All of the Above

Slated as J’s ’00 major-label debut, The Best Part became a bootleg legend when its release was scotched amid corporate merging. This sequel is another progressive hip-hop tour de force, balancing KRS-One’s social conscience with De La Soul’s wise playfulness. Rhyming over voluptuous funk, dub, and jazz, J can critique post-9/11 civic psychology or conflate lecture and come-on without sounding like a pill — and you can even take it home to Mom.