serious’ and the Babyface-duetted ‘Like You Used To Do’ show her in seriously pained, romantic mood. Gorgeous soul music.  

Anthony Hamilton ‘Soulife’ (Atlantic) This new release actually pre-dates Anthony’s Arista debut ‘Comin' From Where I'm From’. What an impressive R&B/soulster album it is. There’s no need to say much. Whilst many people are likely to jump to ‘Love And war’ because it features Macy Gray, and perhaps ‘Last Night’ because it features Sunshine Anderson, quite frankly this is the type of alobum you can leave to play from the delicious, telling soulster ‘I Used To Love Someone’, to the rough, R&B-soul closer ‘Exclusively’. This should appeal to young and adult soul and R&B fans, alike.

Antonio & Ed Cortes Pinto ‘City Of Angels’ (Milan/East West)  This film soundtrack embodies cocking Latin-funk of the highest order. From the opener, the atmospheric, percussion-driven and brass-interjected instrumental ‘Meu Nome E Ze’, the duo set the tone for this funk fest. Follow up track ‘Vida de Otario’, with its ‘Funky Drummer’ type beats maintains the funk quotient. With a title like ‘Funk De Virada’, not much needs to be said. The moody ‘Estoria Da Boca’ adds a jazzy vibe. Artists like Hykdon and Raul Seixas bring down the tempo and also some vocals. Ends with DJ Camillo & DJ Yah’s garage-house remix of ‘Batacuda’.  

Ashanti ‘Can’t Stop’ (TEAM/Unique) An album of earlier material, it’s more R&B/soul, than the R&B/hip-hop she’s better known for now. The title track has R&B elements that’s closer to her more recent work. The soulful, downlow songs include ‘You Don’t Have 2 Love Me’, ‘Believe’,  ‘It’s About Time’, and the quiet storm ballad ‘By My Side’. However, very interestingly, there’s also club-primed housey disco: ‘Baby Baby’, which also ends the set with a ‘Red Rhythm Radio Edit’. So it seems the younger Ashanti was initially directed into dance, rather than R&B! The vocals are alright but do not have the confidence and sassiness of The Inc-signed Ashanti.

Ashanti ‘Concrete Rose’ (The Inc)  Ashanti impresses here. Think of her as a lighter kind of Mary J. She certainly does the hip-hop/soul thing on cuts such as ‘Still Down’, featuring TI. ‘Only You’ is obviously one of the roughest, funkiest cuts around. She funks with cuts like ‘Focus’ and the Ja Rule-featured ‘Turn It Up’, and coos on the downtempo with ‘Don’t Let Them’ and ‘Love’. Includes flirty and sexual cuts like ‘take Me Tonight’ and UK bonus cut ‘Touch My Body’. Includes Ja Rule and R Kelly featured ‘Wonderful’.  

Asher D. Street Sibling (Indepediente) So Solid’s MC is definitely going to surprise a lot of people with this debut album. His rhyming style’s cool and his rhymes aren’t bad. He employs funk-based grooves and R&B collabos, which extend his fanbase well beyond garage and hip-hop. He keeps the underground sorted with tracks like ‘Solid Roc’, which is a rap collabo with the Roc-A-Fella crew. Crossover-wise, there’s ‘Give It Up’, which is built on a firm funk bed and has a soulful contributions from a Sugababe; and ‘There For You’, which is one of the strongest tracks. Musically, it’s blessed with soulful tones, whilst the babyfather lyrics are inspirational. Another conscious jam is Timbaland-like grooved ‘The Message’. Thankfully, his rhymes aren’t all about his time in prison

Atmosofear ‘En Trance’ (Discotheque/Sanctuary) Most of those who know this Brit-funk group, probably know their one, crossover hit ‘Dancing In Outer Space’, which is a bonus track, along with preceded the release of this, their debut album. If you think they were just good for funk and disco, the mid-tempo ‘Duende’ and ‘Return Of LB’ show their musicianship off very well. ‘Interplay’ is a very, very funky tune that jazz-funk heads must be aware of. Ditto: ‘Funk The Rock’. They were never good singers, but they certainly knew how to funk! Check out the atmospheric rejig known as ‘Outer Space’!

Augustus Pablo ‘Dub, Reggae and Roots from the Melodica King’ (Manteca)  This mid-priced twenty-one track set is a good buy, as it provides a useful retrospective of the reggae melodica-player/producer. Kicks off, naturally, which one of Pablo’s best known tunes: ‘Cassava Piece’, immediately followed by the Jacob Miller-sung vocal version ‘Night And Day’. Then we get more into dub territory with the ‘555’ tracks. How you enjoy this album is up to you. There are vocal cuts, like ‘Young Generation’, and dub cuts, like ‘Rockers Rock’. Enjoy!  

Augustus Pablo ‘Dub, Reggae and Roots from the Melodica King’ (Manteca) This mid-priced twenty-one track set is a good buy, as it provides a useful retrospective of the reggae melodica-player/producer. Kicks off, naturally, which one of Pablo’s best known tunes: ‘Cassava Piece’, immediately followed by the Jacob Miller-sung vocal version ‘Night And Day’. Then we get more into dub territory with the ‘555’ tracks. How you enjpy this album is up to you. There are vocal cuts like ‘Young Generation’, and dub cuts like ‘Rockers Rock’. Enjoy!

Avani ‘The Real Thing’ (Dome) It’s taken me several listenings to finally be impressed. Indeed, initially when I got the sampler, I thought it was a case of good voice with too much mediocre material. But I have warmed to the full album. She’s quite a good singer who does well covering the young, R&B scene with groovy, uplifting cuts like ‘Don’t U Worry’ and the bumpy Don-e produced ‘Heads Up’. Older heads may appreciate slower, soulful cuts like ‘Teardrops’ and ‘Lover’s Theme’. Includes the rocking ‘Watching You’, featuring Rahsaan Patterson and Carl McIntosh, which is screaming to be a single!  

Baka Beyond With The Baka Forest People  ‘Rhythm Tree’ (March Hare Music) It is a testament to British roots-fusionist group Baka Beyond’s interest in the Baka people, that not only do they get a billing on an album on which they provide vocals and instrumentation, but also portion of profits from their previous collaborations has gone into building the Baka Music House Project right in the rainforest for the Cameroonian indigenous people’s community. This is a delicious and organic-sounding roots album, despite use of electric equipment. Celtic influences on ‘Shimma’ mix with that of the Baka, particularly on the dance tracks ‘The Rhythm Tree’, and ‘Kobo’, which features several Baka guitarists.

BamJimBa ‘I Love’ (BamJimBa Music) Preston-based reggae musician/producer Jim Bamber a.k.a Bamjimba put this 7 track EP out as a tribute to his late friend Papa Wade McKinney, and also as a fund-raiser for Sickle Cell Society charity. His effort has raised a few thousands of pounds. This is essentially an instrumental dub offering, which is both atmospheric and quite musical. It’s dominated by brass sounds, heavy b-lines, and huge echo-drenched beats. ‘Love Your Blues’ is one such typical track. Soothing soprano sax lines waft over modern rockers type beats and a solid b-line. Rocking, but yet, restful music. Available from several internet outlets or via www.prostudio.co.uk.

Bembeya Jazz National ‘The Syliphone Years’ (Stern’s) Not much music has made its way out of the Guinea, the tiny west African country. However, this group, which spanned the early ‘60s to ‘70s, produced an irresistible blend of jazz, Congolese inspired rumba, mixed indigenous styles, that it travelled. Particularly during the optimistic ‘60s. A double album that should be played uninterrupted on a lazy Sunday in order for the gorgeous vocals, huge brass and riffing guitars to work their charm. The seven minute ‘Mossougbe’, and ‘Sou’ best exemplify said elements. So old school, and charming. Includes lavish sleevenotes.  

Beverley Knight ‘Affirmation’ (Parlophone)  Our Bev’s dropped another fine album. You know that the songs are going to be strong, with some depth, and that she doesn’t hold back those vocals, if she doesn’t have to. The surprise though is that she’s come back riding a rock-ish tune, ‘Come As You Are’. The guitars even sound like it’s provided by the Stones’ Keith Richards! But fear not, Bev’s not gone totally rocky.  ‘Not Too Late For Love’, ‘No One Ever Loves In Vain’, and ‘Salvador’ are some of the cuts to please soul heads. She bops on the funky ‘Supersonic’, which has a rhythmic style that seems like it came from Prince’s song book. Love it.

Big Advice ‘Love Shines’ (Electric Monkey) Musos who’ve played inn Ben Harper and Frankie Beverley’s bands along with Brit muso Matt Cooper produce a fine blend of ‘70s sounding R&B and funk. Real live musicality but with today’s production sheen. No well-known names here, but the singers and sound are top-grade for any retro head to check out.  

