British singer/rapper Estelle's sassy debut
By AMY LINDEN
For The Associated Press

Estelle, "Shine" (Home School/Atlantic)

Whether with effortless R&B phrasing or a tart hip-hop flow, British newcomer Estelle shows that she suffers no fools — especially if they're men.

The tangy "More Than Friends" finds Estelle, the first artist on R&B singer John Legend's label, serving notice to an indecisive lover by admonishing, "If I wanted to be part-time, I'd be working at a check-out line" while on "No Substitute" she purrs, "I know the games you play so I'm through with you."

That talk to the hand 'tude punctuates much of this playful, solid debut, especially on the cheeky "Wait A Minute (Just A Touch)." Produced by will.i.am (other collaborators include Wyclef Jean, Kanye West and Legend), "Wait a Minute" links feisty couplets ("just because we're kissing/don't mean we're undressing") to a stuttering beats, derived from an unlikely merger of music from Screaming Jay Hawkins and '70s funk band Slave.

Despite being fed up Estelle hasn't given up. A duet with Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo, "Pretty Please (Love Me") is a Motown-infused heartbreaker and the single "American Guy" — with a rote rap from Kanye — is a bubbling (almost excessively so) love song.

Granted, Estelle can overplay the "guys are dopes" card, but you can't deny her sassiness and smarts.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Not surprisingly, the title track is also Estelle's anthem. While riding Swizz Beatz minimalist track, Estelle recounts her journey ("Who'd a thought it would happen/ this London chick start rappin''') with pride and wonderment.

Santogold's debut shows she's no M.I.A. clone
By BRETT JOHNSON
For The Associated Press

Santogold, "Santogold" (Downtown)

Philadelphia's Santi White — who performs as Santogold — has enough things in common with Sri Lankan-Brit MC M.I.A. to make the comparisons inevitable. Both employ Diplo and Switch as producers. Both women have oodles of hipster cred. And both deal in hybrid music that's simultaneously retro and futuristic.

But where M.I.A.'s dance blend dabbles in bhangra, dancehall, hip-hop and grime, Santogold conflates her power-punk, hip-hop, reggae and pop-rock influences into an entirely different stew.

Her self-titled solo debut shows off her stellar songwriting chops (she wrote most of R&B rocker Res' 2001 debut, "How I Do") and a daring willingness to surround her high-pitched wail in an array of noisy, clanging electro-beats and hard-driving melodies. The guitar-infused first single, "L.E.S. Artistes" recalls her R&B-rock roots as she sings of disingenuous scene-sters: "Stop tryin' to catch my eye/ I see you good you forced faker/ Just make it easy/ You're my enemy you fast talker."

Still, Santogold's strength lies more in her musical inclusiveness than her cynicism. She flits from dubby bliss of "Shove It" and the stop-start, bleep-synths of "Starstruck" to the space-agey sound effects and echo chambers of "My Superman" and the bubbly pop-rock of "Lights Out" and "I'm A Lady." The genre jumping is not for the close-minded, but it's obvious Santogold's not here to adhere to any one pop sensibility.

On the glitchy-twitchy disc standout, "Creator," she's not afraid to express her sense of self-worth. Over the gargantuan bass drops, she chants: "Me, I'm a Creator/ Thrill is to make it up/ The rules I break got me a place/ Up on the radar." She's definitely got our attention.

CHECK OUT: "Creator" begins with simmering drum fills, Santogold's best jungle bird vocal imitation and then quickly picks up a thunderous, chest-quaking head of steam. Hold your head.

The Roots keep it serious on CD 'Rising Down'
By AMY LINDEN
For The Associated Press

The Roots, "Rising Down" (Def Jam)

Over the course of 15 years and seven studio albums — "Rising Down" being their eighth — The Roots have shown they're not here to party. Not to suggest that the Grammy-winning, critically revered hip-hop band is dreary, but even when they tackle a subject that seems to be frivolous, like girls, as on the iTunes exclusive "Birthday Girl" with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, it takes a serious tone: On that track, Black Thought offers a conflicted view on jailbait.

On their most political — albeit uneven — CD to date, the Roots pull no punches, intelligently addressing pharmaceutical companies and global warming ("between the green house gasses, Mother Nature's spinning off its axis") on "Rising Down," and, on the undulating Fela Kuti-inspired "I Will Not Apologize," the quest for integrity.

The music matches the lyrical intention, thick with foreboding (even claustrophobic) droning synths, much like those anchoring "Get Busy." As usual, the Roots are motivated by drummer/ producer ?uestlove's boom-bap — this is the lone rap act where the rapper isn't the star, which can be problematic. Although he's got much to say, Black Thought tends to say it with little inflection. Even his "solo" ''75 Bars," which refers to him spitting for 75 bars straight, begins to drag, as if changing things up equals watering things down. It's not good when the guest stars — fellow MCs Mos Def, Saigon and Dice Raw — almost steal the show.

Ultimately, "Rising Down" will confirm what you like — or for some, dislike — about The Roots.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: With swirling guitars, equally atmospheric vocals and rocksteady rhymes, "Criminal" is Coldplay with attitude.