The fastidious duo of emcee Naledge and producer Double-O proved with their refreshing debut outing,School Was My Hustle, that they could make the grade. Now two years on, following a label jump from the revamped Rawkus to indie stalwart Duck Down,Kidz In The Hallare out to further assert themselves into Hip Hop's elite and prove that they can hang withThe In Crowd.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_kidz_in_the_hall_the_in_crowd

The third studio album from the philosophical yet grounded Ms Erykah Badu is a powerhouse of an album but not necessarily in the literal sense. New Amerykah - Part One (Part Two is entitled Return of the Ankh and due out late '08) is Badu's most eclectic release to date. Organically conceived and produced, New Amerykah continues Badu's passionate resistance against the 'neo-soul' tag that has shadowed her since Baduizm (1997).For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_erykah_badu_new_amerykah_part_one_4th_world_war

It has been a four year wait but Usher is back with his fifth studio release Here I Stand. Though this may seem a considerable gap for such an established artist, having sold over 30 million albums worldwide dating back to the mid ‘90s, he did not disappear from the urban scene. Usher features on Mary J’s latest album, collaborates with R. Kelly on the single Same Girl, and not so long ago appeared on the remix of Omarion’s hugely successful Ice Box, just to name a few.  For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_usher_here_i_stand

With a sound that would have been as perfectly at home in a 1980s roller rink disco as it is now in the blingtone era, Southern California trio Time Machine (consisting of emcees Biscuit & Jet Set Jay and DJ/producer Mekalek) have returned with the retro-tinged good vibrations of Life Is Expensive, the follow up to 2004's Slow Your Roll.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_time_machine_life_is_expensive

It has been a long time since the days of "ladies first" and the fight for equality between genders in the testosterone-fuelled rap game. The time of the socially aware and outspoken MCs of the female gender (think MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and then Lauryn Hill and Jean Grae), really seems to be a thing of the past in 2008. We now see the celebration of material items and using sexuality for personal gains (Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and the ilk) which began in around the mid-90s.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_lil_mama_vyp_voice_of_the_young_people

WEEZY F. BABY! ‘The Best Rapper Alive’ has returned with the final installment of his Tha Carter trilogy, with Tha Carter III. Despite the countless criticism balanced with the many praises Lil’ Wayne garners, this piece of work may potentially be a classic. The first thing any fan would ask themselves, conscious or subconscious, is “Is it better than Tha Carter II?“ Well, yes it is… it certainly stomps Tha Carter II into the ground as the beats are not only bigger and better (and not always in the “I GETS MA MONEY” way either), but the lyrics are much more creative and diverse, making them great to explore. For the rest of this review please check out: http

Who says religious Hip Hop is automatically Christian Hip Hop? For those that share such a philosophy and have overlooked the many African-American Muslim MCs, prepare to be proved wrong by Killah Priest (a Jew) - if you have not already within the ten years since the release of his debut album Heavy Mental. Priest has returned with his seventh solo LP, Behind The Stained Glass, and once again brandishes an arsenal of weapons - sorry, lyrics, but what is the difference in this context? Behind The Stained Glass is simply food for thought, so prepare for a feast.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_killah_priest_behind_stained_glass

The rap game is proving now more than ever to be a young man’s game. It is fitting then that Sydney-based Hip Hop act Mind Over Matter, consisting of Willow and Smiles Again, emerge during this musical climate. The term “the future of Australian Hip Hop” has been thrown around all too much recently upon the arrival of a new artist or group on the scene, a term which has been associated with Mind Over Matter and their debut Keepin’ It Breezy. Is the statement hyperbole or reality, let’s find out.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_mind_over_matter_keepin_it_breezy  

Experimental music it's something you seldom encounter in mainstream music; that is, of course, unless it's N.E.R.D.. It has been five years since the release of their last album, Fly Or Die, but Pharrell, Chad and Shae have brought back their original sounds with the synesthesia inspired title Seeing Sounds. In case you are wondering what synesthesia is well, just wiki it. After all, we are exploring the musical experiments of N.E.R.D., not those behind the psychological phenomenon that gave name to their album. For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_n_e_r_d_seeing_sounds

The iconic Mobb Deep duo of Havoc and Prodigy have been quiet as a group since their G-Unit debut Blood Money was met with a resounding thud back in 2006. However, this backburner status within Fiddy's label structure hasn't seemed to have stopped either of the Queensbridge repping veterans from working on the solo front. Following up from the mixtape-styled Return of the Mac, Prodigy once again goes the independent route, crafting one of the darkest and most brooding albums released in quite some time, following up from his solid 2001 solo debut, with H.N.I.C. Part 2.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_prodigy_hnic_part_2

In an era where young Hip Hop artists are releasing more albums than many of their veteran counterparts have in an entire lifetime, it is refreshing to hear of an artist who has taken the time to perfect their craft, waiting for the right time to launch themselves onto the music landscape. This is certainly the case when speaking of Bay Area-bred emcee Shaya and his fiery opening salvo Fallen Awake. For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_shaya_fallen_awake