Billy Larkin & The Delegates ‘Organ Grooves And Soul Brothers: The Best Of’ (Stateside)  Oh yes, it was just Jimmy Smith who produced groovy organ-led music music. Just check out the awesome bossa nova jazz instrumental ‘Pigmy (Part One)’. It’s potency is such that it can still rock a club today! Their first single and still one of their best efforts, certainly in its crossover appeal. It’s so good us a ‘Part two’, which is a tad bit less exciting than the first. They take us into a cool, quiet place with the atmospheric downtempo ‘Cristo Redentor’. The drums, guitar and organ is occasionally augmented by Clifford Scott’s tenor sax. The funky ‘The Cooker’ is probably the most democratic track, because it’s not just the organist that hogs the limelight - the drummer, saxophonist and guitarist also get to show off their chops! The sax features well on their cover of Sam & Dave’s ‘Hold On I’m Comin’’, and the drums rock on the cover of ‘Ode To Billy Joe’. It’s re-issues of great music like this that need to be discovered by new fans, which make re-issues worthwhile.

Blak Twang ‘The Cotton Cotton’ (Bad Magic) We’re all invited to the London rhymer’s club, where it’s all fun and bling, but no violence. The title track is destined to be a club-jammer. ‘Beef Stop’ is a cautionary tale. ‘GCSE’ provides sex education for the ‘ghetto children’. The R&B-laced ‘Lady’ is for the ladies to enjoy, and has big crossover potential. The well-travelled rhymer gives us a rundown of his experiences, with a Barrington Levi sample coming in and out.of ‘Travellin’’. ‘Roadback’, the most hip-hoppy cut here, is a rocking on road commentary. Highlights include the emotive ‘Prayer For The Dying’, and the encouraging ‘Carry On’.

Bobby Womack ‘The Womack Live/Safety’ (EMI) EMI has simultaneously released several of Womack’s old recordings. Whilst many of us know the songs like ‘Harry Hippie’ on ‘Understanding/Communication’, few of us may have experienced Womack live, which is why the value of this album. It’s interesting to hear the man joking and flirting with the audience, or his soulful trademark vocals re-inventing pop songs like ‘California Dreamin’’ and George Harrison’s ‘Something’, or simply performing the blues.  

Boyz II Men ‘Throwback’ (MSM/Unique) Putting their cover of the funky ‘Let It Whip’ seems a curious choice at best., as it’s not your typical BIIM. It turns out this is actually a covers album. Whilst the arrangement may be modern, they don’t add much vocally to ‘Let’s Stay Together’ or ‘Close The Door’. They however do shine on ‘For the Love Of You’, ‘Sara Smile’, and most definitely on ‘You Make Me Feel Brand New’ and ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’. A bit into the album, hearing the g-funked ‘Cutie Pie’ doesn’t sound incongruous.

Brand New Heavies ‘Allaboutthefunk’ (OneTwo/Enterprise) Hmmm, ‘Boogie’ is just an irresistible funk cut. I dare anyone to resist moving their body when it’s playing. Look out for the soulful music industry critique ‘Need Some More’. The funk/rare groove merchants are back with brand new grooves, like ‘Waste My Time’, ‘How Do You Think’, ‘Every Time We turn It Up’, ‘How Do We Do This’ and ‘Surrender’, plus yet another new female singer. Nicole Russo holds her on. She stretches vocally on the ‘Slippin’ Into Darkness’-echoing funkster ‘What Do You Take Me For’, and they rinse ‘Many Rivers To Cross’, turning it into their own churchy tune.

Brand Nubian ‘Fire In The Hole’ (Babygrande) I may not appreciate some of their language, but it must be said that this old group are back strong and bound to make a mark in the hip-hop world. The production and beats should attract new, young fans, whilst holding their old fans. In between the raw rhymes, they drop science for young heads, like ‘Young Son’, and show a sweet side with their soulful ode to ‘Momma’. Starr also adds his soulful singing to a couple of tracks.  

Breis ‘Your Favourite MC Mix CD’ (bambreis.net) The title track has Breis reminiscing in rhyme about some of the old and new school rhymesters, interspersed with vox pops of people running down their favourite MCs and rappers. A very cool hip hop track it is. Breis recounts biographical snippets, from being picked on in school because he was African, holding off the call to becoming a rapper by first going to uni to sort out a degree on the funk-based ‘ Here For You’. He overstates his Africanness on ‘African Necklace’ and ‘Expensive Style’ by flowing over Afro-beat grooves. Breis gets jazzy as he urges us to ‘Think Big’. A maverick talent worth checking out.

Brenda Russell. Between The Sun And The Moon (Dome) Recorded in California, and in London with the likes of producers Bluey, VRS and Simon Law, it’s a rather patchy affair. Too many ordinary songs and different styles and moods, plus her cover of ‘Tracks Of My Tears’ probably shouldn’t have been added this album, unlike the delicious soul-jazzer ‘It’s A Jazz Day’, which is from her last album. The sparse Latin and African tinged title track sits incongruously between the fuller tracks. The strong tracks are the soulful mid-tempo ‘I Know You By Heart’, ‘Ain’t No Smoke’, and the dancey R&Ber ‘You Know Our Day Will Come’.

Brigette ‘Starlite Lounge’ (Expansion) Exquisite soul and jazzy music for mature tastes. Brigette has an accessible style, without sacrificing quality in terms of vocals, songs and musicianship. She covers a few music styles, which work well within the context of this album. Like the fine, soul-jazz quiet-stormer title track, the jazzy, soulful lilting bossa nova-ish ‘Aqua De Bebeer’ and ‘Much Too Much’. Ditto: the acoustic-guitar featured ‘Take Me’, which also has a housey remix, which closes the set. Another big quite-stormer is the beguiling, sexy, soulster ‘Is It Love’. An album that one can listen to repeatedly. Lovely.

Bugz In The Attic ‘Life:Styles’ (Harmless) London act/production team have their chance to put together their compilation in this on-going series. On the whole, they elect for some soul and R&B crate-digging. Teena Marie’s opener ‘Square Biz’, and Paris’ closer ‘I Chose You’, are perhaps the most commercial tracks here. Marvin Gaye represents with ‘Heavy Love Affair’, Will Downing with ‘In My Dreams’, Jermaine Jackson with ‘Come To Me’, and Herbie Hancock with ‘Sun Touch’. There’s also Rufus feat. Chaka Khan’s ‘Stop On By’, and Leon Haywood’s disco-ey ‘I Wanna Do Something freaky To You’. Slum Village sneak in with the cool, atmospheric rap cut ‘Get Dis Money’.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Cam’ron ‘Purple Haze’ (Roc-A-Fella) No sooner had Jay-Z’s label helped him get a hit album, and he’s out of his deal because he apparently can’t take Jay-Z as the Def Jam head honcho. The beats are banging, the rhymes dark, sexist, questionable lyrics about pimping, but then many find cuts like ‘More Gangsta Music’ as purely entertainment. He contrasts those hard tracks with ‘Get Down’ which has a very radio-friendly, crossover riff. But what’s the lyrics saying: get money at any cost, it matters not who has to be blown away to protect one’s lot. It’s ironic - he criticises R&B singers overa backing that uses what sounds like children singing a hook. He uses a sung hook of ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, whilst R&B singer Jaheim features on ‘More Reasons’. I’m not sure if the drug-themed ‘Welcome To Purple Haze’ skit is ironic or humourous. Ceryainly not keen on his ghetto-centric lyrics.  

Carleen Anderson ‘Up To Now: The Best Of’ (EMI) A fine collection of Carleen’s recorded work, starting with her solo version of her Young Disciples hit ‘Apparently Nothing’ and ending with her wonderful remake of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’. A gifted singer and songwriter, includes ‘True Spirit’, Guru featured ‘Mr Businessman’ and Full Flava featured ‘Stories’.  

Carleen Anderson ‘Up To Now: The Best Of’ (EMI) A fine collection of Carleen’s recorded work, starting with her solo version of her Young Disciples hit ‘Apparently Nothing’ and ending with her wonderful remake of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’. A gifted singer and songwriter, includes ‘True Spirit’, Guru featured ‘Mr Businessman’ and Full Flava featured ‘Stories’.

Cassidy ‘I’m A Hustla’ (J) Cassidy establishes his thug credentials early on with the title track that chronicles his different hustles – the album closes with a club-banging remix featuring Mary J. Pity such rhyming and lyrical talent is wasted on sorry bragging and thugs and hustlers big-up cuts like the strings-washed ‘On The Grind’, or advocating the ‘Crack’ business. He goes for some old school, b-boy beats, but the lyricism still pimps the thug stance. Some may see ‘AM To PM’ as over the top, cartoonish, but I don’t think singing songs about spraying people with bullets from morning to night, is one worth encouraging. The language on the electro-driven club cut ‘C-Bionic’ warrants the extra sleeve warning: “Strong language: Sexual & Violent Content”. The orchestral strings-backed, reflective ‘Can’t Fade Me’, gives us some glimpse into Cassidy’s life and mentally. Like the lack of hope has him smoking volumes, and selling drugs, etc. Mario collaborates on the funk-based club joint ‘Kick It Wit You’. The positive stuff here is the exhortations spoken by Dr Benjamin Chavis Muhammad which precedes the pointed socio-conscious ‘The Message’. Sadly the artist is in jail awaiting a real-life murder rap.

