Blakroc: Blakroc

The long-delayed album by premier rapper Lil Wayne is rumoured to be a rap-rock hybrid, the latest in a long line of occasionally brilliant, but often execrable, genre fusions. Contrast Aerosmith and Run DMC's "Walk This Way" and Jay-Z's "99 Problems" with nu-metal for proof. This record does it right, though. Ohio blues-rock cult figures the Black Keys have ganged up with an impressive array of auteur rappers, abetted by former Jay-Z associate Damon Dash. Ludacris, Raekwon, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, RZA and even a posthumous Ol' Dirty Bastard flow freely over the loose, all-live, sample-free instrumentation. More often than not, it rocks.