Listeners familiar with keyboardist/vocalist Amp Fiddler before his pair of 2002/2003 12" releases likely knew him through his associations with Detroit house figure Moodymann and, to a greater extent, his run-ins with George Clinton and Prince. In 1990, he also recorded an album with his brother Bubz, released under the name Mr. Fiddler; this project came and went without much notice, mostly because it failed to fit in with much of anything else at the time. Come 2003, however, you couldn't be a house head or read a dance-music-for-grown-folks magazine without hearing him or reading about him. In addition to the singles, Fiddler was the star of the phenomenal Moodymann production "I'm Doing Fine," credited to Amp Dog Knight, as well as Only Child's upbeat disco-house track "U Bring Me Vibes." He also played a role in the Carl Craig-helmed Detroit Experiment, providing keys work and doing the vocal duties on a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Too High." After a couple decades spent floating around, Fiddler finally came up with his first solo album. Most of the cuts from those singles reappear here in slightly different forms, while the remainder is all new. Just like the Mr. Fiddler album, Waltz of a Ghetto Fly is something of an anomaly, mixing up the occasional 4/4 house track with funky R&B that's reminiscent of There's a Riot Goin' On-era Sly Stone (this goes beyond the references to "You Caught Me Smilin'" in "You Played Me") and Fiddler's past connections. Since the house tracks also draw heavily upon '70s funk, the album is more cohesive than you'd expect. Throughout, Fiddler maintains a steady, assured, laid-back flow. Even at his most aggressive -- as on the protest song "Love and War" (with backing courtesy of Moodymann) and the sweaty "Superficial" -- it goes down smoothly and richly, as suitable for background listening as it is a get-together. Hearing Fiddler's voice -- alternating between a butter-smooth croon and a deep-throated yowl -- and sensitive keyboard wriggles throughout the course of an entire album is a pure joy.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

Between her sophomore record Pageant Material and her Grammy-winning 2018 album Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves released the 2016 seasonal set A Very Kacey Christmas, so her decision to stage an old-fashioned holiday special in 2019 isn't exactly a surprise. In many ways, The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show -- a special televised on Amazon, then released as an album -- builds upon the retro charms of A Very Kacey Christmas, replicating its affectionately tongue-in-cheek blend of old-fashioned show biz corn and seasonal warmth. It also replicates six of that album's songs, half of them delivered as a duet with another celebrity. That's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of star power here. Famous people from the stage, screen, and internet are here. It's a cannily diverse cast, ranging from comedians James Corden and Fred Armisen to internet-personality-turned-musician Troye Sivan; soul singer Leon Bridges and Latin pop vocalist Camila Cabello, to Zooey Deschanel and Lana Del Rey rounding out the rest of the cameos. (Kendall Jenner's wordless appearance doesn't make it to the album; it's the only edit from the special.) The show is filled with gags and stunts, all of which are campily charming onscreen and a bit irritating on record. If this was whittled down to just the duets -- save the yuk-filled collaborations with Corden and Armisen, which are both variations on a theme -- it would be a sweet, beguiling EP, but this is filled with jokes and Dan Levy's narration, all of which makes sense when paired with visuals, but drag down an otherwise fun listen.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Sinéad O'Connor's debut, The Lion and the Cobra, was a sensation upon its 1987 release, and it remains a distinctive record, finding a major talent striving to achieve her own voice. Like many debuts, it's entirely possible to hear her influences, from Peter Gabriel to Prince and contemporary rap, but what's striking about the record is how she synthesizes these into her own sound -- an eerie, expansive sound heavy on atmosphere and tortured passion. If the album occasionally sinks into its own atmospheric murk a little too often, she pulls everything back into focus with songs as bracing as the hard-rocking "Mandinka" or the sexy hip-hop of "I Want Your (Hands on Me)." Still, those ethereal soundscapes are every bit as enticing as the direct material, since "Troy," "Jackie," and "Jerusalem" are compelling because of their hushed, quiet intensity. It's not a perfect album, since it can succumb to uneven pacing, but it's a thoroughly impressive debut -- and it's all the more impressive when you realize she only topped it with its immediate successor, before losing all focus. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

