The-Dream has perhaps become more consistent with each release but also with each album, there is less I'm loving. His debut had about four tracks I loved and could hear over and over again to this day. His next had less, and then this follows the same trend. Too much of the same sounding stuff has made The-Dream sound repetitive after three albums who largely produces his own stuff. I think he has the kind of discography that depending on what you heard first would determine what you enjoyed more because of the repetitiveness. Worth checking out, but having heard his previous albums, I'm not finding much replayability. Best Tracks: F.I.L.A., Abyss, Panties to the Side.

Overall this a pretty good release and fairly consistent, (even the tracks I've put below in the third category are listenable but nothing special) but unlike his previous, it doesn't have truly great R&B tracks. It starts off well and finishes well (they say people remember the start and end of story) but the middle period of the album is a bit of a letdown. Love vs. Money follows pretty much the same pattern Love Hate did but its different enough to enjoy both for fans. Therefore if you liked his previous album cop this, if not, close this page immediately and look for something else. *Credit to The-Dream for paying homage to the R&B king, R. Kelly. Best: Rockin' That Shit, Walkin' on the Moon, Right Side of My Brain, Mr. Yeah, Kelly's 12 Play Okay-Good: Put It Down, Take U Home 2 My Mama, Love vs. Money: Part 2, Let Me See the Booty Skip: Money Intro, My Love, Sweat It Out, Love vs. Money, Fancy

Overall, apart from the opener, that I can't fathom the positive reception for, and 'Ditch That', which is the worst track, this is a more than solid debut from The-Dream. It features some really excellent tracks that are mentioned below and the rest of the songs are enjoyable enough. He doesn't have the best voice or range vocally but he offers originality on the writing and production side of things. Some of these choruses are great. Best Tracks: She Needs My Love, Falsetto, Nikki, Livin' a Lie.

This and the similar 'Waterworld' are albums that when I look through my ratings and see it so high up I often think, "was it that good?" (because I haven't played it as much as other highly rated albums), but when I play it, it doesn't take long to convince me of its excellence. I can understand people saying that lyrically it's a bit repetitive in that it's mostly about what's wrong with commercial hip hop and fake gangsters and stuff, but for me subject matter is generally last in importance. The beats are nice, and both artists, while not having powerful voices, flow really well and create great wordplay. This also further proves you can make a great album thriftily as this was produced on a $500 budget. To be critical for a second, it could have decomposed a track or two as it definitely finishes weaker than it begins, and like most hip hop the skits could have been removed. Overall though, as most will say, it's an excellent listen. Beats: ★★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★★☆ Best Tracks: Reality Check, Solar Powered, Fellowship, New Hip Hop, Indy 500, Evolution of Man, Honest Expression.

Without loving everything he has dropped by any means, I've always liked Akon and am anticipating his upcoming project, 'Konnect'. I was getting into music more heavily when he started popping and then very quickly became the ubiquitous featured artist and the Nate Dogg of the '00s. This is a decent seven-song EP from him with many songs touching on the narrative we have seen around inequality. My favourite by far is 'Letter to My Son' with its catchy and contrasting hook playing a big role. Another is 'Ain't No Peace' where Akon sings passionately. If it's 'weird hearing political songs from Akon' because of the content of his past work then almost no one in the mainstream R&B, and particularly the hip hop world, should be voicing their opinion on it either... Fans of his R&B work should get something out of this. 3-3.5/5 Best Tracks: New Life, Letter to My Son, Ain't No Peace