Ty, Closer

The US hip-hop fraternity could learn from Ty's third outing: there are 12 tracks, all of pop-song length, no skits, and it lasts under an hour. It is also low on braggadocio and high on ambition, as Ben Chijioke hopes for a wider audience such as that enjoyed by Sway and his labelmate Roots Manuva. Closer should help him achieve this. It's sleeker and more synthetic than his sophomore outing, 2004's Mercury- nominated and afrocentric Upwards, and his rhymes remain razor sharp, thought-provoking and often hilarious. On Don't Watch That he quashes internet message board rumour: "Apparently I walk with a thousand grand and love fat girls covered in marzipan". Bobby McFerrin's son Taylor provides beatbox backing on the smooth organ-inflected What You Want and kindred spirits De La Soul are the perfect meeting of minds for The Idea. Let's hope they aren't the only Americans that take note of this bling- and fat-free approach to hip-hop.