The Seventh Seal is Rakim's first album in nearly a decade, as Ra tries to reassert his authority as the super MC. Was it worth the wait? Here's my Seventh Seal review.

Kid Sister came to national prominence in 2007 by parlaying a cute song about mile-long acrylic nails into hip-pop success. "Pro Nails," Kid Sister's first single, enjoyed a commercial boost from its Kanye West cameo and became an instant club hit. Her oft-delayed debut album, Ultraviolet, plays like a 40-minute extension of that song. Here's the verdict on Ultraviolet.

Can't get enough of Eminem's Relapse? Check back with the doctor for a Refill on December 21st. Relapse: Refill is the re-release of Slim Shady's chart-topping fifth studio album. It's loaded with seven bonus tracks, including the single "Forever", alongside featuring Drake, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne, "Taking My Ball" (also released with the DJ Hero video game), and five never-before-heard tracks."

"I want to deliver more material for the fans this year like I originally planned" Eminem says via a press release. "Hopefully these tracks on The Refill will tide the fans over until we put out Relapse 2 next year". Eminem has been busy in the studio creating even more new material since Relapse was released. "I got back in with Dre and then a few more producers, including Just Blaze, and went in a completely different direction which made me start from scratch. The new tracks started to sound very different than the tracks I originally intended to be on Relapse 2, but I still want the other stuff to be heard."

Relapse, one of the most anticipated rap albums of 2009, entered the Billboard Top 200 album chart at No. 1 in May 2009 after selling over 618,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week. It's still the top selling hip-hop album of 2009.

Though 50 Cent recorded Before I Self Destruct before Curtis, the former was briefly canned while he engaged in a SoundScan showdown with Kanye West. With that feud behind him, Before finally gets to see the light of day. Sadly, 50 never really managed to shake off some of the dust this album gathered while it was sitting on the shelf. Here's my take on Before I Self Destruct.

Album art © Shady/Aftermath/Interscope