Don't look now but Houston repper/rapper/self-promoter extraordinaire Mike Jones is back with his long-awaited second release, 'The Voice.'

It's been a while since Jones graced the masses with his double-platinum 2005 debut 'Who is Mike Jones?' and although his career never reached the heights he seemed destined to achieve between efforts, the number-whoring artist (he has a different cell number this time around) stuck to his considerable guns and proved to doubters in all corners of the hip-hop loving world that they haven't heard the last of the former Swishahouse staple.

"Politics and bullshit kept me a way from yall, and kept me away from the game" he pronounces in the intro. "But now I'm back, and y'all able to hear the voice of who? Mike Jones..."

While some may have immediately written Washington Heights rapper MIMS off as a one hit wonder after his simplistic hit "This is Why I'm Hot," those who have followed his career since his first single, "L.O.V.E.," knew that he was a talented MC who had yet to fulfill his potential.

With 'Move (If You Wanna),' the lead single to MIMS' sophomore release, 'Guilt,' he further proves his ability to make big records, stepping up his flow and spitting effortlessly over Da Internz' beat.

The album features some top shelf production courtesy of Jim Jonsin and The Kaliphat, as well as guest appearances by Ky-mani Marley, J. Holiday and Tech N9ne, who absolutely murders 'Rock 'N Rollin,' namechecking a slew of rock bands as he spits "A Motorhead, I spit it in a mean way/Mama I kill a man like Queen say."

Pigeonholing Jim Jones is about as easy as nailing Jello to the wall. The Bronx-born, Harlem-raised exec/rapper/promoter/playwright/ whatever else he wants to be seamlessly transitions through a number of different titles and responsibilities with an ease and aplomb that would leave President Obama impressed.

And if rapping, perhaps, isn't the best-fitting of his many and varied hats, Jones is astute enough to surround himself with plenty of capable mic help and some slick production when it comes time to create an album, and his latest release, 'Pray IV Reign,' proves no different.

Partly constructed as the soundtrack to Jones' two-day off-Broadway play 'The Hip-Hop Monologues: Inside the Life and Mind of Jim Jones,' Reign tackles a myriad of topics from the loss of friend and Byrd Gang crew member Stack Bundles ('My My My'), stormy relationships with Cam'ron and Max B ('Frienemies'), to flaunting all the gloriousness and success 'Capo' has achieved in his remarkable career ('Na Na Nana Na Na').

Nas confidently boasts in his now-classic intro, Queens Get the Money, "I'm over their heads, like a bulimic on a seesaw." And while you won't find hip-hop quotables quite on the level of the gifted Mr. Jones', fellow Queens natives and hip-hop vets Capone -N- Noreaga have forged their own successful path in the game with a decidedly more straightforward and thugged-out approach.

First debuting in 1997 with the impressive and much-acclaimed 'The War Report,' and continuing with 2000's aptly titled 'The Reunion,' the duo from Queensbridge and LeFrak City, N.Y., respectively, have always stuck to their street-wise guns, and 'Channel 10' -- the oft-incarcerated group's latest effort named after the tenth track on 'Report' -- is more of the same.

Enlisted to help with mic duties this time around are heavyweights such as Busta Rhymes ('Rotate'), Mobb Deep ('Wobble'), Clipse, and Tha Dogg Pound ('My Hood') to name a few, lending star power and different voices to an otherwise indistinguishable collection tracks.

When Keyshia Cole hit the music scene with her debut release 'The Way It Is' she was automatically typecasts as an attitude having woman scorned using her music to appeal to fans who have gone through the same problems. Yet over the past three years her career has flourished so its fitting that she finally gives listeners a take on 'A Different Me.' Gone are the many snail paced break-up songs, alternatively a balance of relationship topics strive to level this effort.

The lead single 'Playa Cardz Right,' featuring the late Tupac Shakur, is probably the best example of how much things have changed in Cole's music. Instead of screaming "I should've cheated" or "I just want it to be over" she seductively invites her mate to step his game up if he wants to claim her as a prize. The Polow Da Don-produced 'Make Me Over' is somewhat of an off the wall endeavor that feels more like big band swing music than R&B. It does more to further steer her new sound in a different direction, but little to keep your attention.

For many musicians winning an Oscar would be a dream come true. Jamie Foxx not only has the golden statue but he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, hit movies, and a double platinum album under his belt. Although music has always been his first love (he studied classical music in college), acting led him on a whole other path of stardom. His first mainstream exposure to the music world was on Twista's single 'Slow Jamz,' featuring Kanye West.

A decade prior to the actor/singer's collaborations with West and Twista, Foxx gave audiences a sample of his vocal skills during the comedy special 'Straight from the Foxxhole.' Tickling the ivory keys as he performed his rendition of the children's song 'Mary had a little lamb' and just like that put himself in a whole other category.

"I started doing stand-up comedy in the clubs and putting music in my comedy. Then I got on 'In Living Color' and I started playing this girl -- the Wanda character," he told the BoomBox. "I'll never forget having my cassette tape in my hand because Teddy Riley and Guy were guest starring on 'In Living Color.' I took my cassette tape to [Riley] but I was dressed as the girl! Teddy Riley was like 'Come on man! Come on with this man!' I was like 'You're right. You're right.'"

Now on his third album, 'Intuition,' Foxx is trying out new sounds and hopes fans will enjoy it. His hiatus from the musical spotlight allowed him to decide the direction of this upcoming record. "I can guarantee you this album right here is the best work I've ever done. I [had] an idea to marry R&B and hip-hop together in a great way."

This week of new releases finds the return of a Chicago rapper, an R&B songstress and Philadelphia neo-soul crooner. Common's new album 'Universal Mind Control' pencils hip-hop music into different boxes. With production by the Neptunes and Kanye West, 'UMC' is bass heavy electronic-light and extremely exciting.

The lead single of the same name is a throwback to the likes of Planet Rock style music while 'Punch Drunk Love' featuring Kanye West tames otherwise graphic sexual expression with descriptive poetic delivery. The Pharrell aided 'Announcement' reaffirms Commons' archetypal flow as he proclaims "This is hip-hop baby. I'm finna take it to the tip top baby." Then there's the overly secure 'Gladiator,' whose incessant piano is reminiscent of a Dr. Dre beat. 'UMC' introduces a new facet of hip-hop music by mixing an old school percussions with the Neptunes contemporary space-beats. The industry is ready for innovation, whether they like it or not.