B.o.B -- The Adventures of Bobby Ray

Rating: 4/5 stars

Pros: Sounds like a mix of Andre 3000, Kid Cudi and T.I.

Cons: B.o.B is still figuring out what he wants to say.

Bottom Line: A promising debut album from a young rapper with unlimited potential.

Recommended Tracks:

Airplanes, Part II

The Kids

Most rappers' first albums revolve around their lives before music. They usually don't become disillusioned with the fame until albums two or three. The Adventures of Bobby Ray accelerates this process; it's the debut of a 21-year old rapper who somehow already sounds jaded and world-weary.

An Atlanta rapper named for the Outkast single "Bombs over Baghdad", he was signed to a record label soon after finishing high school at age 17. He made a name for himself on the mix-tape circuit and landed a cover of XXL, but remained in label purgatory for years. This despite frequent comparisons to Andre 3000, with whom he shares a similar eclectic musical taste and the ability to carry a tune.

But, as he laments, it takes more than talent to succeed: "Somebody take me back to the days / Back when I was rapping for the hell of it / Can I get a wish to end the politics / and get back to the music that started this." While the existential angst of stardom is hardly a new topic for musicians, it's rather rare for a musician not yet a star.

The Adventures of Bobby Ray, with the #1 single "Nothing on You", could change that. It's similar to Andre 3000's The Love Below, with B.o.B going back forth smoothly between singing and rapping over a diverse array of instruments, from guitars to pianos and synthesizers. He has both a natural ear for melodies and the ability to rap with big-name guests like Lupe Fiasco ("Past My Shades"), Eminem ("Airplanes, Part II") and label boss T.I. ("Bet I").

Throughout, he showcases a layer of introspection and self-doubt unusual for a rapper. He pleads on the intro "that what comes up must come down/ so don't let me fall." On "Airplanes", he compares airplanes to shooting stars and wishes upon them that "everyone know my name / and everywhere I go people want to hear me sing / And I just dropped my new album / on my first week did 500,000."

In this climate, no rapper is guaranteed even a second album anymore, not even someone as talented as B.o.B.

Usher -- Raymond v. Raymond

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Pros: An interesting take on how celebrity affects relationships in the 21rst century.

Cons: Usher not exactly breaking any new ground musically.

Recommended Tracks:

I'm Guilty (ft. T.I.)

Making Love

Just as Usher is releasing his sixth album, America has become fascinated with the train-wreck quality of celebrity divorces. It’s fortuitous timing, because there may be no one more qualified to comment on the marital woes of Tiger Woods and Sandra Bullock than the R&B lothario slowly creeping into his 30’s.

The success of his biggest album (2004’s “Confessions”) in part stemmed from the pulled-from-the-headlines quality of some of his biggest songs, which revolved around him cheating on TLC singer Chili. In the years since, Usher has begun to see the downside of giving the world a bird’s eye view to his personal life.

As in “Confessions”, most of “Raymond v. Raymond” revolves around a failed relationship, this time a short-lived marriage with his hair-dresser. Once again, he has a confessional song over dark pianos about his infidelity (“Foolin Around”). And while he still acknowledges his culpability (“I guess it’s just the man in me / blame it on the celebrity / But it’s really just my fears / And it don’t try your tears”), he is far less self-critical than he was six years ago.

Instead he resigns himself to the inevitability of his actions, throwing his hands up at the very idea of fidelity: “I guess I’m guilty for wanting to be in the club / I guess I’m guilty because girls always want to show me love / I guess I’m guilty for living and having a little fun.”

And maybe in the world before TMZ, the look-the-other-way model of marital relations Usher proposes was feasible. Or as T.I. put it more bluntly on “I’m Guilty”, he has an “alibi” for cheating on his girl: the nice things he buys her. But the celebrity-obsessed tabloid environment makes it nearly impossible for Usher’s new bride to ignore his actions.

The combination of a singer single-mindedly focused on sex (the main thrust of every song and seemingly the only thing he looks for in women), the numbers of readily available women “who like [messing around] with a star” and marital commitment looks doomed to fail. So why, as an ESPN reporter asked Tiger Woods, get married in the first place? It’s a question that Usher, singing about being “ready to sign them [divorce] papers”, can’t answer.

Ludacris -- Battle of the Sexes

Rating: 3/5 stars

Pros: "Battle of the Sexes" is a return to Ludacris' strengths as a party and club rapper.

Cons: Nothing he hasn't done before.

Bottom Line: Ludacris makes an album sure to get heavy spins in the club.

Recommended Tracks:

Everybody Drunk

I Know You Got A Man

Ludacris' new album Battle of the Sexes was supposed to be a duet album between him and Shawnna, a female rapper signed to his DTP label. So when Shawnna left the label last year in a contract dispute, Ludacris expanded the idea to collaborating with female rappers in general, with the idea to showcase a feminine perspective severely lacking in modern rap.

But while collaborations like "Hey Ho" talk about sexual double standards and "BOTS Radio" give relationship advice, the vast majority of this supposedly forward-thinking concept album is actually a return to Ludacris' roots. Hip-hop's premier jester tried to inject gravitas into his last few albums, dabbling in social consciousness and self-consciously trying to thrust himself into the conversation of 'great' rappers. He was Jim Carrey in "Truman Show" and "The Majestic".