There were comedic hip-hop records before De La Soul's first album. There were beats that pushed the limits not just of what sampling technology could do, but where those samples came from and how they riffed off each other. There were lyricists who broke so far out of the ABAB rhyme schemes of basic rap that it blew the potential for new flows and structures wide open. And there were eccentrics—artists who didn't appear to adhere to any previously existing formula for hip-hop in style, perspective, or attitude because they couldn't be anybody but themselves. But 3 Feet High and Rising did all those things to such a surprising extent for a debut album that its barrage of audaciously new and unique ideas planted a flag nobody's been able to fully uproot. Rappers Posdnuos and Trugoy, DJ/co-producer Maseo, and beatmaker Prince Paul pulled off a work that might've left more people scratching their heads in bafflement if it hadn't also solidified the appeal of hip-hop's emerging bohemian strain. Maybe it's because there's as much reliance on familiar if transformative referential pop-music hijackings (Steely Dan on "Eye Know"; Hall & Oates on "Say No Go") as on the kind of sublime crate digger silliness that lends cartoonish joy to cuts like the head-swimming shaky-kneed "Plug Tunin' (Last Chance to Comprehend)" or the mellow soul-jazz melange of early Native Tongues teamup "Buddy." Even the interstitial stuff fits, weird as it is—goofy skits about body odor ("A Little Bit of Soap") and passé fashion ("Take It Off") adds to their just-rap-about-whatever approach that acts as both a met artistic challenge and a casual bit of messing around. De La Soul would take great pains to control and define their own multifaceted image—peaking with hit single "Me Myself and I," which declares their defensiveness over being perceived as contrived hippie-fashion poseurs while also nodding to a clear silly-yet-deep musical precedent in Funkadelic. But it only takes a couple close listens of 3 Feet High and Rising—and the lyrical intricacy and storytelling in deep cuts like the empathetic social-struggle analysis "Ghetto Thang" and the stay-posi fable-spinning "Tread Water"—to realize they'd be impossible to pin down for the rest of their careers. © Nate Patrin/Qobuz

March 1985 was a golden age for Rogers Nelson… at just 27 years old, Prince already had six huge albums to his name: For You (1978), Prince (1979), Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), 1999 (1982) and, of course, the massive Purple Rain (1984) which catapulted him into superstardom. His seventh album, Around the World in a Day, was released just a month after he finished touring. This record set his music on a new trajectory, experimenting with rock, pop and even psychedelic sounds. This live album was recorded in Syracuse, New York, on the 30th of March 1985 during his Purple Rain tour, and Prince made sure to pepper it with genius. This genius was multiplied tenfold by the adrenaline he put into his stage performances. Everything he touched would fizzle and spark with energy. He was supported by his fantastic band, The Revolution, which was composed of Bobby Z. on drums, Brown Mark on bass, Dr. Fink on keyboard, Eric Leeds on saxophone and the amazing twosome Wendy & Lisa on guitar and keyboard, not to mention guests such as percussionist Sheila E. His compositions, each one more perfect than the last, contain raw rock, pop and rhythm & blues. They’re a far cry from the old Prince from the decade prior, who was more inclined to stretch his tracks into extra-long improvs that flirted with jazz-fusion. He still enjoys making the pleasure last on this album, as evidenced by Baby I’m a Star, however, he maintains a funky, rock n roll beat throughout. Remixed by the sound engineer Chris James, who he would continue to work with throughout his later career, this reissue is a momentous release that can only be described with superlatives. Its explosive tone is established right from the opening track, Let’s Go Crazy. Prince and The Revolution: Live is 1 hour and 54 minutes of pure brilliance. It’s a must-listen! © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

