Redman - Red Gone Wild: Thee Album
"Redman ready to rock rough rhymes, renegade rapper, rip when it's rhyme time." So yeah, that bit of a verse from EPMD's "Hardcore" (that's was in 1990) should let the Papoose disciples know the upstart was a little late on the whole alphabet rhyme thing. Point being, Redman has been around a good minute, yet still doesn't get enough due. Alas, on his long time coming sixth album, Red Gone Wild: Thee Album (Def Jam), Reggie Noble is back to his old tricks. We wouldn't want it any other way.

Redman kicking fresh lyrics is always a guaranteed deal. This go around, he makes you forget the phoned in affair that was Malpractice and gets back into Muddy Waters and Doc’s Da Name 2000 mode. You won't find any diatribes on the weakness of today's rappers or long-winded tales about how it's hard out here for a veteran MC. Instead, he raps circles around the competition. On the Scott Storch produced, mimimalist groove that is "Freestyle Freestyle," he quips "I get you dumb like white people looking for weird noise," while on the Pete Rock produced horn bevy "Gimmie One," he kicks, "Promoting Red Gone Wild with no backing, Doc get five on the mic like Joe Jackson."

While the witty punchlines abound from Red's end, the album's beats keep you attentive to the hi-jinks. Besides the aforementioned producers, regulars like Erick Sermon ("Rite Now") and Rockwilder ("How U Like Dat") contribute heat with some pleasant surprises like Clark Kent ("Dis Is Brick City") and Timbaland on the sprinting "Put It Down." Watts should get more work shortly after producing the smooth, Bob Marley sampling jewel featuring Ready Roc and Method Man called-what else?-"Blow Treez."

Red is still at his best when he's having a good time on the mic and letting listeners in on the fun. That can be heard on the further exploits of "Soopaman Luva," in two parts, or the stock sh*t talking on the Vitamin D produced "Pimp Nutz" or as he drops smooth bars over a lush Love Unlimited Orchestra sample on "Wutchoogonnado." However, a number of Red's Gilla House team of rappers aren't quite ready for prime time. Icadon and Saukrates hold their own on "Get Em" but you can't help but wait for the next MCs when listening to Blam, Runt Dog and Ready Roc on "Sumtn 4 Urrbody." On the other hand, Gov Mattic shows promise with his appearance "How U Like Dat," while Def Squad vets Keith Murray and Erick Sermon showcase a proper posse cut on "Walk In the Gutta."

It is Red's scene stealing presence, not his charity with the microphone, that has kept him a fan favorite all these years. Always one to nibble at the mainstream plate while keeping his underground following nourished, on Red Gone Wild: Thee Album Brick City's native son is back to form and on the loose. But then again, when was he ever tame?

Tha Dogg Pound - Dogg Chit
Tha Dogg Pound sure doesn't keep fans waiting. Since debuting during Death Row's glory days in the mid-'90s, Daz and Kurupt have released a slew of solo albums and group projects on both independent and major labels. Now, less than a year since they dropped their "comeback" album Cali Iz Active, the Pound is back with Dogg Chit (Koch). As to be expected, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt Young Gotti's latest is packed with harsh words for their enemies; mainly gangland rivals and "b**ches." This go around Daz handles all the production with assistance from Ivan Johnson and Soopafly.

On "Anybody Killa" with The Game, Bloods and Crips come together, but this isn't "We're All in the Same Gang." Over a menacing groove reminiscent of something from the Death Row era, these guys are united by the philosophy that anybody can get smoked regardless of what neighborhood or set they represent. The misogyny gets real heavy on the back-to-back tracks "Can't Get Enough" and "Dat Ain't My Baby." On the former, Daz, Kurupt and Too $hort offer freaky tales of threesomes joined by an X-rated hook over a funky beat.

Overall, Daz and Kurupt sound best over Dogg Chit's more upbeat G-Funk production, even if the subject matter doesn’t always match the feel-good vibe. The super smooth pimpin' track "Vibe" with Snoop Dogg and the celebratory "It'z A Good Azz Day" stand out as the best cuts. The latter provides welcome relief from all the sex and violence that ultimately hurts the album. The irritating "Mo Murder" and "Pull Ya Drawz Down" with Snoop are the low points of Tha Dogg Pound's offerings on their favorite subjects. Nonetheless, Dogg Chit is likely to satisfy DPG fans. If not, it probably won't be long until Tha Dogg Pound has something new in stores.