Cherrelle ‘Fragile’/‘High Priority’ (Tabu)  ‘Fragile’ was an upbeat drums and bass driven affair that mostly appealed to the feet. ‘ I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On’, and the ballads, including the very soulful ‘I Will Wait For You’ and ‘Who’s It Gonna Be’ were the better of the average stuff here. It’s nice for a woman to rate his man a high priority, but the title track, as with many of the cuts from Cherrelle’s sophomore set are perfunctory and formulaic. It takes a cut like ‘Saturday Midnight’, the duet with Alexander O’Neal, and the funkatastic ‘You Look Good To Me’, to rise above the ordinary stuff.  

Chevelle Franklyn ‘His Way’ (NOW) This must certainly be one of the best gospel reggae records to ever come out of Jamaica. The production is phat, the beats bumping. It matches, and indeed surpasses many of the secular stuff meant for the dancehall. However, where Chevelle has the edge, is that whilst her lyrics are unadulterated gospel, her vocals and underlying music touches more bases, than just dancehall. Her soulful vocals show on the DJ Nicholas featured ‘Would You Go’, ‘Love Can’, ‘Come’, ‘Before You’, ‘Jesus I Love You’, and the dramatic ‘What Can I Say’, on which she definitely blow those vocal cords. ‘Kill My Flesh’ is a fine reggae cut. Recommended.

Chingy ‘Powerballin’’ (EMI) The money, girls, sex and flossing lyrics gets a bit boring after a while. So it’s the skits, like the ‘Haters 101’ intro and guest featured cuts such as the R Kelly featured ‘Leave Wit Me’, the Janet Jackson featured ‘Don’t Worry’, the Lil Flip featured ‘Balla Baby Remix’, that stand out. Of course if you just want to dance to bumping beats irrespective of lyrical content, then there’s lots here. Like the closer ‘Don’t Really Care’.  

Circle Research ‘Mulligan Stew’ (Do Right) 16 head-nodding, underground hip-hop head-pleasing cuts from Canada. Love the rap delivery and jazzy hip-hop beats that rock ‘Psy’d’ featuring PSY. Ditto: ‘I’m Not’, which adds some cool whistling and scratching, and which budding rappers better listen to decide what kind of rappers they are. Then listen to ‘Substance’ to see what kind of rapper you could end up in, if you don’t have head screwed on correctly. ‘Bridging The Gap is a cool, jazz backed cut featuring a Bahamadia-sounding Tara Chase and Japanese rapper Yushin.  

Clare Teal ‘Don’t Talk’ (Sony Jazz) The problem I find is that the styles here are too eclectic. There’s no musical focus. She starts off with ‘Messin’ With Fire’, which is an impressive big band jazz. Next minute, it’s loungecore jazz like something from the Rat Pack, the next it’s poppy, MOR-ish, then we’re wafting on samba, or a New Orleans tip. Still, there are quite a few lovely ballads here.  

Cocoa Tea ’20 Tracks Of’ (Virgin) Love ‘Sweet Cocoa Tea’ on which he bigs himself up, singing about how sexy he is, and how great his lyrics are on the dancehall. ‘Wonderful Angel’, like many of the tracks here, is sweet lovers rock over a heavy dancehall-friendly rhythm. Whilst his dulcet tones are suited for singing lovers rock, he is just adept at singing roots and culture songs, like ‘Reggae Music’, the socio-tipped ‘Too Much’, or Rastafarian music, like ‘If Jah Is For Us’.

Conga Doss ‘Just Because’ (Dome)  Dome just keeps those soulful female releases coming! Conga’s another Yankee singer likely to impress the UK soul/R&B scene with this, which is actually her sophomore set. Mature and engaging singing abounds. This is set to blow up on the scene in 2005, for sure. Not much needs to be said, except, soul heads should check it out, because from the title track opener, it rocks, and doesn’t let go. The only downside perhaps is the s-word used in the soul/R&Ber ‘Here we Go Again’!  

Cooly’s Hot Box ‘Don’t Be Afraid, Get On’ (Dome) Another enjoyable album from a band that plies a ‘70s-vibed soul and funk trade. Kicking off with ‘Don’t Be Afraid’, funk and disco heads can vibe off the pumping bassline, whilst soul fans appreciate keyboardist Angela Johnson’s glorious singing. Normally Johnson’s vocal cuts overshadow keyboardist Christian ‘Cooly’ Urich’s vocal cuts. However, his vocals impresses on the funky ‘Get On’ and soulful ballad ‘Maybe’, as does Johnson on ‘Wait 4 U’.  

Craig David ‘The Story Goes…’ (Warner Brothers) No matter what Brits we involved here, it feels like the American bosses of his new label issued an ultimatum: “We need an American R&B style to sell him in America. Whilst you’re at it, why don’t we have more of the sexual thing – see how R Kelly sells.” Smooth, as can be expected. However this could well be some American R&B artist’s record. Lyrically, it’s very much focused on sex and love. Like ‘Don’t Love You No More (I’m Sorry)’, ‘Take ‘Em Off’, and ‘My Love Don’t Stop’. Well set up with ‘All The Way’, there are lots more singles to keep this album on the charts for yonks. Pity, some may regret the way Craig seems to have abandoned the obvious British influences.

Daby Touré ‘Diam’ (Realworld) It takes a few listens for this Senegalese modern roots singer-songwriter and musician’s music to show its full potential. But when it does, it’s a joy. He uses different vocal and musical  styles, including what sounded like throat-singing (on ‘Kelimanta’), acoustic guitars. His focus of his music, which has a lot of contrasting shades in its arrangements, is reflective and folky-bluesy, whilst the female backing vocals on ‘Mansa’ add a touch of soulfulness. Bits of English also make it most accessible. Touré’s vocals are sweetest on the mellow ‘Hammadi’. The addition of a harmonica on the closer, ‘Fabe’ echoes of his compatriot Ismael Lo.

Daryl Hall & John Oates  ‘Our Kind Of Soul’ (U Watch) I loved this acts stuff during their heyday on RCA. Hall went on a solo trip, showing his soul inclinations, particularly on his re-working of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Stop Loving Me’. This album featuring mostly Motown covers is patchy. How can you here ‘I’ll Be There’ and not think of The Spinners, or ‘Love TKO’, and not think of Teddy P. The attempt to modernise ‘She Used To Be My Girl’ with hip beats doesn’t sit comfortably. This works best on their few originals, like ‘Soul Violin’ and ‘Let Love Take Control’. This is a homage that will have you mostly wishing for the originals. However they do a good job of a couple, especially ‘After The Dance’, which is another from Gaye songbook.  

Dawn Baaba Arthur ‘Wani Nda Awurade So’ (Depite Music) Recorded in London by the lady popularly known as Babs, who has a shop in Harlesden, North-West London, this is released in Ghana. Although it does fit into the secular highlife market, its main focus however in the highlife-gospel market. Although it’s mostly sung in the Akan language, there are some English-sung cuts. Like the reggae-vibed ‘Wonderful Jesus’, and ‘Adoration’, which is literary a rap praising the Lord and his blessings. Sincere, and heart-felt, this is nevertheless likely to appeal mostly to a Ghanaian audience.

De La Soul ‘De La Mix Tape’ (Tommy Boy/Rhino) Certainly one for the DLS hardcore fan, it contains remixes, like ‘Stakes Is High (Remix)’ and Badmarsh & Shri’s Indo-drum & bass remix of ‘Me, Myself & I’; rarities, like the jazzy ‘Trouble In The Water’, featuring DJ Honda, and the ‘Piles And Piles Of Demo Tapes Bi-Da Miles’ medley; and classics like ‘The Magic Number’.

Deep ‘Treading Water’ (GDM) UK rapper likely to make some noise. After the foul-mouthed, comic ‘Intro’, it goes into the hard, head-banging club track ‘Down To Business’. Pity he he advocates making money anyway, and doesn’t “even care if it’s bloody”. ‘The UK Needs Me’ is a mellow, but yet another head-banging cut. This UK-enthusing track could easily blow up as a UK hip-hop anthem. That Deep has great flow is not in doubt, though I’m not down with some of the negative, ghetto-centric lyricism. On the Latin-tinged ‘Groupie’, at least he’s honest when he admits he started rapping to get groupies. The R&B-laced ‘Living Life’ has much crossover potential. Stand out tracks include the thought-provoking jazz-funk based ‘Whoa’, the emotive, reminiscising biographical ‘Mamma Don’t Cry’, the roots reggae-backed biographical and socio-tipped ‘Rain On Me’, and the head-nodding title track, which is lyrically strong and heads had better check it out.