The hype and buzz surrounding Domi & JD Beck's debut album long before its release should be quickly forgotten. Nor should we dwell too long on the almost 'too perfect' five-star cast of guests (Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Mac DeMarco, Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Kurt Rosenwinkel). Because Domitille Degalle and James Denis Beck are not just two young prodigies... with Domi on keyboards, James on drums, these names will not have been forgotten by the end of 2022. The music that the Frenchwoman and the Texan sculpt throughout Not Tight (published both on Blue Note and on Apeshit, Anderson Paak's new label) is unlike any other. The 70s jazz-fusion and the light funk that they meld together are at the heart of their universe, but they also feed on a thousand other sounds, from drum'n'bass to J Dilla beats, some classical punctuations here and some soul, pop, hip-hop or smooth jazz diversions there. Between the hysteria of JD Beck's syncopated rhythms and the fluidity of Domi's melodies, it is in the uniqueness of their musical collages that the duo imposes their difference. The variations between the totally frenetic improvised instrumental sequences (Sniff or the title Not Tight), the mellow interludes (Duke) or the ugly and groovy soul'n'rap nuggets (Pilot with Snoop, Busta and Anderson Paak) can sometimes be confusing. But these changes of scenery don't prevent you from savouring this first Qobuzissime album in one go, as if you were listening to a very personal playlist. A 360° trip where everything is possible and where the heritage of the past is a powerful fuel and not a framework to be religiously respected. A real revelation! © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

Widely considered as one of the greatest and most important rap albums of all time, The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready To Die is an indisputable masterpiece and one of the cornerstones of East Coast rap. Released by Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Records in September, 1994, Biggie's debut album paved the way for countless future stars and signalled the beginning of an East Coast revival. Coming straight from the streets of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, The Notorious B.I.G. paints a picture of the darker, criminal side of early '90s New York, drawing mainly from personal experience. In contrast to the West Coast glamorization and glorification of the criminal lifestyle, Ready To Die includes tracks which give a brutally honest account of a crook’s life on the streets, something which helped Biggie gain the respect of the masses. The album also explores some of the rapper’s deeper and more troubling thoughts and emotions with tracks such as "Everyday Struggle" and the distressing late night phone call of "Suicidal Thoughts". The album’s lead single, "Juicy", went gold just over three months after its release, with following singles "Big Poppa" and "One More Chance" both certified platinum less than a year later. These three tracks signaled the arrival of the artist the East Coast had been waiting for to lead the charge against the West Coast dominance started by Dr. Dre and co. As well as telling the story of the streets, Biggie spends parts of the album explaining how his focus on music was a way for him to take a step back from the criminal lifestyle, something he demonstrates on "Machine Gun Funk" with the lyrics "Left the drugs alone, took the thugs along with me" and "I’m doing rhymes now, f*** the crimes now." However, the album also makes it clear that despite turning over a new leaf, it can be hard for someone who once had "a key knee deep in the crack game" ("Things Done Changed") to cut all ties with their past life. "Warning" documents a robbery attempt by two men who had heard of the known ex-drug dealer’s rise to the top of the rap game, and ends with Biggie firing two fatal shots, a poetic way of conveying the difficulty the rapper had in distancing himself from street life. Never shying away from telling his own story, "Respect" sees Biggie map out his turbulent life for us, from birth to dope smoking teen, drug dealer, convict, and finally rap sensation. With its old school loops and lucid yet humorous lyrics, Ready To Die cemented itself in rap folklore and marked the start of a career that was tragically ended far too soon with the rapper’s shooting in March, 1997. © Euan Decourt / Qobuz

This draped in light rerelease of Purple Rain is an opportunity to take a beautiful trip back in time… For Prince, the 1999 advent coincides with several disputes with his entourage. The pinnacle is reached when the guitarist Dez Dickerson leaves, soon replaced by Wendy Melvoin. The star goes back to work and mulls over a project even crazier than a double album: a quasi-autobiographical movie! With their head on the chopping block, his managers are tasked with finding a film without delay. Warner’s movie division is rather lukewarm and wants warranties. Prince and his ever growing family (The Revolution, The Time, Vanity 6) perform regularly at the First Avenue club and spend the rest of their time locked away in a gigantic warehouse rehearsing and taking drama and dance classes to prepare for the movie. Prince even transferred his own studio in this warehouse to record the soundtrack of his crazy project. He also sets up a mobile studio in front of the First Avenue, where he makes live recordings of other songs. In the end, Warner Studios pay up for what will probably be one of the worst movies they’ve produced so far, a dud that will however give an exuberant and awesome soundtrack: Purple Rain reaches the top of the R&B and Pop charts. Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, Take Me With U, Purple Rain and I Would Die 4 U are all Princely hits that will dominate the airwaves in 1984 and 1985. His decadent funk rock and his frilled-shirted pimp style seduce the entire planet. Once again, the musician manages to mix his different foibles like a new Sly Stone. Containing pop melodies reminding of the Beatles and Hendrixian guitars with a funk groove rhythm, Purple Rain offers above all a complete revamping of these fundamentals of music… This Purple Rain Deluxe – Expanded Edition includes the remastered original album (the remastering was made in Paisley Park in 2015 with the original master tapes, and Prince supervised the whole process a few months before his passing), as well as eleven new titles, but also all the edit versions of the singles and their B sides. Taken from Prince’s numerous unreleased archives, the new tracks are true gems, like the 1983 instrumental version of Father’s Song. Some of them, like the studio version of Electric Intercourse, never even got out of Paisley Park before! Those gems have been mastered by Bernie Grundman, who worked on the original album. © MD/Qobuz

