Better than I expected, for an album that took me over six years to finally get around to listening to. The beats from the likes of Cool & Dre, Knobody, Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz, The Alchemist and Emile are not mind-blowing, but as you'd expect from those names, they get the job done. Lyrically Remy is quite unoriginal with a gangster chick persona and at times slutty lyrics, until the last few tracks where she becomes more introspective. Overall, there aren't any terrible tunes, and I find this to be a fairly easy listen, but there probably isn't anything I'll be going back to to make this deserving of a high rating. 2.5-3/5 Best Tracks: She's Gone, Lights, Camera, Action, Whuteva, Crazy

Z-Ro the Crooked is one of the better artists going round in the hip hop genre these days and usually puts out quality stuff. 'The Rain' features some of that but not really near past Z-Ro material and a fair bit of this album is just so-so. Overall, the production reminds me of past Ro material, maybe not so much 'Crack', but stuff before that. It's fairly raw with lots of slow/emotional vibe type beats. The majority of the subject matter is your normal Z-Ro topics about the hood and the bad things that come with it. The collab artist Chill is fine, can't really complain, never heard much from him before I don't think. You'd rather a solo Z-Ro album though. For fans of Z-Ro I'd still recommend this as there will probably be something you'll find. It's a listenable album with that Z-Ro style given to it but it's not near other album's he has released. Still though, nothing too bad and some good. Best Tracks: Mama’s Lil Boy, Mama Don’t Cry, Soulja, False Profits, Rain or Die

Most of the hardcore hip hop here is pretty bangin' (mentioned below), but again the poppier tracks just ain't anything special from Twista and severely slow the middle of the album down. The pop rap single 'Make a Movie' ain't bad, but how many songs have there been about making a sex movie?... You can't blame Twista for trying to earn a couple more bucks making tracks for the radio, but I think if he created an album full of tracks like 'Up to Speed' and 'Darkness', with harder/darker beats and him spitting fire you'd have a great album. Inconsistent, but there are a few tracks to go back to if you enjoy Twista's ferocious tongue. Best Tracks: Darkness, Up to Speed, I Do, 3 Minute Murder.

From the jump, the production is an improvement over Em's debut. 'Kill You' suffers a touch in the lyrics for me. The scribble effect on 'Stan' really should be a few DBs lower, otherwise, it's a unique song that the brilliant Dido adds to. 'Who Knew' is decent, 'The Way I Am' is one of Em's strongest songs with a strong performance from him and good production. The single 'The Real Slim Shady' is a lot more catchy than the lead single and similarly themed 'My Name Is' from his debut. From there it's just a consistently good listen with a strong second half. Eminem sounds like Tim Dog on 'Amityville' with some intense vocals, as we see on 'Kim' as well! 'B**** Please II' is a standout thanks to the amazing production. I think 'The Eminem Show' features the highest number of his greatest songs but this is a level above his debut. 3.5-4. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Stan, The Way I Am, The Real Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers, Amityville, B**** Please II

This and K. Young's 'Free Will' are the best R&B albums that I've heard this year. Q. Parker doesn't go for those dance-pop or hip hop crossover tracks (apart for a feature from Styles P) that many mainstream artists go for, most of these are just smooth contemporary R&B ballads. The best songs are brilliant catchy R&B. Best Tracks: Show You How, All About You, Yes, Cupid (acoustic remake), Just Us.