Dennis Taylor ‘Smile: The Very Best’ (Jazz FM)  Dome’s artist gets a compo of his best bits. Starts off with the funky soul/R&Ber ‘Smile’. Track present and correct include: ‘Enough Is Enough’, ‘In The Mood’, Full Crew’s remix of ‘Bad As You Wanna Be’, the soulful ‘Don’t Wanna Give Up’ and ‘Feelin’ Good’, plus ‘Could Be You’, his duet with Beverlei Knight.  

Dieneba Seck ‘The Truth’ (Stern’s) Comparisons with Malian star Oumou Sangare are inevitable on account of Seck’s vocals, arrangements and style. The good news is that she’s just as good an artist. With Ibrahim Sylla in the executive producer chair, you can expect the production to be top notch. Greatly musical, and rhythmic, cuts like ‘Oudiobila’, and ‘Niteke Nela’, whose female chorus echoes of the Wassolou sound made famous by the likes of Sangare, should attract Sangare and contemporary Malian music fans. However the ace here is the surprising, mellow, orchestrated ballad ‘Tigné (The Truth)’.

Dinah Washington ‘Jazz`Masters’ (EMI Jazz) Oh dear, after that aural and spiritual assault by Ja rule, I needed something mellow, breezy, and soothing, which I find on this album. The luxuriously orchestrated ballad ‘For All We Know’ just does the trick. It’s enough to get me charged up to enjoy other jazz stands, like ‘You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You’. Dinah was one of the great soulful jazz greats, and this twenty track amply provides the evidence. Cool, enjoyable, smooth jazz. Includes the bluesy ‘Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning’.  

Dinuba ‘Que Se Yo’ (Blanco)
What a leap for Robin Taylor-Frith, from being the head honcho behind chart-topping Olive to producing, this multi-genre blending Cuban tinged album. Cuts include the dub and hip-hop propelled ‘Maria’ and ‘’Estoy Loco’; the real trumpets on ‘Eight’ accentuate the Latin feel, whilst the flute-dominated instrumental ‘Fluty Loops’ is a slow grower. ‘Québate Conmigo’ is a funk-based Latin dancer, replete with a huge chorus and brass lines. Definitely for the musically adventurous, and Latin fusion fans.

Diplo ‘Floroda’ (Big Dada) This producer really does have the grooves. Strictly for hip-hop heads who love their beats with left-field soundscapes. It’s mostly instrumentals incorporating a multitude of sounds and styles. Martina Topley-Bird adds haunting vocals to the atmospheric ‘Into The Sun’. Diplo gets very funky on ‘Diplo Rhythm’, featuring singjay Sandra Melody and Vybz Kartel.  

DJ Dolores ‘Aparelhagem’ (Ziriguiboom/Crammed) With Brazil having the highest population of African descendants in the diaspora, it’s not surprising that there’s lots of African influences within Brazilian music. One of the country’s leading DJ/producers brings a selections of some of these style to the attention of a wider audience. Kicks off with ‘De Dar Do’, a style called embolada, a rap style used by the youths to tell stories and jokes on the buses. DJ Dolores underpins it with hip-hoppy beats and jazzy melodies. It’s a very charming and humorous track. ‘Salvo (The Preacher)’ may deal with spiritual matters, however for most, it’s the hip-hop/house/samba rhythm which drives which will get most people going. Whilst DJ Dolores explores different styles, the results are always danceable and musically interesting, as typified by the glorious ‘Sanidade’.

DJ Format ‘If You Can’t Beat Them… Join ‘Em’ (Genuine/PIAS) For lovers of turntablism and old school hip-hop lovers, there’s much here to be admired. DJ Format cooks some real funky and jazzy cuts, like ‘The Turning Point’, and the atmospheric ‘Black Gold’. However the likes of Abdominal, D-Sisve, Charli 2na & Akil add rhymes on most of the tracks. The Abdominal featured ‘Rap Machine’ is an irresistible head-nodder!

DJ Krush ‘Jaku’ (Sony) The Japanese producer/turntablist offers a sumptuous offering of atmospheric soundscapes and rocking beats. Like the ‘Still Island’, which has lilting drum & bass rhythms underneath huge strings. There are a couple of rapped tracks, although the instrumental mostly hold sway. Like the big beats ‘The Beginning’, and moody, ambient and jazzy piano featured ‘Stormy Clouds’.  

DJ Spooky ‘That Subliminal Kid’ (Thirsty Ear) A double CD, which gives you a choice of his remixes on one, and a continuous mix on the other, it’s best to let both play uninterrupted in order to best appreciate DJ Spooky’s sonic magic. Weird mellow sounds mix with various kinds of hip-hop and turntablist noises. And if you want some rap, look out for the jazz-backed ‘Lingua Ex Machina’, although the language can be fruity. Or Saul Williams’ haunting and powerful, politico-tipped anti-(Iraq) war song ‘Not In Our Name’!  

DJ Zeph ‘Sunset Scavenger’ (Wide Hive) DJ Zeph drops a very enjoyable producer/turntablist album, full of excitement as he weaves atmospheric soundscapes, break breaks, jazz vibes, funk, scratching, plus rap by the likes of Lyrics Born. From the opener, ‘Unsubtractable’, which features scratching by DJ Quest, it doesn’t let up. Top class head-nodding offering.

Doc Brown ‘The Document’ (Janomi) This is a record primed to rock the dancefloor, but also has a good story which one hopes young heads will pay heed to. This doc has the potential through his accomplished music to put his North-west manor on the map, just like sister Zadie Smith has with her literary exploits. The British rapper has some key producers in his courner, like C swing, and Nutty P. Has a cool, party vibe. ‘Survival (The Music Game)’ has a tight, funky groove with some nice scratching. ‘Family Time’ has some accessible R&B vibes provided by Antoine Stone’s vocals. ‘Stomp (Oh My Days)’ is a head-nodder, whilst the dancehall/hip-hopper ‘Feel Me’ an unadulterated dance-floor-jammer! The C Swing-produced ‘Do It’, with its London hustling storyline and the optimistic ‘Never Coming Down’, should get hip-hop heads bopping. ‘Alone’, ‘Came This Far’, and ‘Love Me The Right Way’, with its lilting socio-tip lyricism, plus gentle, mellow rhythms, not to mention the charming female backing vocals, offer the most feel-good and stand out tracks here.  This doc is set to put Willesden, north-west London on the map on account of dropping a really cool British rap album. He’s got eight million stories to say, of which he reminisces about quite a few on the pumping, funky, uplifting ‘Do It’. This is a record primed to rock the dancefloor, but also has a good story which one hopes young heads will pay heed to. This doc has the potential through his accomplished music to put his manor on the map, just like sister Zadie Smith has with her literary exploits. Go discover this rocking and accessible offering!  

Don Ricardo ‘Introducing…’ (Charm/Jetstar) I first came across Don when I saw him perform at last year’s Black Music History Award. He mightily impressed me with his upbeat, conscious blend of reggae. This album shows a versatile, conscious and charming singer. Whether it’s lovers like opener ‘So In Love With You’, a dancehall combination like ‘Used To Be My Girl’ featuring Jucxi D, admonishing the badman crew on ‘Bet You Don’t Know’, or popular soulful tracks like ‘Love Is The Staff Of Life’ or ‘She’s Having Your Baby’, the vocals are always impressive, the lyrics intelligent.  Surely, Don Ricardo must be one of Britain’s brightest hopes in a long time!

Don-E ‘Back Again’ EP (Atomic Dred)  Twice before, the title track’s been promo-ed, and I’ve raved about it. Simply because it’s one of the funkiest and engaging R&B cuts ever! This new version has a rap by Blak Twang. Don-e cruises on ‘My One’, whilst he shows his vocal chops as a jazz-tinged R&B/soulster with ‘Lonely’, ‘Bus Stop’ and ‘Unbreakable 2’. Those who accused Don-e of being a pop act during his Island tenure, better check out his enjoyable re-working of the latter old fave. It’s simply a gorgeous mid-tempo soul gem. If you've got this, then hold on to it. Because 'Back Again' is not on Don-e's new album 'Try This'.  

Donny Hathaway ‘These Songs For You, Live’ (Atlantic) What a joy to hear this long departed singer-songwriter perform his songs, and re-interpret other’s. He funks on his previously unreleased track ‘Valdez In The Country’, and mellows on the idealistic ‘Someday We’ll All Be Free’. He also rinses standards, such as ‘You’ve Got A Friend’, ‘What’s Goin’ On’,  ‘Yesterday’, and particularly Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superwoman’. Ends with a wonderful version of his classic ‘The Ghetto’!  