Since the release of his last non-mixtape/non-collaboration album in 2013, Drake has solidified his position as a pop music icon, scaling the charts, dominating gossip columns, and generally living the good life. Or so it seems. 2016's Views is another in a string of dour transmissions from the dark night of Drake's soul. As before, he casts himself as both the melancholy bachelor looking out over the city from his penthouse manor, and the criminally underrated rap genius demanding his due, and it's one album too many for both personas. He's already delved deeply into his insecurities, lambasted all his exes, and displayed his fierce self-pride, never shying away from telling everyone exactly where he started and how far he's come. Frankly, it's become as boring and annoying as a needle stuck in a groove. No matter how ably the production casts his raps and ballads in the best possible light, no matter how well the frequent use of chopped and swirled samples from '90s R&B songs fit in the mix, no matter that the occasional song rises up from the narrative and makes a splash, the album is a meandering, dreary rehash of what Drake has done before in much better fashion. Of the songs that stand out, his uptempo, Caribbean-flavored duet with Rihanna ("Too Good") is the most enjoyable; "One Dance," another song with a Jamaican dancehall feel, is another fun track. Still, these poppy moments feature Drake as the wounded lover, being treated poorly yet again. A few other tracks connect, like the almost light-hearted "Feel No Ways," which makes good use of a stuttering Malcolm McLaren sample or, of course, the hugely catchy hit song "Hotline Bling." The nostalgic "Weston Road Flows" comes close, with the great Mary J. Blige sample running through the track, but stumbles when Drake name drops Katy Perry and brags about wrecking marriages. The track, like so many others made up of over-blown boasts, seems to be fighting a battle that was won long ago. Drake has not only arrived, he's taken over. And if he's never going to get the same respect that someone like Chance the Rapper gets, making records as self-pitying and self-serving as Views isn't going to do much to further Drake's career artistically, either. Basically, Drake needs to lighten up and add some new colors to the paintbox, whether it’s songs about something other than his bummer love life (like the good times before the inevitable breakup), or the fabulous things that come from all the money and fame he never lets anyone forget he's accrued. Eventually, people will get tired of the same old song if it's sung too often. On Views, Drake is starting to sound a little weary of it himself.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

Sometimes, simple is better. For their joint album Her Loss, Drake and 21 Savage have created 16 raw and unembellished tracks. There’s nothing calculated about this release; there’s no desire to push a musical agenda. There’s just a tangible yearning to lay down some fearsomely produced tracks concocted by a plethora of beatmakers, including Metro Boomin, Nyan, Earl On The Beat and Tay Keith. The sound of Atlanta–21 Savage’s stronghold–resonates throughout the album. Drake, as usual, is a chameleon, trying out new flows whilst his accomplice talks about madness and audacious ego trips in a deceptively calm voice. Reading between the lines, it seems to be women that are the source of all their ills. Both of them project their desires for revenge and deception with unbridled, sleazy romanticism. There are tremendous tracks like ‘Spin Bout U’ with its slick production and ‘BackOutsideBoyz’ with its muffled beats. There’s even a sample taken from Daft Punk’s hit ‘One More Time’ on ‘Circo Loco’, seeing Drake take another (albeit discreet) step towards house music. Her Loss is a huge release. © Brice Miclet/Qobuz