J Dilla - Ruff Draft
A musician's death will inevitably cause debate over their unreleased work. The often incomplete music no longer has the artist to guide its exposure to the public, leaving record labels in the difficult position of faithfully carrying on the artist's legacy while still releasing something people might actually enjoy. Luckily, J. Dilla's Ruff Draft (Stone's Throw) was already completed in 2003 as a vinyl only EP and remains largely intact with this year's reissue.

Stylistically, Ruff Draft is aimed squarely at crate-diggers and beat junkies, deviating from the smooth, minimalist sound that some may be used to. The mellow soul samples mostly give way to urgent synths and sound effects layered over syncopated drums. Despite the departure, Dilla's talent still shines through the jumble. On "Nothing Like This," he packs more into the beat than usual but doesn't over-crowd the sequence to the point that the bizarre, mesmerizing break gets lost. The same goes for the far-left "Shouts" outro where, despite an unconventional rhythm, the brief backdrop to Dilla's shout-outs holds together well.

Rather than focusing exclusively on instrumentals, Ruff Draft features a fairly large amount of rapping from Dilla. Producers have a hit-or-miss track record at best as MCs, and while Dilla's rhymes don't stack up to his production, the good news is that they don't detract from the beats either. A full time MC may have been able to add more creative concepts to a track like "Crushin," but the lyrics are overall passable and Dilla's feel for rhythm and cadence shows itself in his ability to flow with the beats instead of against them. There may have been a temptation to add guest verses from some of Dilla's high-profile collaborators, but Dilla stands up well enough as an MC that keeping close to his original vision was the better idea.

Even with the extra tracks, Ruff Draft is over in less than thirty minutes, but the succinct presentation keeps the album from getting boring or repetitive. J Dilla of course deserves praise for the work, but Stones Throw also deserves credit for showing restraint and not diluting the album with questionable additions, simply making the EP easier to find (along with additional) instrumental versions0 rather than perverting it for the quick buck. It's usually a a difficult task for any posthumous release, but Ruff Draft leaves the producer's legacy firmly in tact and is certainly worth listening to if you missed the original.

Stephen Marley - Mind Control
The sometimes silent heir (and second son) to the storied Bob Marley legacy, Stephen Marley crafts his own social theory, society markers and when applicable or convenient, catchy agreeable tunes about radically divisive subject matter. Don't mistake it for protest music, though-it doesn't have enough protest and it's far too leisurely. Mind Control (Universal Republic) is a fiercely subdued collection of gentle jams that live on the pulse of society.

This Marley's solo debut is riotous, restless, and best of all, full of remedies and recourse-what more could you ask for? Injustice never sounded so harmonious as it does on the title track, a memorable report on the manipulation of youth and the "destruction of the soul." Frequently, Marley finds himself on a drunken soapbox, tangentially oft-kilter and attacking offsides, but it makes for such raw commentary. "My shoulders were as heavy as lead," he dares to reveal on "Inna Di Red".

Listeners are expected to hobble, if make it across "Lonely Avenue," a road traveled by the lovelorn. The ugly side of the disc is perhaps the most vain (and therefore riveting) butting in the recess of social agenda to reveal the fugitive of love ("You're Gonna Leave"), female tendency on "Fed Up" and the painful satisfaction of sacrifice, mourned by the shuffling rhythms on "Hey Baby" featuring Mos Def.

Police officers are portrayed as racist profilers on "Office Jimmy Skit" but more enjoyably as hapless ploys in "Traffic Jam" a wierd polemic on a more than obvious fictitious traffic stop. "First thing he want to know where that smell coming from/Are you smoking marijuana and I said yes I am." Some moments on Mind Control lack in seriousness and probably judgement-"Let's Dance" is as breezy and unnecessary as it needs to be.

Synchronizing sense and sensitivity, Marley is a modern day soothsayer, preaching with prescience and not premonition. Hardly ideal, but it's honest, and that's already more than America can claim (or accept).