Jean Grae, “Jeanius” (Blacksmith Records/ Warner Bros.)

By BRETT JOHNSON/The Associated Press

For most indie-rap diehards, pairing producer 9th Wonder (Jay-Z, Erykah Badu) with South African-born, Brooklyn-bred rapper Jean Grae is an ideal match-up. Formerly of underground hip-hop darlings Little Brother, 9th Wonder’s known for subtly textured, retro-sounding beats - looped, dusty soul samples and drum kicks that pop. Meanwhile, Grae’s respected for being among a species of rapper facing extinction - the female MC.

Her immodestly titled disc “Jeanius” fulfills much of the promise of the vaunted collaboration. (An early version of “Jeanius” surfaced as a bootleg in 2004). Grae’s conversational flow is packed with equal amounts boasting and poignant insight. She’s as adept at punchline rapson “2-32’s” she explains: “Impeccable rap flow/ second to that wordplay/ akin to a verb hitting a piñata on the eve of it’s birthday.”

Yet Grae’s also willing to reveal details of a past abortion on the solemn “My Story” and her indie rap struggles on “Don’t Rush Me.” On the latter, she rhymes: “There’s nothing like knowing yourself/ Like the way I know that smoking’s kinda broken my health/ Like the way I know my flow don’t make appropriate wealth.”

By mid-disc, it becomes more evident that mainstream success has eluded Grae in part because her dense, deliberate flow - now over Wonder’s hypnotic, mid-tempo tracks - is strictly headphone music. Her songs require close listening to be fully appreciated. But that suits a lyricist like Grae, a cult heroine who’s sorely needed in today’s hip-hop world.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: On the sultry “Love Thirst” Grae plays a hyper-literate rap coquette, proving she’s not all about b-girl posturing and identity politics.

Weezer, “Weezer” (Geffen/Interscope)

By JOHN KOSIK/The Associated Press

Rest easy slacker geeks — Weezer have gotten it right once again.

Plowing through another set of snarky power pop, Weezer’s self-titled sixth studio disc is a bit audacious without skimping on what makes this band great — popping riffs, infectious choruses and an almost silly nostalgia for youth.

Frontman Rivers Cuomo relinquishes lead vocal and songwriting duties here and there, which may turn off some fans, but Weezer remain smarter than most acts and Cuomo and his mates still pen some of the best power pop ditties you’re likely to find.

Opening track “Troublemaker” is a kicking tongue-in-cheek knock on rock star misconceptions: “I’m gonna be a star and people will crane necks/to get a glimpse of me to see if I am having sex/and studying my moves to try and understand/why I am so unlike the singers in the other bands.”

Lead single “Pork and Beans” is already pleasing fans of previous hits, “Everybody Get Dangerous” tackles the risks of youth that we manage to survive and “Heart Songs” is Cuomo’s sweet ode to his myriad influences that references everyone from Gordon Lightfoot and Bruce Springsteen to Rob Bass (yes, really) and Kurt Cobain.

Other standouts include an homage to boyhood escape on “Dreamin’,” diverse, pulsating rockers in “Thought I Knew” and “Automatic,” and the gloomy synth freak-out of “Cold Dark World.”

With their most challenging disc since 1996’s “Pinkerton,” it would seem Cuomo and Weezer have grown up a bit — but thankfully not too much.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived” may be the most ambitious song in the Weezer canon. Piano, acoustic and electric guitars, choir chants and Beach Boy-esque falsetto harmonies (among other elements) propel continual switches from punk, folk and metal over the course of six jaw-dropping minutes.

“Evil Urges” by My Morning Jacket

Four stars out of five

“Evil urges, baby,” squeals Jim James in the title track of his band’s fifth studio album. “They be part of the human way!” A slinky funk strut delivered in Prince-like falsetto that blows up into a proggy Southern-rock guitar duel, “Evil Urges” rallies you to “Dedicate your love to any woman or man/No racial boundary lines, no social subdivisions” and notes that “evil” is often in the ear of the beholder. -Will Hermes, Rolling Stone

See Rolling Stones‘ Web site for the complete review.

Click here to purchase “Evil Urges.”

Al Green, “Lay It Down” (Blue Note)  

By Amy Linden/The Associated Press

If Al Green’s “Lay It Down” sounds familiar, it should. Much like his 2003’s comeback CD I Cant Stop, this is an homage to and re-creation of Green’s ‘70s glory days. That’s when the quintessential love man, with producer Willie Mitchell, delivered classics like “Let’s Stay Together,” and “Call Me” that inspired millions: That apparently included James Poyser and The Roots Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, who, (with Green) produced this joyful if somewhat uneven CD.
The intentions are good. Green’s vocals are still sanctified and sexy - witness the slinky “I’m Wild.” Likewise the mournful title track, “No One Like You” shout out to Green’s 1972 gem “Love And Happiness,” and the proliferation of Hammond B3 organs makes this an old school dream; which is part of the problem.
While no one is expecting Lil Wayne on the hook, the participation of stylists like Thompson and Poyser - along with fellow acolytes John Legend and Anthony Hamilton (who almost steals the jazzy “You’ve Got The Love”) - implied that Green’s trademark sound might be guided into a new direction. Not doing so doesn’t make “Lay It Down” any less soulful- it just makes it a bit too safe.
CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Buoyed by guitars with a juke joint twang and a finger-popping chorus, Green preaches about the transcendent power of love on “Standing in the Rain.”