A remarkably versatile singer, Lou Rawls distinguished himself in soul, but was also adept at performing pop, blues, and jazz. This excellent 21-track Capitol compilation forgoes the latter two styles and draws from his 1960s/'70s recordings, presenting listeners with the ...

Recorded from 1976-1985. Includes liner notes by Harry Weinger. Con Funk Shun's brand of funk was polished with spirited horns, titillating guitar rhythms, and ear-pleasing vocals. These 17 tracks encompass the group's tenure at Mercury beginning with their first charted single, ...

The expanded version of GREATEST HITS includes 5 bonus tracks and is newly remastered. Sam Cooke's death in 1964 left a huge void in the world of soul music not filled until Al Green's breakthrough in the early '70s. Although many ...

The long-awaited Atlantic debut from rapper Wiz Khalifa features the biggest-selling hip-hop single of 2010, "Black and Yellow," a track that doubled as the unofficial anthem for the Pittsburgh Steelers' run to Super Bowl XLV. Follow-up singles "On My Level" ...

The soundtrack to CAR WASH was performed by the R&B band Rose Royce. Digitally remastered by Paul Elmore (MCA Music Media Studios, Hollywood, California). This double album, the soundtrack to a hit 1976 urban-themed comedy starring Richard Pryor and George Carlin, was ...

The Light of the Sun, Jill Scott's first album for the Warner Bros. label, is led by the slick disco-funk of "So in Love," a duet with Anthony Hamilton. The `70s-flavored album features production work from JR Hutson and Dre ...

Recorded between 1979 and 1990. Includes liner notes by Sean Ross. Digitally remastered by Erick Labson (2001 Universal Mastering). This 19-track collection does come very close to fulfilling its promise of delivering the Ultimate Collection, delivering all the group's big hits -- ...

Rhino's 2001 retrospective The Very Best of Miki Howard is a generous, near-definitive overview of Howard's biggest R&B hits from the '80s. She didn't have many crossover hits, but she did have numerous entries on the R&B charts, all of ...

Although the duo LMFAO boasted Euro-pop synths and unmissable riffs well before their hit with David Guetta, "Gettin' Over You," it definitely didn't hurt to be featured on a world-wide smash that spent quality time at number one in France ...

Anyone who encountered his numerous mixtapes can tell you that before his official debut landed, rapper/producer J. Cole had spent some time bringing the whole Drake, Wale, and Big Sean style to a more street level. It's worth mentioning because ...

There are several Freddie Jackson anthologies on the market, but Capitol's GREATEST HITS, released in 2007, bests them all. Not only does GREATEST HITS contain all Jackson's number one R&B singles from the 1980s, including "Rock Me Tonight" and "You ...

There's no doubt that by Wild Ones' 2012 release, pop-rapper Flo Rida had become a "singles artist," one who soars high in the three- to four-minute format. Give him thin but clever ideas -- that acoustic guitar riffs might sound ...

Although he may be classified as a rap or hip-hop artist, Mark "Kaz" Kasperczk, operating under the name Redlight King, combines singing and rhythmic patter in a style not so much reminiscent of Kanye West as of Red Hot Chili ...

Initially intended to be an EP, Watch the Throne -- from rap superstars Jay-Z and Kanye West, aka the Throne -- took on a number of forms prior to its release as a full-length album. Nailed down during January 2011 ...

Just weeks after releasing their full-length collaboration with Miami soul legend Betty Wright (Betty Wright: The Movie), the Roots keep firing with Undun, their 13th studio album. While many of the group's albums have been unified sonically, Undun is cohesive ...

A long-forgotten mid-1970s film--a DREAM GIRLS precursor about a Motownish singing trio--yielded this interesting soundtrack collaboration between soul's reigning royalty, Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield. Unbeknownst to many, the album is the source of the Mayfield-penned "Something He Can Feel," ...

After fronting a band in Thailand for several years, Hugo earned recognition in the Western world by contributing a track to Beyoncé's 2008 album. Several years later, he makes his solo debut with the release of Old Tyme Religion, a ...

Queens-born with an Atlanta rep, the rapper known as V.I.C. first made noise alongside Soulja Boy with his hit single, "Get Silly." On his solo debut, BEAST, V.I.C. does his thing over ringtone-friendly tracks by Mr. Collipark, Polow da Don, ...

Track Listing: Intro; Get Dis Money; House Party; Ima Boss; Dreamchasers; Tony Montana Freestyle; Body Count; Tony Story; Middle of Da Summer; Work; Realest U Ever Seen; I'm Me; Derrick Rose; Don't Panic; Sparkles; Love Done Live Here; Y'all Don't ...

Flipping the script, Young Money artist Tyga leaves behind the pop-dance sound of his debut and returns to rap on his sophomore effort, Careless World. Think of his tracks on the We Are Young Money collection and you're close to ...

Being a "love 'em or hate 'em" group, it was about time the prolific and conceptual Insane Clown Posse got around to a "love 'em or hate 'em" album, and while this rap-rock battle cry called The Mighty Death Pop ...

Recording information: Infinite Studios, Alameda, CA; The Orange Room; The Retro Room Studios.

They Country!NAW, They KUNTRY!! Beer Drinking, Hell Raising, Gravel Slinging Good Time is what you can expect at a Jawga Boyz show. These Athens, GA boyz celebrate the redneck way of life through their dirty south beats and country twang ...

Opening with a horror movie intro, where chainsaws roar and heads fly, Slaughterhouse's major-label debut instantly feels like an Eminem album. Of course, it's on his label Shady, he is the executive producer, and one track later, he's on the ...

Additional personnel includes: Kerry King (guitar). Personnel: Kerry King (guitar). Audio Mixer: Joe Blaney. Photographer: Sunny Bak. The Beastie Boys: Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz, Adam "MCA" Yauch, Mike "Mike D" Diamond (rap vocals).