Dr Alimantado ‘Born For A Purpose’ (Greensleeves) Kicks off in splendid form with the uplifting ‘Born For A Purpose/Reason For Living’- a rockers song that ought to be play for those that don’t value their lives and seek to interfere with others living their lives. He touches on a myriad of subjects, From ‘Chant To Jah’ to the ode ‘Return Of Muhammad Ali’, to the lamenting of the ‘Oil Crisis’. The toasting ‘Dreadlocks Dread’ is driven by flying cymbals rockers rhythms of the period.  

Dynamite MC ‘World Of Dynamite’ (Strong) I have to admit it was listening to this MC’s collabo with Beverley Knight on Roni Size's 'No More'  which pricked my ears for this. Dynamite is a good rhymer who competently rides different rhythms and delivery styles. Language notwithstanding, he flows in three different styles on ‘Mar-Val-Luss’ - from hardcore hip-hopper to dancehall DJ. He rides hip-hop beats, uses some fine samples, like the haunting ‘Visions’, and naturally Size weaves some rocking drum & bass over which Dynamite delivers some fast-rapping such as the d&s underground story ‘The Scene’. Go discover.  

Earth Wind & Fire ‘Illumination’ (Sanctuary) Yes, they are back, but not as the all-conquering band they once were. Like the recent album by fellow veteran group Kool & Gang, EWF are made to have relevance to the modern market place through collaborations. Like the Raphael Saadiq’s featured Grammy-nominated mid-tempo soulster ‘Show Me The Way’ and the punchy, brass club-banger ‘Love Together’, the firing funkster ‘This Is How I Feel’, featuring Kelly Rowland, the Floetry rap-laced hip-hop head-nodding, uplifting joint ‘Elevated’, and the mellow, soulful ‘Autumn’, featuring the charming vocalist Musiq Soulchild. Certainly a welcome return.

Ecstacy, Passion And Pain ‘Ecstacy, Passion And Pain’ (Stateside) From the first track, ’Ask Me’, which finds lead singer Barbara Roy in her element, the disco groove echoes very much of Philadelphia International MFSB sound. But then it’s not surprising as Philly arranger was part of the EP&P’s sound. It’s not all disco and funky, they can turn their hand and voices at many sweet, luxurious soul music too, like ‘Let’s Move’ and ‘I’ll Take The Blame’. Includes bonus tracks, like the Philly soulster ‘Dance the Night away’, and the 12-inch of the Salsoul-sounding disco shouter ‘Touch And Go’.

Eek-A-Mouse ‘Mouseketeer’ (Greensleeves) One of Greensleeves’ special priced classic reggae releases, this album comes with two bonus tracks featuring 12-inch mixes of ‘Teacher’ and ‘Anarexol’. When you want some fun, easy reggae music, Eek is one to check. He seems to have a variety of voices to push along a song, as typified on tracks like ‘Star, Daily News Or Gleaner’ or ‘Anarexol’! The more serious tracks include uplifting ‘Palaving’, which rides a heavy Junjo Lawes-produced rhythm.

Elmore James ‘Dust My Broom’ (Gold Box) A value for money budget priced double CD, which kicks off with the legendary slide guitar playing bluesman’s classic title track. Includes that song’s progenitor ‘I Believe’. His vocals on ‘The Sky Is Crying’ reminds me of James Brown in his mellow, soulful singing mood, whilst ‘Sunnyland Train’ and ‘Baby Please Set A Date’, echoes of Brown in shouting, giving-it-some singing mood. ‘It Hurts Me Too’ and ‘Something Inside Of Me’ epitomise the typical ‘my baby gone left me’ kind of blues. ‘Everyday I Have The Blues’ just about sums up blues music. James finds time to turn his hand at writing a jump jazzy rock n roller ‘Take Me Where Yiu Go’. The rock n roller ‘Shake Your Money Maker’ inspired Black Crowes’ debut album title. Worth getting, if interested in blues and the genesis of rock n roll and R&B. 

El-p ‘High Water’ (Thirsty Ear) Opens with the mellow, soprano sax and piano featured instrumental ‘Please Stay’, which under three minutes, ends to quickly! Thankfully saxes and piano delight of the ten minute plus jazz workout ‘Sunrise Over Bklyn’. Fans of 4-Hero’s jazz-fused drum & bass may want to check out the furious ‘Get Modal’! Left-field yet accessible nu-jazz worth discovering.  

Eric Benet ‘Hurricane’ (Reprise) You can not listen to this album without thinking about the private life of the singer. The singer is the estranged husband of Hollywood actress and star Halle Berry. His alleged addiction to sex has been played out in the press. However, as much as one can use such background knowledge to read into the songs, after a few repeated plays, there’s no doubt this is a fine soul album that deserves to stand by its impressive musical merits. Eric weaves delicious soulful cuts like ‘My Prayer’. However, he touches on a folky, country-ish tip with opener ‘Be Myself Again’, and a sumptuous orchestrated jazz standard-sounding ‘The Last Time’. The title track’s a pop radio-friendly David Foster-produced cut. You can read into the other songs, like the questioning ‘Where Does Love Go’, to the confidence to commit to faithful life-time vows on ‘I Wanna Be Love’. An offering of introspective, painful, and reflective biographical songs by an artist, whose vocals occasionally hints of Stevie Wonder.

Ernest Ranglin & The African Jazz Pioneers ‘Alextown’ (Palm Pictures) From the moment the first track, ‘Trenchtown music’, kicks in, you know you’re in for a very interesting listening journey. This track seamlessly fuses dancehall, hip-hop, and African music sensibilities with Ranglin’s guitar giving an occasional jazzy lick. Recorded mainly in South Africa, Ranglin is joined by South African musicians for this mixture of straight up jazz like ‘Pictures Of Jozy’, township jive ‘Ezi Myama’, and the hip-hop, dubby jazz instrumental title track. South African collaborators include the Mahotella Queens. ‘Just Guitar Magic’ is one of the coolest Afro-jazz collaborations on her

Estelle ‘The 18^th Day…’ (V2) It’s been long-coming, but finally one of Britain’s much love rapper-singers drops a debut albums. She establishes herself firmly with her reminiscing single ‘1980’ and holds it down across the album. She keeps rap heads happy with cuts like ‘Change Is Coming’. Her singing fans will love the jazzy ‘I Wanna Love You’. And she parties on the funky ‘Dance Bitch’ and the Motown-imbued ‘Go Gone’.  

Ethix ‘Freedom Of Speech’ (Undersound) With the likes of Fusion, Alon Adiri and Harry Love in the production chair, the production’s banging on this Brit rapper’s debut. Like Alon’s head-banging rhythm behind ‘Explicit’, on which Ethix admits he’s explicit and if it offends then it’s intended! Alon also weaves another irresistible club-friendly groove under the city-big up ‘London’. So that’s why despite the language and theme here, there’s no Parental Advisory warning sticker on the cover. Over mellow melodies Ethnix delivers an unfolding tale of the dark sides of UK with ‘My Rhymes’, which features MC D. The slow-mo socio-commentary ‘Insomnia’ is great on the beats, vocals, and lyrical tip. Stephanie Marianne adds sweet tones to the relational abuse song with a twist ‘Leave Him’, and ‘Only U’. The socio-tipped ‘Road Life’ and ‘Conspiracy Theory’ are worth checking out.

Faithless ‘Forever: The Greatest Hits’ (Sony BMG) We haven’t been great fans of this band, which we thought were rather ravey.  However, ‘Muhammad Ali’ was one of the funkiest socio-tipped reminisces ever, whilst ‘Miss U Less, See You More’ was a rather clever lyrical spin on romantic songs. It’s taken this compilation, and closer listening via headphones to get into the punchy ravey tunes, like ‘Salva Mea’, and new tune ‘I Want More’, which features a Nina Simone sample, and to discover what a brilliant lyricist rapper Maxi Jazz is. It seems the music on cuts like ‘Insomnia’ and ‘God Is A DJ’ overshadow his clever lyricism. Estelle features in singing mood on the dancer ‘Why Go?’. Maxi drops some JA dialect over the heavy reggae tune ‘Fatty Boo’. We’re a bit more of a fan after listening to this compo!

Femi Kuti ‘Africa Shrine’ (UWE/MK2} Whilst he’s a voice of his own, there is no denying the influence of Fela Kuti can be heard in his son’s music. Recorded live, it shows the power of Femi and his band. Whilst Femi’s socio- and political stance may not be as abrasive as his father’s, his Afro-beat musical style does have punch, particularly the opener ‘Dem Bobo’. A couple of the stand out Afro-beat tracks is the seven minute-plus rocking and telling, politico ‘If Them Want To Hear’, and the bass-driven ‘Can’t Buy Me’. Ends with his cover of Fela’s ‘Water Get No Enemy’. Quality Afro-beat offering.

