Jessica released this one album and then ended up on the reality show 'The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott' before releasing another Japan exclusive release in '08, so she didn't reach the levels of stardom that I'm sure she hopped her music would take her to. The beginning of this is underwhelming where it kicks off with some standard generic upbeat R&B cuts, but there are are some good moments with lots of decent ones. A light 3/5 overall. Best Tracks: Don't Give a Damn, I Can Make You Love Again, Where Are We Now, Thank You My Lord, Get Up (Remix)

This soundtrack begins strongly. The opener with Nas and Nature is dope. Meth and Red combine with a solid track from Blackout!. R. Kelly once again doesn't let us down with 'Use to Me Spending' that is a remix of sorts of his and Big's 'Fucking Me Tonight'. It falls away slightly after 'How to Rob', with 'Thug Money' and 'Bust a Nut' being among the weaker moments, but whether it's bringing hip hop or R&B, the quality never drops off too much. Jill Scott's vocals on 'Dreamin'' are so pure. Best Tracks: In Too Deep, Use to Me Spending, Where Ya Heart At, Dreamin', Quiet Storm (Remix)

This had been on my to-listen-to-list for the longest time. Johnny produced some of Pac's best songs and there is lots of enjoyable west coast/g-funk instrumentation here too with layered variety from song to song. The beat for 'Better Off' was reused for 'Picture Me Rollin' from Pac's 'All Eyez on Me'. The thing you'd hope he learnt from Pac was to include some interesting subject matter though, as most of this is just about lust/misogyny with a little bit of love around the edges. Overall, the topics are weak and Johnny isn't winning a best MC award, but his rhyming efforts don't ruin this, and he knew how to produce catchy shit. The only skip is the bonus track, 'Love's the Way', that sounds like a bad David Byrne song with singing by an additional artist that isn't likeable. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: I'm a Better Man, Why You Want Me Now?, Better Off, It's a Wonderful Day

If you don't know, D.M.C lost his voice in the '90s due to spasmodic dysphonia, and if you didn't know once you hit play on this, you'd be asking when is D.M.C actually going to start rapping because all of the power from his voice that he had with RUN-DMC is gone. The way he spits on the opener is quite an underwhelming way to commence the album. And his vocals on 'Just Like Me' just sound amateurish backed by Harry Chapin's 'Cat's in the Cradle' sample/lyrics. There are lots of average rap-rock songs. The highlight is 'What's Wrong' with an enjoyable sung hook, production, and feature from Outlawz member, Napoleon. The album improves towards the end where it has more of a standard hip hop sound and doesn't use so many corny samples. Beats: ★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Cold, What's Wrong, Goodbye

Not bad. The rapping is catchy and there are some different types of flows. The production is standard late '80s with some disco in the mix. One of the flaws here is that for only 30 minutes it does sound too similar from song-song which isn't uncommon for '80s electro/hip hop. The hook of 'Way Out' is a highlight. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Way Out, Blame It on the Muzick