Tuesday, November 24, 2009

In Stores Today: November 24, 2009


Angie Stone - Unexpected
Worth it? Not as good as Mahogany Soul, but that's not much of a statement. Give Unexpected a shot if you're a fan. Otherwise check out her old stuff and keep it moving.

Birdman - Pricele$$
Wo... No.

Bill Cosby - The Cosnarati: State of Emergency
Worth it? You know, for all the rap-bashing Mr. Cosby -- one of my all-time favorite comics, so don't take this as disrespectful -- has done over the years, you'd think he'd co-sign something a little better than this! I mean... If you listen to the record, you can kind of understand why he put his stamp on it: this is so-called "conscious" rap. But it's not very good "conscious" rap. It reminds me of that CD that Cornel West put out, Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations only this is much, much worse. If you've got some cash to spend, buy this instead. Trust me.

Boot Camp Clik - Triple Threat
Worth it? Why the hell not!? For under $20, you can be the proud owner of three great Boot Camp albums of the 00's: Sean Price's Monkey Barz, 9th Wonder & Buckshot's Chemistry and Smif-N-Wessun's Reloaded. This one's for the die-hard fans and the folks who missed out on the first go-round for these solid albums. Everyone else can save their hard-earned spinach.

Miles Davis - The Complete Columbia Album Collection
Worth it? The recession's still goin' on, right? Uhuh. So what the fluck is this? Truth be told, if I had the dough I'd throw myself at this ridiculous box set. This Amazon.com exclusive boasts 52 Miles Davis albums -- most of which I have (and you should think of getting) on MP3 -- released via Columbia Records over a span of 30 years. Each CD comes in a sleek vinyl-replica jacket and you get bonus stuff like a DVD, a book and unreleased goodies as well. Like I said before, be my guest if you've got the money. But even better, if you're stacked like that, why don't you go ahead and pay my utility bills as well!?

O.C. & A.G. - Oasis
Worth it? In a year where we've seen plenty of collabo records (KRS-One & Buckshot, Masta Ace & Edo G), we've also seen plenty of disappointment. Ahem... from those records. Sad, right? Thankfully, Oasis is one of the better albums to come out from this bunch of lackluster polly records from rap legends. Oasis gets a HHIRecommendation, but Runaway Slave and Word...Life get HHIReverence.

Rihanna - Rated R
Worth it? If you follow and read Hip Hop Is Read on a regular basis, then no. 'nuff said.

Various Artists - Def Jam 25: DJ Bring That Back, Vol. 1 & 2
Worth it? No. No, no, no! Don't get me wrong, the music is great, but it'd be a travesty to pay a record label that's making money from a legacy of the past while they shit all over it in the present. So don't! What I don't understand about this release is the wide range that they cover. On one disc you've got classic old school cuts like "This Is How We Do It", "Bring the Pain" and "911 is a Joke". The other disc is chock full of Rihanna, Young Jeezy and Rick Ross. Huh? This entire set represents the depressingly sad decline of Def Jam Recordings.

Various Artists - Ultimate Death Row Box Set
Worth it? This'll set you back a cool $40, but hey, it's got a t-shirt! How can you go wrong? The difference between this and that Def Jam set is congruity. If you love West Coast gangsta rap, dive ride into this 3-disc collage.

Wiz Khalifa - Deal or No Deal
Worth it? If you're the type to go apeshit for Drake then by all means please familiarize yourself with the lesser-known -- but still relevant on the scene -- Wiz Khalifa. Your best bet is to check out his free mixtape, released just a few weeks ago, called Burn After Rolling. And then you have to decide... deal, or no deal.

New Album of the Week: