Anthony Hamilton has returned with a new album entitled Back To Love. Dear Lord, the topic of love will never go away but it’s okay because the artists do it justice with their multi-minute sonic pieces. Back To Love features many highlights and makes for a solid effort. However, we can’t get over how oddly familiar the Keri Hilson-assisted “Never Let Go” sounds like Beyoncé’s “Halo.”

One of the tracks, “Pray For Me,” has us cooing on point. The soft song with the beautiful melody has Hamilton in a state of asking for forgiveness, a second chance. He realizes his wrongdoing and wants his lady back. Take a listen after…

Kevin Cossom has still not quite made it into mainstream territory but we like his collection of urban that he has released thus far. The latest is a track entitled “Where You Are.” Cossom is telling a prospect to not waste his time if she is going to leave him heartbroken. It’s a catchy and effective song, as with most of his songs. Listen after…

With Common’s The Dreamer/The Believer dropping on the 20th of this month, more and more of the music is starting to surface. The latest is a collaboration with soulful crooner, John Legend, entitled “The Believer.”

You know, when we listen to certain artists there is a moment before we press play that has us hoping to hear a song that just soaks our souls and has us just wanting to replay the song over and over. A lot of times that does not happen but with “The Believer,” it is most certainly one of those songs. The song has a positive message and sounds sonically amazing. The No I.D.-produced song is just great and more than satisfies… Listen after…

Robin Thicke is about to release his fifth studio album, Love After War, on December 6, 2011. Listening to the album, Thicke is sticking as close to the R&B/Soul sound as he can; there’s not much of a mainstream sound on here as with Sex Therapy.

There is however one little quirky track in the mix that has us addicted. That would be track number three, “Never Give Up.” The song, with the motivational title and lyrics, is paired with something that sounds like an edited Disney instrumental. There is such a theatrical vibe to this song and we love it. Listen after…

Whilst everyone sings the Dr. Luke-produced “You Da You Da One,” we are just won over by track number five, “Cockiness (Love It).” This marks the first time that Rihanna and Mr. Bangladesh have worked together and our question is, why is this just happening?

“…Suck My Cockiness, Lick My Persuasion
I Love It, Love It, Love It When You Eat It…”

“Cockiness…” is Rihanna in her rawest and most urban form, to date. Truly, this is a sound we want to hear Rihanna sink further into; a total knocker for the club crowd. Bangladesh always brings the Bass and that’s just what he’s done and more. Talk That Talk is being described as Rihanna’s most “erotic” album to date and a song like this definitely supports that. Listen to the Candice Pillay and D. Loernathy-written track after…

The latest Jay-Z and Rihanna collab has arrived. The last time these two did a collaboration, for a RiRi album, was for Good Girl Gone Bad. Y’know, it was that little song named “Umbrella,” the one that catapulted Rihanna into the Popstar she is today. Now, how does this new song compare…

Where “Umbrella,” was a ten (considered to be the best Pop song of the noughties by opinion) “Talk That Talk” is a five, maybe even a six or seven. The Ester Dean, Stargate and Diddy-backed song is enjoyable but isn’t great. Also, Rihanna’s a little more grown so she can have a profanity spitting Jay-Z on the track. With a more urban than Pop sound don’t expect this to be a global smash but definitely expect it to sit comfortably on US urban radio formats. Listen after…

It’s been announced that “You Da One” will be the next single.. From a brief listen, we hear some BANGERZ okay; check “Cockiness (Love It)” and “Birthday Cake.” Listen to the preview after…

Demi Lovato is back in good form after her personal battles went public earlier this year. The Disney graduate is about to release her latest album, Unbroken, but as with most things music, there’s a leak. We gave the album a listen and that voice, oh that voice. The voice makes the album but there a few tracks that stand out on their own. “Lightweight” is one that stands tall.

“Lightweight” was produced and written by Jim Beanz along with Frankie Storm and Shanna Crooks. All of them are out of Timbaland‘s camp. Lyrically, Lovato sings of her delicate and sensitive nature but sings with so much power. The harmonies and melody are so heavenly. We are hooked on to this track, just love it. Listen to this addiction below. Also, watch Lovato perform last night in New York…

The country group who swept the Grammys, Lady Antebellum, released their newest album earlier this week. Own The Night is filled with all those good country ballads that the public love so much from the trio.

