From the sounds of "No Matter What," first single off new disc "Paper Trail," the slick T.I. has the gruff T.I.P. on the ropes, but he hasn't quite knocked him out. This tension--full-bodied pop-rap tugged at by hard rhymes--keeps the artist's stuff rich and highly listenable.

Filed in: Dirty South

Overlaying dreamy vocals with fairly dense music, Detroit?s one-man band, Daestro mixes melodic indie rock with synth-infused soundscapes on his latest electro-pop release, "Keepers". Randolph Chabot sure knows how to genre-hop with his strange combination of subtle music textures, spine-tingling in instrumental complexity and perfect for a trip to outer space.

Filed in: Electronica

If Al Green and Betty Davis were to have a love child, it'd be John Bigham, better known to the music world as The Soul of John Black. The former member of Fishbone fuses a plethora of genres into one infectious groove on his latest release, Black John.

Filed in: Soul

Sometimes strange, sometimes otherworldly--but always incredible--marks the striking sound of Detroit-based band The Bodies Obtained. Reminiscent of the gloom and doom of Joy Division, The Bodies Obtained resurrect postpunk founding fathers from the grave on their debut album, From the Top of My Tree.

Filed in: Experimental

It's hard to pull off soft vocal jazz-folk as deep and meaningful and not overly sentimental. Artists like Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones can tap into that world, and so does Rebecca Martin with her moving new release, The Growing Season.

Filed in: Crossover Jazz