The princess of R&B is back after a four year hiatus with her fourth studio release The Declaration. She has spread her wings and ventured out from her Murder Inc crew for the first time. Irv Gotti and Ja Rule are nowhere to be found and instead Ashanti has worked with a range of notable producers including Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins and Babyface. The singer/songwriter is still writing the lyrics to all her songs as well as often arranging and performing the background vocals.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_ashanti_declaration

A year after signing with Obese Records, Spit Syndicate is the latest hip hop act to make a mark on the Australian scene. The two MCs in the group, Nick and Jimmy have found a way to apply well-constructed rhymes that are both thought-provoking and entertaining.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_spit_syndicate_towards_the_light

Ever thrown on the radio and said to yourself, "I know that voice, that's "? I did this when I threw on Drapht's album Brothers Grimm. From the first few syllables I felt like I was listening to Pressure from Hilltop Hoods after he had scooped up some helium! Drapht's style is very unique and he possesses a distinct voice that cruises over beats like a supped up Skyline on Chapel Street. For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_drapht_brothers_grimm

There was a time, in the not too distant past, when the West Indies cricket team was the best in the world. They dominated; they had style, a style that was distinctly theirs. But over time their dominance diminished. The real reason for this lies in the fact that over time the Caribbean has shifted its cultural attention away from its past, and focused on the USA as a beacon for the future. Thus, basketballers replace cricketers, and musically, dancehall/hip hop artists trying to win over the US market replace reggae artists.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/dj_k_note_dutty_bass_volume_two

Independently spirited and musically individual, Sweden's top Hip Hop export Looptroop don the guise of the Looptroop Rockers on their fourth studio album, Good Things, drawing more heavily from their dancehall/reggae roots, with an emphasis on live instrumentation.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_looptroop_rockers_good_things

Taniq (Talent Unique) are a soulful husband and wife duo and here they bring forth their debut studio album The Life and Times of Love. The album is a self produced, written, arranged and composed collection exploring elements of Jazz, Funk, and Gospel. As the title states, The Life and Times of Love explores and takes the listener on a journey through all facets of a newly-wed relationship, accenting all the positives and the negatives in a meaningful yet light-hearted manner.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_taniq_the_life_and_times_of_love

It has been a challenging time for revered Houston rapper Bun B. It has been just a few month since the passing of his partner-in-rhyme, Chad 'Pimp C' Butler; a man he blazed a trail with in the Hip Hop arena (as UGK) and somebody who he fought for so vigilantly during his incarceration, with the 'Free Pimp C' campaign. For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_bun_b_ii_trill

Migrating between his native land Sweden and the U.S. seems to have done MC/producer Chords some good, as he follows up from his middle-of-the-road debut (The Garden Around The Mansion) with the sparkling new album Things We Do For Things.For the rest of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_chords_things_we_do_for_things

Acceptance, followed by the resulting loyalty, is not easy to come by in the field of being a recording artist these days. Rejecting the notion of jumping on board with whatever sound is hot, blue collar rapper Tyrone clearly prefers to grind hard, drawing inspiration from his musical heroes while also digging down into his own personality and life experiences to deliver Heavy Labor, No Breaks. For More of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_tyrone_heavy_labor_no_breaks

Upon witnessing the cover art and tracklisting, I can picture listeners and critics thinking: “great! Just what we need, another Hip Hop album full of mafia and crime references.” However, that assumption would be incorrect on this occasion.For more of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_little_vic_each_dawn_i_die

Lyfe Change is the title of singer/song writer/producer Chester ‘Lyfe’ Jennings’ third studio album and what a refreshing change it is. A soul revolution, it is gritty, unique and honest. The record debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 80,000 copies in its first week.  For more of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_lyfe_jennings_lyfe_change

Life on the independent Hip Hop scene appears to be much like working a 9-to-5 office job, except presumably more stimulating. It lacks the glory and recognition of a more glamorous trade, while promotions/raises are fleeting. A man that can identify with that description would be Braintax, the “hardest working” man in British Hip Hop, who is hanging his mic up here on album number three, as he relocates from his native land to Australia.For more of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_braintax_my_last_and_best_album

Funk music has always had its eccentric characters - George Clinton and Bootsy Collins immediately come to mind but you can also cite Isaac Hayes, Sly Stone and more recently Jamiroquai. But if you are gonna make funky music .. it is essential to have a fun and colourful nature. Plant Life carries on this tradition.  For more of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_plantlife_time_traveller

One thing most Hip Hop reviewers probably never get sick of is writing Bone Thugs reviews, and if there comes a point when they do, then they should perhaps just stick to writing reviews on gimmick-reliant pedestrian rappers, because the review game doesn’t want them. That is why I take great pleasure in writing on Still Creepin’ On Ah Come Up, their fifteen-year-awaited somewhat sequel to their classic Creepin’ On Ah Come Up. Well, they done came up, so no need for creepin’, but the ‘still’ part they hold very well. For more of this review please check out: http://www.planeturban.com.au/album_reviews/album_bone_thugs_n_harmony_still_creepin_on_ah_come_up