To be honest, there aren’t too many standouts… We’re sorry but “I Run To You” is still our favorite song from them. But anyways, there is one song on Own The Night that just showcases what makes the group so likeable. It is the last song entitled “Heart Of The World.” There is just something so beautiful about this one, take a listen below.

So we were ’round the way over at Girls, Sounds & Sadomasochism and this song started playing and as we’re listening to it (already hooked on to the beat) we’re trying to figure who the singer is. Wait, is this Lloyd? A quick search of the lyrics in Google and click, the song is a cut from the Deluxe version of King of Hearts. “Never Window Shopping” is so sonically appealing it’s almost is a crying shame that it is only available on the Deluxe version.

That track alone built up the interest to give the album another/proper listen and we must say our apologies because the album is great. Overall, the album contains little to no fillers but stand outs like “Jigsaw,” “Angel,” “This Is 4 My Baby,” “You II,” and “Stay” make this album well worth it. Check out the great “Never Window Shopping” below.

Lloyd – Never Window Shoppin by Dnight

Assuming this is another track to keep the buzz on Ocean, it is also a refeshing one. Listeners are so used to hearing a production in minimal form but this is different. Ocean’s vocals still manage to complement the busier beat.

Download audio file (Frank-Ocean-Feat.-Kyle-Christopher-Let-Me.mp3)

Growing tired of the tracks off of F.A.M.E., well Fortune is not far away with tracks surfacing from the LP. A snippet of a song entitled “Open Road (I Love Her)” leaked and below is how Chris Brown responded:

“If the whole song doesn’t leak then it’s going on fortune! I have so many songs that I’ve recorded in my opinion that are siiiccccckkkk! I just really hope people appreciate the diversity on Fortune!”

Well, guess the Battleroy-produced track won’t be making the final track list of Fortune. The ballad isn’t a new sound from Brown but it is something that Brown does quite well; a midtempo R&B tune about the opposite sex.

Download audio file (Chris-Brown-I-Love-Her-Prod.-By-Battleroy.mp3)

Unusually odd and quirky to the mainstream but a genius and innovator to the rest, Björk, is set to launch her multimedia album, Biophilia, on September 26. Already releasing “Crystalline,” it is clear that this upcoming project will give listeners and critics another reason to place her far into the future. Today, the album’s theme song entitled “Cosmosgony,” surfaced.

What a beautiful piece of music… When it comes to a real artiste like Björk it takes us a bit of listening and reading to properly state why the piece is so great. Besides that, “Cosmosgony” is obviously magical. The Biophilia app will be released via iTunes tomorrow. Read about it below and listen to the magic.

Comprising a suite of original music and interactive, educational artworks and musical artifacts, Biophilia is released as ten in-app experiences that are accessed as you fly through a three-dimensional galaxy that accompanies the album’s theme song “Cosmogony”. All of the album’s songs gradually become available inside Biophilia as interactive experiences, beginning with the first single “Crystalline”…

Biophilia opens into a three-dimensional galaxy with a compass allowing navigation between the 3-dimensional universe and a two-dimensional track list. Take a closer look by tapping on stars within the constellations and you’ll see that each is an in-app purchase that gives access to the inspired combination of artifacts for each new Björk song: interactive art and games, music notation which can be used to sing along karaoke-style, abstract animations, lyrics, and essays that explore Björk’s inspirations for the track. These artifacts bring together conventional and alternative ways of representing and making music to create an environment for entertainment and learning. Biophilia challenges the way we think about music. Here, for the first time, is a music album that exploits the multimedia capabilities of mobile interactive technologies.

Features:
• Three-dimensional galactic interface with the song “Cosmogony”
• Access to new songs and apps immediately as they are released
• Music scores with karaoke playback
• Abstract song animation
• Lyrics
• Essay

Download audio file (Björk-Cosmogony.mp3)

OFWGKTA’s Frank Ocean scored his most mainstream achievement to date; cowriting for Beyoncé’s 4. Ocean’s contribution to the album comes in at track number three, titled “I Miss You.”

