albums and tracks

2008 was a wonderful year for urban music. Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak saw the flashy rapper flip the hip-hop script with a heavily electro-pop and introspective outing, inspired by a break-up with his fiancée and the death of his mum. Kanye's never been one to apologise for defying conventions and this was one impressive experiment, which could be forgiven for swinging so far to the left. Akon scrubbed up well on his third electro-cum-r'n'b album, Freedom, following two previous efforts that were more concerned with his thug credentials than unveiling the smooth operator he's now become.

2008 was also a massive year for Lil Wayne, the dreadlocked wunderkid from Louisiana, who broke into the mainstream with stomping singles ('Milli', 'Lollipop') , a classic album (Tha Carter III) and a swagger so toxic, he really had no competition. Split personalities are normally frowned upon, but in Beyoncé's case, her (I Am...) Sasha Fierce persona was a welcome guest alongside her trademark girly sweetness on the diva's third solo album.

London rapper Sway followed-up his 2005 debut This Is My Demo with The Signature LP, a step up musically (he got an orchestra on board), but still filled with enough wit and wordplay to keep his fans happy. Wiley - the 'Godfather' of UK grime - scored a long overdue hit this year with 'Wearing My Rolex', the highlight from his first mainstream debut See Clear Now. Elsewhere, Camden trio N-Dubz mixed rap and r'n'b to ensure their debut, Uncle B, has already gone platinum.

On The Paper Trail, TI threw down one of his most earnest records to date while on house arrest, outselling his hip-hop foes and keeping his name in lights. Former Tribe Called Quest man, Q-Tip, also returned this year with a gorgeously soulful throwback album, The Renaissance.

And Ne-Yo emerged in 2008 as the quintessential r'n'b go-to guy for hit records, with his gift for song-writing ensuring Year Of The Gentleman melted more hearts than any other urban album.

Matilda Egere-Cooper