The end of the year is generally a good time for rap/R&B music, and this November brought a couple major releases of interest (Jay-Z’s American Gangster, Alicia Keys’ As I Am) as well as a couple minor ones (Freeway’s Free at Last, Cormega’s Who Am I?), plus a couple enjoyable compilations (Nas’ Greatest Hits, the American Gangster soundtrack). Other favorites of mine from November include new albums by Trisha Yearwood and Sebastian Bach (who gets a key assist from Axl Rose), and the latest in a long line of George Strait compilations.

 
Alicia Keys, “Like You’ll Never See Me Again” [from the album As I Am] Each album by Alicia Keys has a song that really gets into my head. On past albums, it was “Fallin’” (Songs in A Minor, 2001) and “You Don’t Know My Name” (The Diary of Alicia Keys, 2003), and on As I Am the inescapable song so far has been “Like You’ll Never See Me Again.” Lovely and calming, it’s a song that’s easy to enjoy.

Anthony Hamilton, “Do You Feel Me” [from the soundtrack American Gangster] A perfectly executed throwback soul song, “Do You Feel Me” leads off the American Gangster soundtrack and fits right in beside vintage songs by John Lee Hooker, Bobby Womack, and Sam & Dave that follow.

Jay-Z, “Party Life” [from the album American Gangster] “Party Life” and its infectious “Get Into the Party Life” sample got a lot of repeat listens last month, along with a couple other ’70s-soul-sampling songs on American Gangster produced by Diddy, LV, and Sean C (especially “American Dreamin’,” with its similarly infectious Marvin Gaye sample). My favorite part: when Jay-Z ad-libs, “I’m just gonna let this ride out/I might let it ride out for, like, seven minutes/You can groove to it, whatever/Get your two-step/Ow!”

Jay-Z, “Ignorant Shit” [from the album American Gangster] I also like “Party Life” because it sets the stage for “Ignorant Shit,” the album’s high point. The song was originally recorded by Jay-Z and Just Blaze for inclusion on The Black Album (2003), and it’s curious to compare the new version to the original (which had circulated on mixtapes; a spliced-together edit without DJ tags is the version to find): the opening monologue about people questioning whether Jay-Z’s fallen off is the same on both the new and original versions of the song, and so are the first two verses.

Freeway, “Roc-a-Fella Billionaires” [from the album Free at Last] Since this was a heavy Jay-Z month, I also enjoyed “Roc-a-Fella Billionaires,” a collaboration between Freeway and Jigga that is reminiscent of the Blueprint era, when Roc-a-Fella was running the rap game and in-house producers Just Blaze and Kanye West were working overtime (Jay-Z’s The Blueprint, 2001; State Property, 2001; Cam’ron’s Come Home with Me, 2002; Freeway’s Philadelphia Freeway, 2003).

Nas, “Surviving the Times” [from the album Greatest Hits] One of two new songs featured on Nas’ maddeningly concise Greatest Hits collection, “Surviving the Times” is a low-key storytelling rap about the old days. Nas does a lot of these songs, and he’s always liked to name-drop — nothing truly special about “Surviving the Times” then, but that doesn’t make the song any less enjoyable for someone like myself who’s curious about the back-stories of hip-hop.

Cormega, “Sleep Well” [from the album Who Am I?] Cormega, a veteran underground rapper from Queensbridge, is someone whose name has been dropped by Nas on numerous occasions, beginning with “One Love” in 1994. Who Am I? is a new DVD/CD from Cormega that features a rawly filmed documentary about five years in the rapper’s life (2001-2005), along with an accompanying soundtrack of previously unreleased songs, many of them collaborations. The leadoff track, “Sleep Well,” featuring Dwele, is potent song about persevering in the rap underground and looking past the haters.

George Strait, “Amarillo by Morning” [from the album 22 More Hits] Over the past three decades, there’s been no one more reliable in country music than George Strait, who continues to release tasteful albums — some better than others, of course — and has done so almost annually since 1981. Though I have more of his best-of collections at home than I can keep straight, 22 More Hits entertained me all the same, for it includes contemporary material such as his present hit (”How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls”) as well as classics like “Amarillo by Morning” from 1983.

Trisha Yearwood, “Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love” [from the album Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love] Trisha Yearwood has released a few great albums over the course of her career — Trisha Yearwood (1991) was a remarkable debut, Hearts in Armor (1992) is a classic, and Jasper County (2005) was a strong comeback — and her new one is up there with her best work. It’s about as authentic as contemporary country gets, and the title track is a clear highlight that gets the album off to a lively start.

Sebastian Bach, “Back in the Saddle” [from the album Angel Down] I’ve always had an affection for Skid Row’s 1989 self-titled debut, which was an adolescent favorite of mine, especially the band’s breakthrough MTV hit (”Youth Gone Wild”) and the album’s pair of power ballads (”18 and Life,” “I Remember You” — the latter always reminds me of a cute girl at summer camp). Almost 20 years later, I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy the new album from former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach, especially the trio of songs where he’s joined by Axl Rose, including on a fun cover of “Back in the Saddle.”