“I Miss You” is definitely one of the gems of 4. The lyrics are easily relatable and its beat is airy hypnotic. The minimalistic track sounds almost exactly like something Ocean would put out which is great in this case. He is still fairly unheard of and with this, the phone calls should start to pour in 4, 3, 2, 1…

Download audio file (03-I-Miss-You.mp3)

In the words on Beyoncé herself, “Somebody’s gonna get firrred!” *Looks Sony’s way*

We’re sure a great deal of you have listened to the leak of 4. With the general opinions either describing the album as Beyoncé’s best work to date or calling it 2011′s equivalent to Christina Aguilera’s Bionic, either way, the album’s leak is a whole flippan’ three weeks ahead of the official release.

Anyway, the leak means listeners finally heard the Diane Warren-penned and Ryan Tedder-produced “I Was Here.” Just last week Warren praised the song in the humblest way. So how does the song fare?

Tedder produced “Halo” so we went in with that… Sonically, “I Was Here” is something off a movie soundtrack: theatrical and dramatic. As for the lyrics, it’s pretty much signature Warren. With Beyoncé’s vocal conviction it makes for quite the beautiful ballad. Career defining? NO, but “I Was Here” is definitely a standout on 4.

Download audio file (11-I-Was-Here.mp3)

The highly anticipated “Party” collaboration from 4 is here. How does it compare to our expectations?

We’ll admit, the track’s tempo is a little slower than we hoped for; the song is more smooth and chilled rather than banging and hyper. Besides that, “Party” is another track to show that Beyoncé is creating a great urban album with 4. The maturity and growth can be heard in the track and the old-school flavor fits the quirk of Mr. 3000. Beyoncé may not be able to get a top 10 hit to save her booty this era but the music is a lot more timeless than ever before. Check out the Kanye West and Consequence-produced track below.

Download audio file (05-Party-feat-Andre-3000.mp3)

Who knows what the future holds for Ciara’s music career. She’s been in the industry long enough to become an A-List Pop/R&B star but the talented songstress just can’t seem to reach the top. Today, an unreleased track surfaces under the title of “Gifted.” The track was produced by Tricky Stewart and The-Dream.

It’s your standard upbeat urban affair from Tricky and The-Dream. The production is neat, nothing super catchy or amazing and Ciara likens herself to a prostitute, lyrically. Take a listen below.

Download audio file (Ciara-Gifted-Prod.-by-Tricky-Stewart-The-Dream.mp3)

How fitting, with the belief that the world ends today, Beyoncé’s supposed second single from 4, “End Of Time,” leaks a day ahead. The song leaked earlier, in teaser form, but now the entire song is here. We can finally hear the Fela Kuti-inspired track.

What starts bitter, certainly gets better as this second song from the 4 era is two thumbs up, sonically. The song is a cohesion of her fire from “Crazy In Love,” the funk and soul of B’Day and her best vocal stylings from her past material. As funky as this song is, it still has fluidity. “End…” is a perfect example of Beyoncé being well, Beyoncé whilst attacking a different sound that contrasts what is Popular today. We’re hoping that this is one of many gems from the album.

UPDATE: Get into the greatness with the untagged version.
Download audio file (beyonce-till-the-end-of-time.mp3)

Drake did not just release the first single of his sophomore album, Take Care, but he did release the first track kick start the new era. The song is titled “Dreams Money Can Buy.”

The track is that smooth, midtempo, Hip-Hop/R&B sound that Drake has familiarized the listeners with. The track starts off with the sound of raindrops followed by some classic humming with the contrast of some profanity, “Don’t F**k with me, don’t f**k with me.” The beat progresses with Drake’s sharp style of lyricism. Check out the tune below.

Download audio file (Drake-Dreams-Money-Can-Buy.mp3)

Yesterday, the remix of London producer SBTRKT’s “Wildfire,” featuring Drake and Yukimi of Swedish electro-pop group Little Dragon, dropped. Listen to it after…

Artiste SebastiAn is releasing his forthcoming LP, Total, on May 30 via Ed Banger Records. Tracks are leaking a little on the hefty side… the latest to leak from the upcoming release features M.I.A.

The track titled “C.T.F.O. (Chill The F**k Out)” brings over M.I.A. Maya with her industrial vibes and cheerleading shouts. A pretty decent track, listen to it below.