Flo Rida - Mail On Sunday

“In 50 years, it’ll be a curious thing that the best-selling digital single of all time once belonged to Flo Rida and that the song, “Low,” powered the phones of hip-hop heads and sorority girls for months and months. “Low” is a well-deserved monster, and Flo Rida’s relatively long-in-coming debut sports precisely all the ingredients required of a rapper these days: production that sounds like money, exuberant materialism, several verses by Lil’ Wayne and a singular desire to keep people’s attention for very brief periods of time. Flo Rida’s flow is an engaging/ringy-dingy/he-sounds-like-Nelly thing. But his hooks can be rock-solid (”Ack Like You Know”) and his interest in gleaming synthesizerism (opener “American Superstar” comes into “Tubular Bells” territory, really) helps set him off from the legions of rappers clawing over each other to break out of the South. —Jeff Vrabel”

Jaheim feat Keyshia Cole - I’ve Changed

Fantastic R&B duet.  Both these artists complement each other, and sound great on this record.  8/10

Lil Scrappy feat Trey Songz - Thug It To The Bone

Nice to see a change of style from Lil Scrappy.  Decent track.  7/10

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

“If Gnarls Barkley’s debut, “St. Elsewhere,” was the sound of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green tinkering around with the creation of their bizarre surf-pop/psychedelic hybrid monster, “The Odd Couple” is the sound of that monster escaping from the lab. It’s also about a thousand times darker. Danger Mouse goes from gospel to pop to spooky, often in the same track, and Green sets a new vocal bar on the desolate, acoustic-flavored nightmare ballad “Who Will Save My Soul.” Zippy first single “Run” and the vaguely romantic rubber ball “Blind Mary” are the only things here that approach the sonic territory of “Crazy,” and there are times when Green’s quavering falsetto gets downright evil (”Would-Be Killer,” “Open Book”). But it seems that the more comfortable the principals get with Gnarls Barkley, the more haunted Gnarls Barkley gets. And it gets stronger, too. —Jeff Vrabel”

Heidi Newfield - Johnny And June

Original, yet ineffective.  I don’t see this making a splash.  4/10

Janet Jackson feat Busta Rhymes, Ciara & Fabolous - Feedback Remix

One of the best remixes i’ve heard this year.  Grab this one now!  9/10

Panic At The Disco - Pretty Odd

“Panic at the Disco’s sophomore set has a lot more cheery moments and fewer busy elements than its smash debut, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” and, much like the exclamation point now absent from the band’s name, the superfluous noise is hardly missed. In a Beatles nod, the album begins with the crowd-noise-enhanced intro “We Were Starving” before “Nine in the Afternoon” bursts with upbeat power chords and a singalong chorus. There’s plenty of twee to go around, including tracks like “That Green Gentleman,” “Behind the Sea” and ballad “Northern Downpour”—surprising, considering the band’s previous penchant for darkness on “Fever.” “Pretty. Odd.,” indeed: 15 tracks of welcomed live drum sounds, symphonies and stacked harmonies. —Katie Hasty”

Mario - Music For Love

Pretty good R&B flavor, although i have extremely high standards for this guy.  7/10

Big Boi feat Andre 3000 & Raekwon - Royal Flush

Sick lyrics from the Outkast boys.  Chorus could use a little work, but still a sick track.  8/10

David Banner feat Chris Brown, Yung Joc & Jim Jones - Get Like Me

Bangin!  Look for this on the April Mix of the Month.  8/10

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