Lay It Down is almost indistinguishable from green's past hits. Then again, maybe that was the point. [May 2008, p.74]

II Trill draws its cohesion from its production, a stew of juicy grooves, synth patches, and gumbo-thick basslines. But what makes the album tick is an emotional complexity: Like an old sage, Bun B gracefully vacillates between raw fury and weathered wisdom.

The disco ball might be unplugged, but Summer still shines. [July 2008, p.61]

While MC Naledge and producer Double-O’s impressive follow-up effort The In Crowd continues in a similarly versatile vein, the vibe this time feels less like a greenhorn B-boy coming-out party than it does a self-assured statement of purpose.

It's been a long wait, but like reborn armies in the night, Third has the blare of revolution. [June 2008, p.70]

Lidell reaches back further than he has before, appoximating Sam Cooke, Ben E. King, and even Jackie Wilson, elegantly nodding to his clarion-voiced heroes while never allowing the album to become mired in mere tribute. [May 2008, p.72]

Rising Down bangs like no Roots work since their popular, populist breakthrough "Things Fall Apart." [June 2008, p.65]

Mobb Deep's Prodigy has embraced the chaos, pain and disarray that's cursed much of his life and used to power an angry, pained, and ironically vital album, H.N.I.C. Part 2. Prodigy's physical self may be incarcerated, but his music has never sounded freer. [Apr 2008]

Her debut, which has dominated the charts overseas, is polite to a fault. If Whitney'esque is what she aims for, Lewis hasn't quite found the the F-U-N in fundamentals. [June 2008, p.66]

Five albums in, the Keys' reference points stay the same--Hendrix, Zeppelin, White Stripes--as their sound, now produced by Gnarls Barkley's Danger Mouse, grows even bigger. [May 2008, p.74]

The finished product has glorious results. [May 2008, p.69]

While DK's quest for pop domination falls short, the club-friendly Dollhouse cements their posh appeal. [May 2008, p.70]

They grab hold of genres long stuck in straitjackets and, if only for a few minutes a pop, let them run amok. [Mar 2008, p.99]

Ultimately, he sounds confused--he wants to bare his soul and boogie on, but the boogie isn't nearly enough. [Mar 2008, p.97]

Rarely does rock music feel so simultaneously orchestrated and raw. [Mar 2008, p.98]

Vampire Weekend have suceeded in putting the hips back in hipster. [Mar 2008, p.98]

She sounds reawakened by the calm. [Mar 2008, p.98]

Finally the loverman is back. [Mar 2008, p.100]

Face Off is more fun than forced, full of exuberant dance ditties and training -bra snapping lullabies. [Feb 2008, p.86]

The Boatlift solidifies Pitbull's position as one of the most diverse party MCs aound. And little else. [Feb 2008, p.86]

It reeks of generic blandness. [Feb 2008, p.86]

When all three work with the group, they invigorate Red Carpet....But when Danja is left to his own devices, problems arise. [Dec 2007, p.108]

Their lush signature harmonies remain intact, but these pedestrian readings ['Got To Be There' and 'War'] rarely deviate from their inspirations. [Dec 2007, p.112]

Though Exclusive skirts the sophomore slip-up, it leaves its protagonist uncertain: Ease on down the road, or look at the man in the mirror? [Nov 2007, p.91]

That Brave on the whole is almost unapologetically poor isn't surprising--Jenny's never made a viable Album of the Year. But never before has the fly-girl-cum-cover girl been so listless. [Dec 2007, p.107]

His self-titiled debut, a collection of mostly butterscotch ballads, is deliciously liquid in rhythm and blues. [Nov 2007, p.96]

With a thin vocal range and punchy delivery, will sings and raps his way through half-baked funk vamps like 'She's A Star,' failing to effectively update the sizzling 'Thriller'-isms to which he's clearly in thrall. [Nov 2007, p.94]

Even while wearing her sexuality like an honor roll sticker, Ndegeocello is dazzlingly delicate. [Nov 2007, p.98]