In December of 2019, rapper/songwriter Juice WRLD died at the height of fame, just days after his 21st birthday. This tragic loss came months after the rapper had taken his second studio album, Death Race for Love, to the top of the charts, his distinctive blend of emotionally vulnerable lyricism and infectious genre-bending songcraft becoming a ubiquitous sound unto itself. Posthumous album Legends Never Die arrived less than a year after his passing, and offers further evidence of the late artist's gifts for self-inspection and exceptionally constructed hooks. "Conversations" is as catchy as a song about demonic visions and mental disturbance gets, with soft synth lines and a booming trap beat underscoring Juice WRLD's anxious, depressive observations. "Tell Me U Love Me" gets some assistance from Trippie Redd and the gentle, heartbroken ballad "Life's a Mess" features vocals from Halsey. Juice WRLD's general subject matters -- despair, substance abuse issues, loneliness and searching for authentic happiness -- already make for emotionally weighty songs, and listening to him sing from beyond gives Legends Never Die an impenetrably somber atmosphere. Allegedly Juice WRLD recorded over 2,000 songs that were unreleased at the time of his death, and the ones that surface here are in some ways stronger than the often disjointed and sometimes overly dramatic material that made up the albums released while he was alive. Legends Never Die is as strong a collection of Juice WRLD songs as any, with already-searing songs made more intense by the shadow of their departed creator looming over the album.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

Lurking beneath the seductive, supple gloss of The Voyager lies a serious undercurrent of sorrow -- an undercurrent Jenny Lewis doesn't disguise but doesn't bring to the surface, either. Someone, somewhere broke her heart, and perhaps the culprit is Lewis herself. Regret and self-recrimination abound on The Voyager: it's a tattered storybook full of relationships gone to rot, missed marriages, infidelities forgiven but not forgotten, wistful teenage memories fading in the face of adult disappointment. Whether the songs are autobiographical or not -- and they're filled with seemingly personal signifiers, ranging from red hair and scars left from the San Fernando Valley to a philandering, layabout beau named John -- doesn't matter much, as The Voyager aims to strike a universal chord for ladies in their thirties watching the years slide by as they wait for boyfriends to commit or life to start happening. It's heavy midlife crisis material but The Voyager plays lightly, offering a warm balm of Southern California sounds. Much more than Under the Blacklight, Rilo Kiley's 2007 stab at Fleetwood Mac-styled pop, this feels like vintage L.A. studio rock. Working primarily with producer Ryan Adams -- Beck comes aboard to give "Just One of the Guys" a narcotic sway, while Jenny collaborates with longtime partner Johnathan Rice on "Head Underwater" and "You Can't Outrun 'Em" -- Lewis indulges in the sunnier aspects of vintage yacht rock, occasionally dipping into the Laurel Canyon folk-rock she's specialized in on her own. Guitars roam wide-open spaces, couched in luxurious reverb and draped in strings; the rhythms often follow cool, steady eighth-note pulses; the surfaces always shimmer. It's such a sultry, soothing sound that it's easy to ignore the pain that lies beneath but that's a feature, not a bug: on The Voyager, Lewis' characters live for today without ever thinking that the world might pass them by, and having her music flow so smooth and easy, she illustrates how easy it is to get sucked into that alluring stasis.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Sting and Shaggy: not such a surprising tandem! In 1979 Police’s leader released Reggatta de Blanc, a second album under the Jamaican influence that fed the reggae-punky wave at the time of the Clash, PIL, Ruts Madness, as well as Bob Marley himself. Gordon Summer, who has always been fascinated by Caribbean rhythms, never truly broke away from them. So when his manager Martin Kierszenbaum, who also works with Shaggy, let him listen to his next dancehall hit song, the bassist made the trip from his Malibu home to do a featuring. The understanding between the Jamaican artist and the ex-Police singer was stellar and the track became the single Don't Make Me Wait. And six months later, 44/876, the tandem album was complete. From Crooked Tree to Dreaming In The USA − which restored the US image −, the two companions gave us a most surprising album that blends reggae, dancehall and catchy pop, without falling into ridiculous clichés. “This is exactly the record the world needs right now”, according to Orville Richard Burrell a.k.a. Shaggy… © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz