New Music Tuesday: August 28th

August 28 We got a little bit of everything being released today; from hip hop, R&B, to jazz. Out of everything that being released, there’s nothing that I’m really excited about listening to. We got new albums from rappers Yung Joc & N.O.R.E., Jazz releases from Kirk Whalum & Rick Braun, a comeback album from Lil’ Mo, and a Spanish language attempt from Beyonce. Lil’ Mo’s new CD could be interesting, but I don’t think it’s getting any push from her record label. I’ll probably check that one out. I’ve been a fan of Kirk Whalum & Rick Braun for a while, so I’ll probably cop those too. If anyone decides to pickup any of these, let me know what you think!

Yung Joc: Hustlenomics

It’s only been a year since Bad Boy released the debut CD for southern rapper Yung Joc and here he is with his followup, Hustlenomics. This album features the new single “Coffee Shop”, which I kind of find mildly addictive. I’m not really a Yung Joc fan myself, but it looks like he’s got some hot producers on the album. The CD features production by Cool & Dre, The Neptunes, and Jazze Pha and boast guests from Snoop Dogg, Bun B, Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, And Diddy.

Hustlenomics Intro
Play Your Cards (produced by Cool & Dre)
Coffee Shop (feat Gorilla Zoe)
Bottle Poppin (feat Gorilla Zoe)
Hell Yeah (feat Diddy) (produced by The Neptunes)
Cut Throat (feat Jim Jones & The Game)
Hustlemania (Skit)
I’m a G (feat Bun B & Young Dro)
BYOB (produced by The Neptunes)
Pak Man
Gettin’ To Da Money (feat Gorilla Zoe)
Brand New (feat Rick Ross & Snoop Dogg)
Livin’ the Life
Momma (produced by Jazze Pha)
Chevy Smile (feat Trick Daddy) (produced by Jazze Pha)
Hustlenomics

Lil Mo Lil’ Mo: Pain & Paper

Having started her time in the public spotlight as the lead singer for Gang Starr during their Jazzmatazz world tour, The Godmother of Hip Hop and R&B, as Mo is known by her legion of fans, quickly established herself as the songwriter and collaborator of choice for a variety of industry heavyweights. In 2001, Mo released her debut album, Based On A True Story, which featured the hit single, “Superwoman (feat Fabolous)”. Her sophomore album Meet the Girl Next Door was released in 2003 and further established Lil’ Mo as a staple of the scene. Now in 2007, Lil’ Mo brings Pain & Paper, a no holds barred lyrical journey into the soul of the experiences that have transformed Lil’ Mo into a woman. With production from studio masters like Brian Michael Cox and appearances by recording superstars like Jim Jones, Trina, Da Brat and of course Fabolous, Pain & Paper will further establish Lil’ Mo as a one of a kind artist who stays true to herself while moving the masses with no compromise.

Intro
Officially Hollywood (feat Katt Williams)
Sometimes I (feat Jim Jones)
Heartbeat
Lucky Her
Broken Heart
Husband
Jus Like That
Youngin (feat Da Brat)
One For The Road
I Need You Now
How Can I Tell
Sexy Pictures (feat Trina)
No Hotel
Baby Please
Dotted I (I’m Not Perfect)
Sometimes I (Part II) (feat Fabolous)

N.O.R.E.: Noreality

N.O.R.E., or Noreaga as some may know him, is back with his sixth studio release. Unlike his previous effort at Reggaeton, this release is a hip hop CD. That’s a good thing — I’m not really a fan of Reggaeton and N.O.R.E. had some really good songs back in the day. Just wish he could have gotten the Neptunes together for a couple of tracks on the album. The first single off Noreality is “Set It Off”, produced none other by our man Swizz Beatz. This song has “club banger” written all over it. The rest of the CD has guests by Three 6 Mafia, Jadakiss, Kurupt, Styles P, and Kanye West to name a few. Kanye is rapping, but why didn’t he produced?!?! N.O.R.E. would sound dope on a Kanye beat!

Set It Off (produced by Swizz Beatz)
That Club Shit (feat Three 6 Mafia)
Throw ‘Em Under The Bus (feat Jadakiss & Kurupt)
Cocaine Cowboys
Green Light
Pop A Pill
Sour Diesel (feat Styles P)
Paternity Test
I’ma Get You (feat Kanye West & GLC)
Eat Pussy
The Rap Game
Drink Champ
Shoes

Kirk Whalum: Roundtrip

Legendary saxophonist Kirk Whalum’s new studio album, Roundtrip, is a journey through the past, present, and the future of his music. Featuring new jazz compositions, fresh re-imaginings of his career defining hits, and a glimpse at his next innovative musical destination. Kirk is one of the few jazz saxophonist that I like, right along next to Boney James. He’s usually pretty consistent when it comes to his music, so this one should be worth a listen. If you’re not familiar with Kirk Whalum, go pick up his 1998 album, For You. He does an awesome rendition of Janet’s “That’s The Way Love Goes.”

Courtney
Desperately
Ruby Ruby Ruby
Glow
The Wave
Big Ol’ Shoes
Inside
In a Whisper
Roundtrip
Back In the Day
Afterthought

RnR Rick Braun & Richard Elliot: RnR

When Rick Braun and Richard Elliot decided to start ARTizen Music Group it was a pretty fair bet that collaboration would be on the boards. After all, Rick’s best-selling release to date is his collaboration with Boney James (Shake It Up). Duet albums from Bob James & David Sanborn, Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin, George Benson & Earl Klugh are among the top-sellers of this (or any) genre. Richard had toured with Rick numerous times yet hadn’t a real studio long-player to share credits with. Nonetheless, for these two stars it had to be perfect. Almost three years later and over half a dozen releases on their label that time had come. The planets aligned and they began writing and recording their own record together. There is an implicit pun evoked in naming this release. The consistent stumbling block to recording together was variously solo records, a tour, someone else’s record – never mind having a life. So when they found some time for R(est) n R(elaxtion) – what do they do? They make a record. True to its namesake, RnR is all about fun.

R n R
Sweet Somethin’
Curve Ball
The Stranger
Da JR Funk
Que Paso
Better Times
Down and Dirty
Two Heart Tango
Q It Up
Sunday Night
Sao Paulo

Beyonce Beyonce: Irreemplazable

Irreemplazable is Beyonce’s attempt at crossing over to the Spanish language market. This EP features Spanish version of only some of her songs from her B-Day album. In fact most of this material was already released on the B-Day special edition CD which came out earlier this year. This album, obviously, is only meant for die hard fans of Beyonce. Wal-mart is featuring this a a CD/DVD combo. The DVD features behind the scenes documentary entitled La Evolucion Latina de Beyonce (The Latin Evolution of Beyonce) as well as the music video for Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied” (Timbaland Remix).