Short Album Reviews, in case you were wondering...

Swizz Beatz drops his 2nd album, "One Man Band" fueled by the hit "It's Me Bitches." On the plus side the CD is short and to the point, clocking in at a mere 40 minutes. His signature synth production is all over it, but we do see him get into bouts of sampling. For example, he quotes the chorus for the Wu-Tang Clan's "Cream" in "It's Me Bitches." However, we know Swizz ain't that much a rapper, he just has a knack for making a hit, and thankfully that's why this CD is pretty short and sweet.

M.I.A. returns with her 2nd album "Kala," which is largely void of producer Diplo, who plays more an A & R role for this release. This CD was largely produced by M.I.A. herself and Switch, until Timbaland chimes in on the very last track. Some of the stuff to look for on this CD is the song "Boyz" which has a very wonderfully shot video, the somewhat African tinged groove of "Hussel," featuring Afrikan Boy, and also the rooster cluck meets bagpipe filled sounds of "BirdFlu." You can't really box this CD in as one type of genre, and that's where this CD succeeds in. It's just good all around party jams tinged with lightly laden political and social stances.

Talib Kweli returns with his 3rd release, "Eardrum," which is laden with production from Madlib, Pete Rock, and several others. Fueled by "Listen!!!" other guests make appearances on there like Norah Jones, Kanye West, Roy Ayers, Justin Timberlake ("The Nature Of Things), KRS-One ("The Perfect Beat"). The change this go round finds Kweli doing a lot better than his last album, the short but haphazard album "The Beautiful Struggle." At 20 tracks clocking in around 60+ minutes, its a great whirlwind of lyricism and creativity. He will be performing a CD Release show on Friday at the Electric Fetus in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And on Saturday after Rock the Bells, he'll be doing a DJ and guest appearance at Foundation Nightclub.