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Common, “Finding Forever” (Geffen) While Common doesn’t sell the CDs of a Lil Jon or Eminem, he’s got more street cred than those two combined. And for good reason. This time around, he works more with Kanye West (as producer) and for the first time with Lily Allen (as collaborator), and the result is a muscular record that only advances Common’s rep as a thoughtful, on-point man in hip-hop.
Soulive, “No Place Like Soul” (Stax) This jazzy experimental jam-soul band is releasing its first record with a full-time vocalist, but perhaps what most people will find noteworthy is the label: Stax. Stax has been reinvented and brought back, and “No Place Like Soul” is its first outing.
