A record as powerful as the image on the cover – and a set that strongly continues the personal and political legacy of British rapper VV Brown! The set works very strongly as a whole, to examine issues of race in contemporary England – and Brown mixes hip hop lyrics with sung vocals, amidst contributions from a variety of guest poets – including Liam Bailey, Durone, Veronica E Banks, and Myrtle E Roach. Production is great – very unified, and handled by VV with Sensible J – on titles that include "Twisted", "Go Back", "Break Of The Night", "Marginalised", "Let Us Remember", "Black British", "I Will Always Be Black", "No Fear", and "Generations". (Hip Hop, Neo Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album from Amy Winehouse – even way better than her fantastic debut! Although a contemporary soul album, this one's steeped in tradition – soul styles that run the gamut from Detroit down to Kingston, and which are carried off here with a rougher, sharper-edged sound than before! The instrumentation on here is really mindblowing – almost at a Motown level, with isolated instruments really crackling out from the fuller backings – all set to rhythms that snap and bounce, and are almost a bit funky at times. Credit is definitely due to producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi – but Amy's vocals are really tremendous too – classic, but really personal and fresh! Titles include "Rehab", "Just Friends", "Back To Black", "Love Is A Losing Game", "He Can Only Hold Her", "Some Unholy War", and "Me & Mr Jones". LP, Vinyl record album

Faada Freddy already has a very striking style – a blend of gospel and soul with some elements of his Senegalese roots – yet here, he pushes the boundaries even more by just working with voice and human percussion elements, but in a mode that makes for a mighty full groove! Freddy's voice mixes with others in the group, rising up with a very righteous vibe that's wonderful – served up with English lyrics that, if there were any justice in the world, would get Faada some exposure on our side of the Atlantic too! The approach is great – hardly gimmicky at all, and really lean and stripped down to just the groove and voice – on titles that include "The One For Me", "Tables Will Turn", "Happy Together", "Day To Day Struggle", "Aladdin", and "Truth & Lies". LP, Vinyl record album