Todd Levin

Trailblazing partners Missy Elliott and Timbaland function as musical time travelers, teleporting in every few years to show hip-hop what its future looks like. With their latest collaboration, Under Construction, the future might morph into its barely distant past. The album's musical tracks begin with something almost blasphemous to the...

On 2000's The Ecleftic, former Fugee CEO Wyclef Jean consistently pushed listeners' definition of elemental hip-hop, going to such lengths as crushing Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" into Pharaoh Monch's "Simon Says" for Clef's own version of a dub plate. On his new release, Masquerade, he pulls out even more tricks,...

Masta Ace started his career impressively enough: He was a member of the Queensbridge Juice Crew and had first dibs on 1989's "The Symphony," arguably the best posse cut ever recorded. He went from Cold Chillin' records to Delicious Vinyl to almost complete obscurity, leaving a faint trail of radio...