Murs

With his seventh solo album, this veteran Los Angeles MC really sounds like he's campaigning for higher office. The onetime underground hip-hopper now hangs with Snoop Dogg and will.i.am, and stocks this major-label debut with a variety of producers and crowd-pleasing styles -- from the gospel uplift of "Time Is Now" to the jittery hyphy bounce of "Lookin' Fly." Boasting authoritative presence and crisp diction, Murs crams multiple ideas into topical songs on love affairs ("Break Up") and racism ("The Science"), sometimes overwhelming the tracks. But ultimately, Murs for President has a cumulative bang that's impossible to deny.

By Mosi Reeves