Battle of the Sexes makes no such pretenses of artistic depth. It's an album revolving around partying, clubbing and sex. Over screwed and chopped samples and pulsing beats, Ludacris sweet-talks women ("I Know You Got A Man"), parties all night ("Party No Mo'", "I Do It All Night") and brings them back to his room ("Sex Room"). His tongue is planted firmly in cheek throughout: "Get your money right ladies, write your own checks / But don't call me after midnight unless we're having sex."

Free from trying to impress anybody or being something he is not, Ludacris is having the most fun he's had in a long time. His hit single "How Low" is designed for booty-shaking contests at a night-club. On "Sexting", he busts out a Tiger Woods impression and raps in text message abbreviations: "haha, omg, lol / kit, smiley faces, x and o's / l-m-f-a-o." And because Ludacris' style often works better over one verse than a whole song anyway, "Battle of the Sexes" still gives a good platform for female rappers both old (Lil' Kim, Eve) and young (Nikki Minaj, Diamond from Crime Mobb).

Returning to the same role he had played before on "Yes Man" didn't give Jim Carrey an Oscar, but the movie was one of the biggest hits of 2008. Similarly, an album like Battle of the Sexes won't win a Grammy, but judging from the popularity of its singles, especially in comparison to those of Theatre of the Mind, it is what the people want from Ludacris.

Rihanna -- Rated R

Rating: 4/5 stars

Pros: "Rated R" should continue Rihanna's streak of smash hit singles.

Cons: Her reliance on song-writers leaves the album's intended message vague and unclear.

Bottom Line: Rihanna rebounds from personal struggles to remain one of the biggest stars in music.

Recommended Tracks:

Hard (ft. Jeezy)

Fire Bomb

There is no way to review Rihanna's new album Rated R without mentioning Chris Brown. After what happened earlier this year, their relationship is the proverbial elephant in the room.

The lead single "Russian Roulette" ("Know that I must pass this test / So I just pull the trigger") and its dark metaphor for love? The anthemic songs about how great she is on her own and the reflective ballads about love that every R&B album has? While she rarely explicits mentions their relationship, almost everything about Rated R could be plausibly be interpreted to be about Brown in some way.

It's unfortunate, because Rated R should be judged on its own merits. Rihanna has become one of the most consistent hit-makers in pop music, and this album continues that trend. Five or six songs could easily be top 10 singles -- from the Jeezy- and Slash-assisted club smashes ("Hard" and "Rockstar 101" respectively) to the slower ballads ("Fire Bomb" and "Te Amo") and songs that ably mix both styles ("Photographs" and "Wait Your Turn").

Almost every one of the album's 12 songs has a strong, memorable and catchy chorus. A superstar group of producers and songwriters -- headlined by StarGate, the team behind "So Sick" and "Unfaithful" -- give Rihanna a varied musical backdrop (from slow pianos to R&B-tinged guitars and electronic club music) that still fits together cohesively. This allows Rihanna to stretch herself as a singer like she never has before.

Rated R should only further establish Rihanna as one of music's pre-eminent superstars. And as for Chris Brown, maybe that's the only message she needs to send -- success is still the best revenge.

Timbaland -- Shock Value II

Rating: 5/5 stars

Pros: One of the best producers in the last 20 years creates a futuristic new sound combining R&B, rock, rap and pop.

Cons: He doesn't have much on his mind besides partying and girls.

Bottom Line: Timbaland's long-awaited musical masterpiece.

Recommended Tracks:

Marching On (ft. One Republic)

Tomorrow in a Bottle (ft. Chad Kroeger and Sebastian)

Before the Shock Value series, Timbaland never had a signature CD as a solo artist, unlike fellow superstar producers like Dr. Dre and Kanye West. Producers can showcase their talent in that setting, free to unleash their creative id without compromise and look for inspiration in unlikely places. Shock Value II is the CD Timbaland has been building his entire career toward, the work of a great musician at the top of his game.

After more than a decade of consistent success, he doesn't need to justify his musical decisions. Shock Value II reflects that -- featuring everyone from Daughtry and Chad Kroeger to Miley Cyrus, the Fray, Drake and Justin Timberlake. Timbaland tweaks the music for each artist but keeps a consistent sound -- a futuristic mash-up of R&B, rock, pop and rap destined to be copied endlessly.

And with such a diverse and talented guest-list, the album feels like a compilation CD of the year's biggest hits. Nearly every song could conceivably be released as a single; in theory he could have a big hit in four different genres -- rap ("Say Something"), rock ("Marching On or "Long Way Down"), pop ("Undertow" or "Lose Control" ) and R&B ("Carry Out").

For the most part, each song celebrates a different aspect of how great he (and his guests) are. Drake pokes fun at girls from his past ("I should wanna go back to the one I started with / But I'm addicted to this life it's gonna be hard to quit") while Daughtry reminisces on his meteoric ascent ("I hear it's such a long way down / And the climb back up is something I can do without").

