Hip hop soul from Nneka – a fresh perspective given her diverse background, and a fresh sound, too – rolling from rhymes to soulful singing over gritty soul beats and live band instrumentation. The facts of Nneka's life, born in Nigeria and raised in Germany – are bound be the lead of most intro bio and reviews, and it's a interesting stuff that should be noted – but we're just as impressed with her ability to mix rhymes and singing so deftly. She's a natural for both, and Concrete Jungle is well worth the trip. Titles include "Showin' Love", "The Uncomfortable Truth", "Mind Vs Heart", "Heartbeat", "Come With me", "Africans", "Suffri", "Fro Africa 2 U", "Walking", "Focus", "God Of Mercy" and more. CD

... CD

... CD

Spiritual sounds with a global bent – served up here by a group who mix together sarangi, tablas, cajon, guitar, and a bit of kalimba – plus vocals of their own, which are often buried down in the mix a bit, and help created a larger sonic palette rather than stand as more conventional lyrics! The album was recorded in Lahore, with a really rich sonic palette – especially on the acoustic guitar, which has this way of soaring out from the other instruments, really delivering a personal touch to the album! Titles include J Dilla tribute "Dilla Taal" – plus "Remorsefully Proud", "A War With My Ego", "Her Smile Made Me Smile", "Dha Vi", and "Make Them Proud". Also features two bonus tracks – a version of the Dilla tune "Time The Donut Of The Heart", and "Pak Damun". LP, Vinyl record album

Steve Swallow on bass, Chris Potter on tenor saxophone, Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Mick Goodrick on guitar, and Adam Nussbaum on drums. CD

Ten tracks from Evolution, M People, Hyper Go Go, Usura, Felix, Lionrock, Definitive Two, and N-Joi. CD

Really fantastic work from Prince – an album that's maybe not as famous as some of his 80s classics, but which has the maestro in perfect form throughout! There's all these warm jazzy currents in the music that we totally love – especially on the keyboards, which have a glow and flow that clearly seems to be Prince's way of showing the Neo Soul generation that he not only helped carve out the territory that first got them going, but also can still do it maybe better than anyone else! The album still has some of the heavier funk that Prince was always known for – but it's the warmer, mellower moments we totally love – on titles that include "Last December", "The Work", "Everywhere", "The Sensual Hereafter", "Muse 2 The Pharoah", "Deconstruction", "Wedding Feast", "1+1+1 Is 3", and "She Loves Me 4 Me". CD