Foxy ‘Let’s Be Bad Tonight: The Best Of Foxy’ (TK/Stateside) I don’t seem to remember much of this ‘70s disco band except for their hit ‘Get Off’. However, this compo shows they had more material. Whilst ‘Hot Number’ may be derivative of ‘Get Off’, and it seems their lyrical bent was just getting into bed – which is underscored by the album title – cuts like the jazzy, funky ‘Let’s Love’ shows they rich musicality. That’s a marked contrast to many of today’s musicians who seem loop-driven. ‘People Fall In Love (While Dancing)’ shows disco wasn’t just about the dancefloor, there was much musicianship imbedded within the grooves. They even try their hand at reggae with ‘Lady Of The Streets’!  

Frankie Paul ’20 Massive Hits’ (Virgin) Choc-a-bloc with some of Frankie’s reggae hits. Like ‘Curfew In The Dance’, ‘Thu Shun Peng’, ‘Don’t Sniff Cocaine’, ‘Hooligan’, ‘Alesha’, ‘Kick Up rumpus’, etc.

Fred Wilson ‘Words Of Wisdom’ (BlackGuyMusic) Rocking, yet cool, and accessible may be the best way to describe this little-known, dreadlocked Brit jazz artist. The musicianship is excellent, and Wisdom adds his flavour to the jazz vocal canon sings. The samba ‘You’ picks up the tempo, whilst the socio-tipped ‘Black Guy’ is underpinned by a lilting reggae groove. The bluesy, jazzy ‘Copyright On Pain’ is delightful, but I’m not down with ‘Voodoo Powers’! Check this link for more and feedback: www.bbc.co.uk/music/jazz/reviews/wisdom_words.shtml.  

Freetown ‘Easy Street’ (Freetown) Nevermind reggaetron, the sound to be checking is ska. Perhaps we could be due another 2-Tone/ska revival? This London band really has got it going. Whether it’s the surprising cover of T Rex’s ‘Hot Love’, or their own irresistible dancing gems like ‘Ziggy Shuffle’ or ska covers like ‘Confucius’. Includes some live recordings, which amply demonstrate the power and humour as a live act, such as their cover ‘Dancing Mood’.

Fried ‘Fried’ (London) Fried. What a nondescript name. However, the chances are you’re going to remember this act, made up of former Fine Young Cannibals/Beats muso David Steele and a very impressive New Orleans singer called Jonte Short. Fusing old school sounds with modern, blues with hip-hop and R&B, Jonte is given full reign to show off her vocals. Beautiful. Expect this to end up on many a pundit’s top 10 list.

Fros-T. ‘Fros-T Me vs. Myself’ (4^th Man) Sampler shows a talented, hard rapper with strong street-friendly rhymes and beats, except he’s doing his thing for God with unadulterated gospel lyricism such as ‘Being Me’, ‘Left Behind’ and ‘How We Do’. But he also has time to get romantic with the soulful ‘Coming Home’. Just imagine if Eminem was a gospel rapper – he would most likely sound like Fros-T!

FYA ‘For Your Attention’ (Def Jam UK) I  had this threesome from High Wycombe are a dancehall-hip-hop act, based on their earlier tracks like ‘Boops’. However on the evidence here, they more into dancehall. Their bumping recent hit, ‘Must Be Love’, just jumps. It’s just beckons one to move! ’10 Out Of 10’, is a girl-tipped song which also craves for attention. ‘Shack it Out’ adds a bit of singing before the girls getting into their MCing.  The girls can really sing, as they ably demonstrate on the R&B-dancehall combination.

Gaby Lita Bembo & Stukas D Zaire ‘Kita Mata ABC’ (RetroAfric) At a time when almost all new music from Zaire seems to be dominated by monotonous programmed rhythms, it’s refreshing to rewind to the sound of a ‘70s act. What you get here is great ‘70s and ‘80s soukous, riffing guitars, exciting singing, and a sense of exciting, live musicianship. ‘Idee Kano’ has some great guitars, and ‘Toto Seya’, some joyful group voca

Gary Bartz ‘Anthology’ (Soul Brother) I must admit the only track I remember is the opener – the jazz-funker ‘Celestial Blues’. Saxophonist Bartz has a very accessible jazz fusion style that jazz and nonjazz heads can easily appreciate. He shows his Africanistleanings with titles like ‘Uhuru Sasa’ and ‘Juju Man’, and for those that have heard covers by the likes of Courtney Pine, you can hear the real smokey jazz original of ‘I’ve Known River’. Syreeta adds her soulful tones to ‘Music Is My Sanctuary’ and the awesome vocal and sax cover of ‘My Funny Valentine’. Recommended.  

Gary G Jenkins ‘The Other Side’ (Expansion) Definitely a ‘new name’ to look out for. Jenkins’ style often echoes of classic-soul dons like D’Angelo and Maxwell. Be prepared to be seduced by his vocals and music. His luxurious cover of ‘A Change’s Gonna Come’ certainly does it, as does the funky ‘Goes & Comes’, and the downtempo ‘Make The Sound’. Incidentally, this multi-instrumentalist happens to be the former lead singer of Silk. Enough said.

Genesis Elijah ‘Deh Pon Road’ (Broken Soul) I’m not down with the foul language, or “colourful language”, as he refers to it, though I can stand the aggression coming from this angry UK rapper, who lets rip on the title track. The beats are quite strong, like the Ahmos-featured, piano melody underpinned inner-city underground story. Ditto: the Klashnekoff featured lilting reggae- interspersed  ‘Jah Bless’. He questions the credibility of some of the American rappers on ‘So Hip-Hop’. He turns his venom on record company bods that now wanna be familiar. Klash, Kyza, Skriblah and Wordsmith join Genesis to give their take issues behind gun culture on the anti-gun ‘Gun Talk’. ‘Stay Strong’ offers a hopeful nod to heads, as with the accessible, Sabrina Roberts R&B-laced ‘More To Life’, which is tacked almost at the end. 

George Benson ‘Irreplaceable’ (GRP) I feel this album would well place George at the same place when hits like ‘Give Me The Night’ had him appealing to the jazz, soul and disco market. George equally appeals to all those demographics with the material here. From the kicker. ‘Six Play’,George’s sings as well as makes this guitar sing too. The grooves of ‘Whole Man’, for example, should appeal to a younger R&B audience. Ditto ‘Cell Phone’. ‘Reason For Breathing’ is one of the stand outs here.

George Nook ‘Reggae Max’ (Jet Star) Veteran reggae singer kicks off his ‘Reggae Max’ compo with his most recent reggae hit record, his sweet cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’. It’s immediately followed by the bumping, uplifting ‘God Is Standing By’. Other religious tracks include ‘No Power On Earth’, ‘God Is Always There For Me’, ‘Guide Me’, and ‘How Great Thou Art’. However, all these songs, including the last, which is actually a Christian hymn, are sung in a way that sits well within the secular environment. There’s the idealist ode ‘Perfect World’, plus lovers like ‘Flowers’, ‘Come On Over’, ‘Crying At Night’, and ‘I Don’t Wanna Lose You’. Nooks is a fine but under-recognised singer worth discovering. Hopefully this mid-priced compo will make an accessible introduction.  

Gerald Levert ‘Do I Speak For The World’ (Atlantic) Sometimes veteran  artist seem out of place employing modern sounds and styles. But not Levert. The breakbeats which drive the Intro work well, as does the thick slab of funk, which drives ‘Speak For The World’. Levert’s vocals are solid. Secondly, although Levert reverts to his usual romance and things of the flesh, it’s still refreshing to see that he’s willing to try a bit of socio-commentary here and there. A strong soul/R&B effort from a veteran. The soul just oozes out of his voice, as on ‘Crucify Me’. Romantics can get their dose with mid-tempos soulsters like ‘Lay U Down’. Competent, as expected. 

Gil Scott-Heron And Brian Jackson ‘Anthology: Messages’ (Soul Brother) He may be regarded as one of the founding fathers of rap, but it’s more singing than rap here. Also, there’s much musicality on here, which can be over-shadowed because people tend to look at Gil as a wordsmith and rhymer. Indeed, on this compo, which culls most of his key ‘70s material, Gil joins partner Brian on the musical front, by providing rhythm piano. Opener ‘The Bottle’ is not only one of his best crossover cuts, the theme of issues with drugs runs through other cuts, particularly the impressive 12 minute-plus live version of ‘Home Is where The Hatred Is’. Enjoy the fine jazzy musicality which underpins that social commentary. It’s a shame that the demons exposed have haunted Gil into jail. Whilst this may not have his seminal  ‘The Television Will Not Be Televised’, there are lots to compensate. Like the pointed socio-political ‘Johannesburg’, and we ‘Almost Lost Detroit’. Recommended primer.

