Alicia Keys Unplugged is no stripped down production as you may expect on an unplugged session. Keys and her producers pull out all the stops on this album bringing in massive layers of instrumentation - beautiful arrangements of strings, horns, guitar, bass, keyboard and back-up vocalists. The sixteen-member band compliments and adds an even deeper richness to her music. Alicia belts out her soulful ballads passionately playing her piano as she gives a truly masterful live performance proving her worth as an entertainer. A true singer and songwriter and a women of immense talents with her up-beat, hip-hop, jazz vocal style, she is the embodiment of the evolution of rhythm and blues. Her style is a sweet mix of jazz keys and silky smooth rhythm and blues vocal intonations.

The majority of Unplugged is material from her two previous albums with a couple surprises thrown in for good measure. There is a great rendition of “Karma”, energetic and laced with piercing violin strings which act to bolster the message of the defiant lyrics. On “A Women’s Worth” she interacts with the audience to gauge their experience with the subject matter of the song showing her down to earth demeanor and her very real connection with her audience. Keys shows she is mature past her years with her heartfelt, articulate lyrics and the simple way she conducts herself with grace and humility. The big surprise on the album is an extraordinary performance of the Rolling Stone's classic “Wild Horses” with Adam Levine from Maroone 5 adding his unique vocal skills to the mix. Keys and Levine alternate verses with the energy building to the chorus with both their voices merging together exuberant and passionate. She sings her heart out on her most famous song “Fallin’, another memorable version of this heart wrenching love-stricken melody.

The album ends on a high note with several of hip-hop’s biggest stars including Mos Def and Common adding their raps to “Love It or Leave It Alone”. Keys gets unplugged and proves that she is more than a shiny studio production - she is the real deal, so listen up.

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Kanye’s Latest 'Registers' Mass Appeal

The biggest ego in hip-hop is back, with his second release Late Registration. Kanye West returns with versatile rhymes layered over innovative beats, beatific musical arrangements and some of the hottest sampling heard in years - finally Curtis Mayfield is back on hip-hop tracks.

West is able to blend the sensibilities of the underground hip-hop movement such as conciencious lyrics backed with head-bobbing beats. It will get the club goers bouncing while satisfying the most snobbish, underground purist. West is political and out-spoken on this album with songs like “Diamonds in Sierra Leone” which exposes the horrors of the diamond trade in Africa. Kanye stays away from glam or glitz and relies on his talents, exhibiting an impressive lyrical virtuosity as he simultaneously entertains and enlightens.

This album may have mass appeal but it avoids a diluted style or message. It's good music that makes you think, music that appeals to the club contingent, the backpackers, and to top-40 radio music fans. It's able to straddle the divide of genre or style and appeal universally. The standouts on this album are already getting serious radio play and they include: “Gold Digger” with Jamie Foxx contributing his best Ray Charles voice to the chorus and “Touch The Sky” with Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly” sample bringing back that funky, 70s vibe to hip-hop music.

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