Timbaland serves as a unifying force, as a DJ introducing each act while occasionally delivering a rap verse. He's nowhere near as talented on the mic as Dre and Kanye, but he doesn't detract from the music. He doesn't have much to say: "It you assume my life is wonderful, then y'all right" is about as introspective as he gets on Shock Value II. It's an album designed to play from start to finish at a house party, and it will many times over the next few months.

50 Cent -- Before I Self-Destruct

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pro: 50 eschews recent pop-music flirtations and returns to roots as a gangster rapper.

Con: Minimalist album (no big guests outside of Shady/Aftermath and first single "Baby By Me") highlights 50's flaws as a rapper.

Bottom Line: 50 hasn't been relevant since "I Get Money"; B4ISD won't change that.

Recommended Tracks:

Psycho

OK, You're Right

50 Cent tries to reconnect with his gangster rap roots on his new album Before I Self Destruct. Besides a few Dre tracks and the lead single "Baby By Me", the album has a consistent and monotonous sound -- harshly melodic beats with hard pianos and drums behind them. With no other guest rappers besides Eminem, the album rests entirely on 50's shoulders.

Such a bright spotlight does him no favors. He rarely switches up his flow, mostly sticking with the same gravelly sing-song rhyme scheme that sounds like he's talking out of one side of his mouth. And he's certainly not the cleverest lyricist, using lazy metaphors like "I've got more guns than a gun store" and "I'm like Will Smith in Pursuit of Happyness; in my hood we hustle in pursuit of the same shit." Eminem out-raps him so badly on "Psycho" it's embarrassing.

B4ISD is a full-throated return to the hardcore lyrics of his underground years: "You want some, come get some / It's murder one when you see my gun / I just squeeze and squeeze till the whole clip done / You just bleed and bleed until the police come." That's the most surprising part of the album -- 50 has made hundreds of millions of dollars over the past seven years, yet he doesn't sound very happy.

The only reason girls sleep with him is to "have a baby by me and be a millionaire." Even his usually witty one-liners are tinged with bitterness -- banished G-Unit members Young Buck and Game are a "junkie" and a "queer" respectively. The scars from a messy custody battle with the mother of his son are still fresh: "She don't care about me, she just wants some cash / I'm thinking damn girl we used to be friends."

Anytime he shows any vulnerability, he quickly scrambles back to the psychological safety of the gangster pose. He mentions the pain he felt when his mother blamed him for the missing furniture of his crack-head uncle stole, then immediately boasts "he pistol-whipped that (expletive) till his face was purple" to retaliate.

As "Psycho" shows, a rapper as talented as Eminem and a producer as talented as Dre can make great music about nothing, but 50 doesn't have nearly the skill of his mentors. He spends most of B4ISD trying to scare us, when it really sounds like he just needs a hug.

Jay Z -- The Blueprint 3

Rating: 4/5 stars

Pro: The best-produced album since his comeback, BP3 is Jay's triumphant return to the throne.

Con: Jay's self-absorption and navel-gazing can wear over an entire album.

Bottom Line: A worthy heir to the original Blueprint.

Recommended Tracks:

Hate

Empire State of Mind

On BP3, Jay-Z boasts he's gone "from Brooklyn to down in Tribeca next to DeNiro." He's gone from bragging about how many bricks he moved out the back of his trunk to bragging about how good his seats were at the Pacquaio fight. But no matter the change in lifestyle, the underlying message remains the same: Jay-Z is still pretty damn impressed with Jay-Z.

Dubbing himself "the new Sinatra," he raps over a series of glossy, high-budget beats full of live instrumentation -- strings, trumpets and hand-claps. It's the best production he's gotten since his comeback from retirement in 2006.

BP3 follows in the vein of his first 10 solo albums -- all of which, he reminds us, have "gone No. 1"; all morphing his life (teenage drug dealer "called a camel" to multi-millionaire CEO married to the world's biggest pop star) into a Charles Dickens story. On "Empire State of Mind" he takes a contemplative ride in his new Lexus through the McDonald's parking lot in Harlem where he bought drugs to an old apartment where he stashed them.

There's no hint of the actual person behind the narrative he has constructed, nothing separating Sean Carter from Jay-Z. He only gets emotional when discussing his career, addressing the fans and critics "who want [Jay] to fall from the top" on song ("Hate") after song ("What We Talking About") after song ("Already Home") after song ("Reminder").

He notes he's "in the hall already, people compare me to Biggie and Pac already, like I'm gone already." The guest list is another glimpse at his mortality: Where the first Blueprint had only one guest appearance, the third is filled with big-name artists (Alicia Keyes, Kanye, Jeezy and Rihanna) and newcomers like Drake and Kid Cudi. His first attempt at a comeback single -- the bombastic "DOA" which called for an end to the auto-tune phenomenon a year after it had already peaked -- was met with shrugs. Kanye and Rihanna overshadow him on the first single "Run This Town", a drastic role reversal from only five years ago, when he was the biggest name on their debut albums.

The album closes with a melodramatic sample of an 80's glam-rock synthesizer balled called "Young Forever." But no one actually does, not even Jay-Z.