Goapele ‘Even Closer’ (Skyblaze) Another female soul/R&B artist worth discovering. The album’s so strong, it’s not surprising Sony picked it up after the artist self-released it Stateside. Goapele has a charming voice, which rides mostly heavy, beats-driven cuts. Her voice dominates, no matter how heavy the rhythm beneath. Like the cool ‘Romantic’, which starts off with a Wailers-echoing sound, or the marvellous ‘Catch 22’. Hip-hoppers and head-nodders will love the funky, rap-laced ‘The Daze’.  

Gregory Isaacs ‘Masterclass’ (Greensleeves) Greogory may not ever revisit his ‘Night Nurse’ glory days. But hearing him live a while back on what must have been an off-day, I’m glad to see his voice is back to form. Pensive as ever, it sits comfortably on cuts like ‘Lonely Street’. He pays respect to lovers rock, by covering one of the genre’s earliest classic, ‘Caught You In A lie’, and does a great job with his version. If you’re into lovers or Gregory, this will certainly be up your street. Includes the dubby ‘False Evidence’.  

Guerilla Black ‘Geurilla City’ (Virgin) A very Biggie sounding rapper, he starts off well with ‘Hearts Of Fire’, which uses Wailers’ ‘No More Trouble’. The title track of ghetto rhymes rides a very funky, head-nodding beat. This time the rhyming styles echoes slightly of Ice Cube. The Biggie connection comes back on the Mario Winans featured  ‘Compton’. Featured artists, such as Beenie Man and Nate Dogg, should help extend interest

Gwen McCrae ‘I’m Not Worried’ (Lewmar) Gwen drops her first gospel album since leaving the secular world to become an evangelist. The voice is still recognisable and powerful. The only difference now is that she doing it for Jesus. ‘Back To Church’ says it all. Producer Haran Griffin, who wrote the bulk of the songs here, has provided Gwen  with some strong songs to rock or mellow over. Whether it’s ‘Waiting On You Lord’ or ‘I’m Not Worried’, it’s not only uplifting, it’s contemporary and should find some space among many of her secular fans.

Gwen McCrae ‘Let’s Straighten It Out’/‘Melody Of Life’/’Rockin Chair’/’Something So Right’ (Stateside) Gwen’s four 70s TK albums have been simultaneously released on as two double albums. What can we say, except that Gwen was a working singer, who had a mature soulful voice to cut records in what style was necessary. ‘Let’s…’ has he declaring she loves ‘Early Morning Love’, and covers ‘Starting All Over Again’ and ‘Signed Sealed Delivered’. ‘Melody…’ include clubland favourite ‘All This Love That I’m Giving’, the mellow, soul cut ‘Ease The Pain’ and the disco ‘Melody Of Life’. The rocking title track of ‘Rockin Chair’ gave Gwen an R&B chart-topper. It includes the funky ‘Move Me Baby’, and another dancefloor favourite: ‘90% Of Me Is You’, plus the bluesy, soulful ‘It Keeps On Raining’. The ‘Something…’ title track is a fine, soulful ballad. She stays in the mellow mood for more ballads, like ‘Tears on My Pillow’ and ‘Love Without Sex’. She gets the dancefloor moving with the funky ‘Damn Right It’s Good’!

Gwen McCrae ‘The Best Of’ (EMI) If Gwen had not been ill on that fateful day, instead of hubby George, she would have recorded ‘Rock Your Baby’, which probably would have opened this compo instead of ‘Rockin’ Chair’. Still, she’s left some R&B from her TK days. Like ‘90% Of Me Is You’, ‘All This Loving I’m Giving’, etc. uts like ‘For You Love’ show off an impassioned soul, not disco, singer.  

Gwendolyn Joy ‘Love Is…’ (Expansion) This is a new name that Expansion has picked up from the American independent soul scene. She has a beautiful soul-jazz feel underpinned by contemporary beats. She just occasionally echoes of Rachelle Ferrelle and Nina Simone. It shouldn’t be long before several soul heads declare to themselves ‘I Surrender’ to Gwendolyn’s charms.

Hampton Hawkes ‘Northern Windows Plus’ (ZYX) Dubbed ‘the funkiest jazz pianist based on the West Coast’, his electric piano led jazz-funk music, culled from his ‘70s live and studio albums, are certainly a worthwhile exercise as it allows new heads like moi to discover quite an accessible jazz muso. If you love soloing pianists, then should be a treat. Whilst the funky instrumentals somehow have a soothing vibe, this is accentuated on the downtempo cuts, such as ‘Stella By Night’ and ‘De De’. Carol Kaye’s bassline holds down the very funky and bass augmented ‘Go Down Moses’ and ‘Web’. Go discover!  

HKB Finn ‘Acoustic Afro Hip-Hop’ (Savage Music) A veteran of the UK hip-hop scene – remember Katch-22? -  Finn presents a very British offering, which extends the hip-hop envelope musically, and lyrically covers more the narrow and stereotypical themes favoured by American rappers and the British copyists.  Actually, Finn’s delivery is more a sing-rap style. With kora player and multi-instrumentalist Tunde Jegede taking care of production, it’s not surprising that live instrumentation has pride of place. The kora features prominently on ‘Rhythm Is Our Methods’, underpinning Finn’s mellow delivery. ‘Confessions (I Am)’ has a cool, jazz-vibed backing. ‘Finnterlude Mode One’, which is driven by a sort of reggae-vibed rhythm, is one of the immediate songs. On account of Finn being in lyrical rapping mode, contrasted by a funny chorus line. ‘Miss A Rebel’ has a strong dancehall rhythm and a delivery reminiscent of vintage London Posse. The pop tune here, is ‘Lifesaver’, with Finn almost in conversation with listener about the desire to be saved. Acoustic guitar lines and gorgeous female vocals of Maya Jobarteh add an irresistible touch. Finn asks a lot of mind-provoking questions on ‘What If?’, which thankfully is driven by a funky, R&B groove. 

Homer Banks ‘Hooked By Love: The Best Of’ (Minit/Stateside) Homer is better known as a songwriter – his catalogue includes hits for the likes of Shirley Brown, and other Stax artists such as Staple Singers and Sam & Dave. However, on here, it’s his talent as a singer, and occasionally a writer, that’s on show. Some of the key tracks were written by the Stax writer-producer Hayes-Porter team. Such as the ballad ‘Lady Of Stone’, Homer’s first solo single, the funk/R&Ber ’60 Minutes Of Your Love’, and the ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’-echoing ‘Hooked On Love’. Homer’s own original ‘A Lot Of Love’ seems to have been bitten by Spencer Davis Group’s ‘Gimme Some Loving’! That’s one track on which Homer gives it some, vocally speaking. For southern soul and ‘60s Stax fans. Includes useful liner notes.  

Hot Chocolate ‘The Essential Collection’ (EMI Gold) OK, there’s nothing new here. You already know the hits, but if you want a handy package, then this double-CD should suffice. It’s all here, like ‘You Sexy Thing’, ‘Brother Louie’, ‘It started With A Kiss’, ‘You Could Have Been A Lady’, ‘Disco Queen’, etc, etc.

Houston ‘It’s Already Written’ (Capitol) He’s already established himself with the big, rocking R&B hit ‘I Like That’. So there’s more of that on here. He is a good singer, who stamps his vocal authority on cuts like ‘Twista’, and the R Kelly echoing bedroom-tipped mid-tempo ‘Ain’t Nothing Wrong’ and the ballads ‘What You Say’ and ‘Love You Down’. Don Yute adds some dancehall MCing flavour.  

Hue & Cry ‘The River Sessions Vol. 1’ (River) I came by this recording because there was a mis-manufacture, which meant this was on the CD, although the sleeve and label pointed to another act. So it’s a bit of a collector’s item and a pleasant revelation, as it turns out to be a live set recorded in Glasgow. I’ve decided to review it nevertheless because surprisingly for this ‘80s pop group, this live set has a blue-eye soul quality. Such as opener ‘Love Is Master’. Whilst cuts like ‘History City’, ‘Just One Word’, ‘Mad To Nuts’ has a funk groove. Ditto the brass-punctuated version of their hit song ‘Labour Of Love’ and their cover of Prince’s ‘Kiss’, which is worth discovering. It’s interspersed with some poppy ballads. Worth investigating.

Hugh Mundell ‘Mundell’ (Greensleeves) A life cut so short, the consolation is that the young singer and producer left us with a good body of work. Just relax and enjoy this album of Rasta-tipped and uplifting tunes like ‘Jah Music’, ‘Tell I A Lie’ and rockers like  ‘Your Face Is Familiar’ and ‘24 Hours A Day’. If you love singers like, curiously, the also deceased Jacob Miller, you’re bound to love this. Particularly tracks like ’24 Hours A Day’. Hugh gives serious issues a break to charm the a-foreign girl ‘Jacqueline’.  

