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Review: Originally issued back in 1998, Mezzanine remains the most commercially successful album released by Bristol troupe Massive Attack, thanks in no small part to the Liz Fraser-featuring "Teardrop". This third album signalled a change in sonic direction that played more explicitly on the darkness and tension that was always an undercurrent of their much loved debut Blue Lines and successor Protection. After numerous bootlegs over the years, Virgin have done the right thing and presented this official reissue of Mezzanine to appease fans of Massive Attack and it's clear the LP has lost none of it's bewitching power. The Quincy Jones and Isaac Hayes sampling "Exhange" and "Exchange" remain a delight in particular.

Review: Canadian singer The Weeknd has just been announced as the half time act for this year's Super Bowl, which is another crowning glory for an artist who has made a remarkable rise to the top. One of his early standout achievements was his Beauty Behind The Madness album, which is re-released here on its fifth anniversary. It was his sophomore long player and feature big guest like Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Ray which helped it debut at number one in several countries around the world. Filled with some harder truths than previous music yet with plenty of catchy hooks and singalong choruses, it prove The Weeknd was more versatile than people thought.

Review: Cruising the slipstream of Black Messiah, D'Angelo's debut album gets a timely reissue 20 years after its release. The neo-soul foundations dig deep with every nuance and subtlety D'Angelo has become known for; the Gaye-level harmonies of "Crusin'", the jazz meanders of "Sh*t Damn Motherf*ker" and the unstoppably sexual drive of "Lady"... If this isn't in your collection already, now is most definitely the time.

Review: Few people can be said to be a true hip-hop head lest they've heard 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole. The heartfelt, orchestrally-tempered album was released way back in 2014 (duh) and hears the rapper sing and speak eloquently of his bittersweet coming-of-age - telling many stories of his first loves, his adolescent angst, and his intentional avoidance of the wrong paths. Now lovingly reissued just in time for its 10th Anniversary, we're glad to hear the LP that helped establish Cole's romantic, reminiscent side won't stay out of the limelight.

Review: First things first: the world has come a long way in its attitude to women since this album was first released, so in 2019, 2001 sounds - at least lyrically - wrong on many levels. But it is also still very right when it comes to g-funk, west coast rap and second wave hip hop sounds. Listening to it from start to finish is to spend 90 minutes as a fly on the wall of the lives of Snoop, Dre, Eminem and all the rest of the high profile guests. Jam packed with classics and gold standards, this is an album of its time but one that was never bettered.

Review: Wow, 20 years has gone by since Eminem changed the game with his "Slim Shady" LP. To mark the occasion, this anniversary edition is freshly expanded with 10 bonus tracks that include rarities, a cappella versions, freestyles and instrumentals. It was the iconic rapper's major debut that didn't dampen down his raw spirit and attitude. Anthems like "My Name Is" still bang, "97' Bonnie & Clyde" finds him at his vengeful and most bile-filled best and just about everything else confirms his reputation as one of the most pointed and dangerous lyricists in the game.

Review: Much has changed for Kelis since the release of her debut album "Kaleidoscope" 20 years ago - see her albums on Ninja Tune and a surprise recent appearance on bizarre variety show "The Masked Singer" - but the album itself remains a turn-of-the-millennium classic. Here reissued in expanded form to celebrate its 20th birthday, the Neptunes-produced set sparkles just as much as it did way back in 2000. For proof, check the still-familiar, acoustic guitar-sporting bump of "Caught out There" (complete with famous "I hate you so much right now" refrain"), the R&B perfection of "Get Along With You" and the dancefloor-friendly disco-pop of "Good Stuff".

Review: 2Pac's final album released in his lifetime gets a lavish reissue treatment spread across four discs. All Eyez On Me was a landmark when it dropped - the first hip-hop double album released for mass consumption, and featuring a heavyweight cast of collaborators from Dr Dre and George Clinton to Snoop Dogg, Redman, Method Man, Nate Dogg and more. From the massive singles 'California Love' and 'I Ain't Mad Atcha' to the deeper album cuts, it's a milestone in hip-hop history from start to finish. Consider this the definitive version of one of the greatest, from one of the greatest.

Review: Root Down is an experimental album from 1994 when The Beastie Boys locked themselves in a rehearsal space and went to town on studio experimentation and live jamming. It came between "Paul's Boutique" and "Check Your Head" and resulted in two previously unreleased versions of the title track and snippets of music recorded while on tour in Europe. There is the typical Beastie Boys mix of floor rocking riffs but with funky new flows stitched in and thus charts the period in which the band went from their post punk guitar roots to a more new-groove driven sound.

Review: When he released third album "Me Against The World" in 1995, Tupac Shakur was arguably the biggest name in hip-hop. As we now know, it wouldn't last, with the LA rapper losing his life in a drive-by shooting 12 months later. As tragic as his demise was, his music still resonates and this album - here reissued to celebrate its 25th anniversary - is arguably the best of the lot. Produced by an all-star cast of beat-makers (Brian G, Easy Mo Bee, Tony Pizarro and Moe ZMD included), the set offered a glossy and polished take on the then dominant gangster rap style while including numerous nods to R&B, swing and G-funk. If you don't already own a copy, grab one of these pronto.

Review: Beastie Boys Music is a new greatest hits compilation album that serves as a companion to 2020's Spike Jonze-directed Beastie Boys Story and 256-page photo book, Beastie Boys Book. The double vinyl affair takes in 20 classic tracks that span the iconic group's more than 30 year career, with the biggest of the big such as 'No Sleep', 'Sabotage' and 'Intergalactic' all making the cut. By now these are well worn classics, but their impact on rap cannot be overstated, and the tunes still get any party banging thanks to the immediacy of the beats and sharpness of the rhymes.

Review: J Cole's 2014 Forest Hills Drive will likely go down in history as one of 2010s hip-hop's most emotive albums. Through various forces, we'd contend it found itself on the iPods of anyone so much as remotely interested in exploring hip-hop beyond the pales of Kendrick Lamar, Drake or Eminem. It put Cole on the map for many young listeners: the virginity-loss classic 'Love Yourz' is the obvious go-to hit, but it doesn't represent the rest of the album, which mostly falls into the category of gushing and nostalgic. '03 Adolescence' and 'Apparently' are our highlights, with Cole indulging emotive jazz-piano interludes and pop-rap production tropes, with his rhymes always circling back to the album's core subject matters: home, childhood, wrong paths, memories.