IDMC. Live And Phaat (IDMC) This British gospel act, whose name stand for Individuals Dedicated to the Ministry of Christ, recorded this CD/DVD package in my church – Ealing Christian Centre. Seeing that I missed the concert to mark their tenth year, I can now catch up. If it’s praise songs you want, they’ve got it covered with songs like ‘Sacrifice Of Praise’ and ‘Victorius’, on which the voices of the choir are allowed to shine. ‘It Will Be Alright’ is a bumping mid-tempo R&B-flavoured tune, which exhorts upliftment, no matter how bad the situations we find ourselves in. Watchman joins on the reggae tune ‘Trust The Love’, which is blessed with some delicious brass and choir.

Infinite Livez ‘Bush Meat’ (Big Dada) British rap has so much stacked against it. Infinite Livez seems to have resolved to overcome the problems by highlighting, if not exaggerate, his English accent. He also offers a big dose of humour to disengage possible detractors. Think of the Streets, but only somewhat harder and more black. So if you’ve got a sense of humour, this could very well be up your street. What ‘UK Krap’ lacks in words is more than made up for with the silly, but catchy, noises. They get serious with their socio-tipped rhymes on ‘Tek Fi Jake’.

Intuit ‘Intuit’ (Compost) Intuit is a European act that ropes in those they need to provide the right vibe. Hence, on the opener ‘Criaca Das Ondas’, which is a modern samba/jazz fusion, it features vocalist Flora Purim and percussionist Airto, who give it that Brazilian authenticity. ‘Western Sunrise’ is a bumping soul jazz featuring American vocalist Andy Bey and cellist Muneer B Fennell. ‘A Hard Night’s Day’ is another nice soul jazz cut. ‘Fenytola’ is a rocking jazz-funk instrumental featuring organist Doug Carn, plus delicious brass blasts. We re-visit Brazil on the Latin jazz/soulster ‘O Preguicoso’. Whilst garage fans of skippy beats should appreciate ‘Wewa’, and Afro-beats fans, ‘Peace Of Mind’. Got the picture?  

Israel And New Breed ‘Live From Another Level’ (Integrity) Israel and his group really rock. They could well be the new Kirk Franklin & Nu Nation. Their potency’s probably best captured with their live performance, which although is spread across two CDs doesn’t let up. Whilst this is upfront gospel, with the Lord’s name unashameably praised, non-Christians can easily get into it simply because the music is irresistibly catchy. Many of the cuts, like ‘I Hear The Sound’, can hold down a secular dancefloor. Musical styles vary from funk, through to dancehall and African jive. And if you want the Word to minister, there are songs like ‘So Easy To You’, or  ‘Spoken Word’.

Issa Bagayogo ‘Tassoumakan: Voice Of Fire’ (Mali Music) The Malian musician, who plays the traditional stringed instrument called an ngoni, continues his traditional and modern fusion. Here, Malian singing, ngoni melody lines sit above Western programme rhythms and beats. The female singers on ‘Koroto’ and a soulful human touch to such fusions. Cuts like ‘Numu’ has Bagayogo left to do a mostly acoustic thing, whereas the bluesy electric guitar and electric piano underpinned ‘Kanou’ is definitely the standout here.  

Ja Rule ‘R.U.L.E. (The Inc) He may make pop hits, like ‘Wonderful’, but he’s rooted in ghetto-centricism. From the opener, ‘The Intro’ and the ‘New York’ song proper, Ja lays his position, talking about semi-automatic that spits if you talk, female genitalia, etc, etc. I guess that the ghetto gospel, and some might say the semi is a metaphor for his mouth. Well, even so, it’s confusing when his cohorts are up gun-related charges, etc. Is ‘Gun Talk’ metaphorical or ironical? I doubt it. I find the lyrics, which glorify guns, violence and humiliation, vile. The R&B-laced ‘Never Thought’, may well be a hit after bleeping out the expletives, but it shouldn’t validate what is a sad, misogynistic clap trap peddled as some high ‘real’ or ‘ghetto’ lyricism. I now find Ja Rule sad, and those that appreciate this, even sadder.  

Jaguar Wright ‘Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul’ (Artemis/Ryko) Whilst she can sing the ballads, like ‘My Place’, ‘Woman 2 Woman’, and ‘Flowers’, Wright sounds best fronting the tough rhythmed R&Bers and soulsters that abound, like ‘Told Ya’, ‘So High’, and ‘Free’. Quite a powerful contemporary R&B/soul offering.

James Brown ‘Greatest Breakbeats’ (Polydor) A useful attraction of this double-CD is the details about who’s sampled each of the two dozen tracks here. Of course there’s ‘Funky Drummer’, which has the biggest list of samplers, followed by ‘Funky President’, ‘The Payback’, and ‘Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved’. Includes funk gems like ‘Cold Sweat’, ‘Sex Machine’, ‘Papa Don’t Take No Mess’, ‘Hot Pants’, etc.

Jamiroquai ‘Dynamite’ (Sony) It’s mainly a feel-good, disco-centred album with some hip-hoppy and electronic noises to boot. The title track could well be a Crown Heights affair disco affair. JK gets to seriously use his singing voice on the funky ‘Seven Days In Sunny June’ Ditto: ‘Give Hate A Chance’, another retro disco-er, complete with a galloping b-line. It’s very much a grower.

Jay Sean ‘Me Against Myself’ (Relentless) I’m sure Jay would rather people look beyond the fact that he’s an Asian doing R&B, a topic he handles on the one of the skits, the title track, and the Stevie Wonder-sampled declaration ‘You Don’t Know Me’, which sadly is not included on the commercial release possibly because they couldn’t clear it. He fuses his Asian roots on cuts like ‘Meri Jaan’ and ‘’Man’s World (Ramta Jogi)’. His hip-hop flavoured new single ‘Stolen’ is an impressive soulful, mid-tempo destined to better than his first ‘Eyes On You’. Expect this to make noise in 2004.  

JD AKA Dready ‘Da: Aaarrgghhh’ (Indepediente) Whilst fellow So Solider Asher D has shown hip-hop is his focus, producer/artist JD shows that reggae dancehall’s thing, as he toasts rather than rap. This is seriously hardcore, and quite frankly, it not only doesn’t really make compromises towards crossover, and can be hard-going for the unconverted. I’m down with someone that calls himself a lion, but not a nigger. Among the hardcore and blustering rhymes, hard hip-hop and dancehall beats, the only relief is the Estelle-featured party track ‘Chillin’’ and humour on ‘Biography’ which sends up toffs speech and weaves a strings section within the punchy dancehall grooves. That underpin JD’s reminiscences.

Jean Grae ‘This Week’ (Babygrande) Oh dear, here’s a female rapper with one heck of a foul mouth on her. The fact’s that she has a good flow but profanity at each turn gets tiring. Not to mention her unnecessary macho stance, which is boring in male rappers, but worse in females. The bearable tracks are the cool, R&B laced ones like ‘Supa Luv’ and ‘Watch Me’.  

Jedi Mind Tricks ‘Legacy Of Blood’ (Babygrande) From the strings refrain of ‘Make It Easy On Yourself’, which is the ‘Intro’, this sounds like it’s going to be in exciting trip. It turns out to be exciting, but not one I particularly like. Give it to them, they have very tight, and rocking beats, and some charming samples and hooks. A case in point is the first proper song here, ‘The Age Of Sacred Terror’. It’s got banging beats, accentuated with crisp scratches and furious hardcore rapping. However this is offering gore, religious contradictions, thuggery, gangsterism, mysticism, and gay-bashing as entertainment. One wonders if Outrage! will be on their case for inciting violence against gays!

Jem ‘Finally Woken’ (ATO/BMG) It’s not only Joss Stone who’s making it Stateside – this Welsh singer-songwriter/DJ has shifted a few units over there. This album will get full commercial release in Feb. 2005. For now, it’s getting a soft release in Nov. to help create a buzz. Certainly, the opening track, ‘They’, which is lifted as a single should cause a buzz. Particularly as it is remixed by the likes of  Photek and Cut Chemist. Jem has been given free reign to express herself. Hence break beats, and dance and hip-hop influences mix with folky and rocky elements. Very singer-songwriter rather than DJ-producer orientated. Very listenable.  

Jill Scott ‘Beautifully Human: Words And Sounds Vol. 2’ (Epic) It’s taken her this long to come back with her second studio album, and what a stunner it is. She covers the same bases –  soul, jazz and hip-hop. It probably doesn’t come together better than on ‘Bedda At Home’. A powerful jazzy hip-hop groove over which Ms Scott seems to be cooing about some Adonis, only to flip the script and assert that she’s got something better at home. Her vocals slowly builds into an arresting soul screamer. Well, if you’re good man you too would like someone to scream with excitement at the thought of you. ‘Golden’ is head-nodding hip-hop soulster, whilst her poetry and storytelling i