We all know that the fall is usually when most of the hottest music releases come out, but there are some pretty good ones being released this summer. Since yesterday officially marked the beginning of summer, I figured I’d put together my list of albums that I’m looking forward to hearing. This started out being a top 10 list, but the more I researched, the more I found new stuff that I didn’t even know was being released! So, without further ado and in no particular order, here are my top 12 most anticipated albums for the summer of 2007…

T.I. - T.I. vs T.I.P.
July 3, 2007

I’ve been a huge fan of T.I. since his second release, Trap Muzik. Ever since I heard the smooth sounds of Jazze Pha on “Let’s Get Away” with T.I.’s cool swagger, I was hooked. Initially when I first heard “24’s” & “Rubberband Man” I thought T.I. was just another one of hip hop’s latest southern rappers. T.I., the self-proclaimed “King of the South”, proved me wrong. His next two releases, Urban Legend and King are classics in my book and in heavy rotation on my iPod. With all that being said, T.I.’s fifth album release, T.I. vs T.I.P. is easily my most anticipated CD for this summer.

The concept for the album sounds interesting. Initially T.I. started his career as T.I.P., but later shortened it to just T.I. Over the past few years, as a result of popularity, T.I. has become more marketable to the mainstream audience. With T.I. vs T.I.P., he plans to let us not forget that there’s still some T.I.P. left in him. T.I. explained the album’s title, saying, “It’s basically a battle within myself, there’s not nobody out there doing what I do as well as I do it, so I see myself as worthy competition for myself.”

The first single for the album is “Big Things Poppin’ (Do It)”, produced by Mannie Fresh. T.I. vs T.I.P. is said to have guests by Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Jay-Z, Eminem and Nelly; with production by Mannie Fresh, Just Blaze, and Timbaland protégée Danja.

Kanye West - Graduation
August 28th

Kanye West has been keeping a tight lid on his next release Graduation. It’s only been two years since Kanye’s last CD, Late Registration, but Graduation has been hyped by West since before Late Registration was released. Kanye gave us a taste recently in his official mixtape, Can’t Tell Me Nothing, and I must say I can’t wait for Graduation!

I have kind of a love/hate respect for Kanye West. He’s pissed me off a few times with his arrogance and stunts in the news, but his production is flawless and always on point. The first single is the already released “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and the next single, “Stronger”, is already getting heavy buzz, due primarily to its obvious Daft Punk sample. There’s no word yet if Bernie Mac will make this album’s cut, but expect album guests to include John Legend, Jay-Z, Common, T-Pain, Rakim, and Chris Martin of Coldplay. Production, obviously, will be primarily by Mr. West himself.

Swizz Beats - One Man Band
August 14th

Swizz Beats is slowly becoming one of my favorite producers. Yes, he’s been around a long time, with credits such as DMX, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Eve, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, The Lox, T.I., and The Game to name a few; but I never truly paid attention to his productions with the respect they deserve. One Band Man is Swizzy’s first solo outing and promises to deliver, with his first two singles “It’s Me Bitches” and “Money in the Bank” already burning up the charts. With beats like those, this album can’t disappoint. The one thing that may bring this album down it that Swizz decided to enlist other producers for the majority of the album (not cool man). It’s rumored that Swizz only produced six of the album’s thirteen tracks.

With an original release date of June 5, One Man Band keeps getting pushed back. Hopefully it will finally be ready for the August 23^rd release date. Guests on the album should include Kanye West, Drag-On, Snoop Dogg, Nas, and Chris Martin of Coldplay.

Prince - Planet Earth
July 24th

Here’s one that I didn’t even know about until I did some research for this article. The irony here is that those that know me know that I am a HUGE Prince fan. With that being said, His Purple Badness is set to deliver his second album with Columbia Records, oddly titled Planet Earth. Prince’s most recent album, 3121, was only released last year. Maybe he’s going back to the good ol’ days when he put out an album once a year. Only a fan could hope. However, being an admirer and collector of all things Prince, I’m sad to say that I cannot tell you how many official album releases Prince has had prior to Planet Earth. I can only guess that this is somewhere around his 26-28^th official release of new material. With the amount of unreleased albums, compilations, and albums released through his now debunked NPG Music Club, this is the most accurate number I can give. **edit – after further research, the Prince discography on Wikipedia says that this is Prince’s 24^th studio album.

There’s not much information to give at this time about Planet Earth, only that the first single is titled “Guitar”. It is also rumored that the album will feature collaborations with former Revolution members Wendy & Lisa. That in itself is news enough for me to be excited about.

Common - Finding Forever
July 31st

I had to bump up Common’s Finding Forever on my list after looking over the confirmed tracklist and listening to his last CD Be again yesterday. Be, in my eyes, is a classic; classic rap flow by Common and classic production by Kanye West. Finding Forever should be more of the same. Common explains that “Finding Forever really means to find a place in music where you can exist forever. Music can be forever if you make it from the heart, if you make it from the soul and it’s good. And I look at music like Bob Marley’s or Marvin Gaye’s or Stevie Wonder’s or A Tribe Called Quest’s, that’s forever music. And I’m continuing on the quest to make forever music.”

Common said that on some tracks, Kanye tried to chop the samples in a similar way to J. Dilla as a way of honoring him. It has also been said that Kanye West attempted to bring back a really soulful feel to the album. “It’s gonna be like ‘College Dropout’ and ‘Be’ and ‘Illmatic’ all fusioned together.”

The first single off Finding Forever is “The People”, produced by Kanye West and featuring Dwele. The album also includes “A Dream”, produced by will.i.am, which includes samples of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The next single set to be released is “The Game” featuring scratches by DJ Premier. Other guests on the album include Bilal, D’Angelo, Scarface, Mos Def, and Nas with addition production by J. Dilla and Dr. Dre.

Mario - Go!
July 31st

Go! is the upcoming third release by R&B singer Mario. Talk about albums being pushed back: this one had an initial release date of November 26, 2006. Mario isn’t by far my favorite R&B artists. I always remembered him as the kid with the big nostrils in his “Let Me Love You” video. However, Mario’s first single “How Do I Breathe” is a HOT R&B jam. The rest of the CD promises to have production by Ne-Yo, The Neptunes, Polow Da Don, Brian Michael Cox, Timbaland, Akon, Nitti, The Underdogs, Stargate, and Swizz Beats (whew!). Other rumored producers include Jermaine Dupri, Alicia Keys, Rich Harrison, and Scott Storch. With a lineup like that, Go! should be fierce!

Eve - Here I Am
August 7th

Eve’s been gone for a minute. Since going Hollywood, Ruff Ryders’ First Lady hasn’t release a music CD since 2002’s Eve-Olution. That’s a long time to be gone from the scene, but we know Eve has been doing her own thang with the success of her sitcom “Eve” and her roles in the Barbershop movies. Well, now she’s back, with a softer look this time around, on Here I Am. Hopefully looks are deceiving and she’ll still bring it hard like she used to. I remember reading an article about her when she first came out saying, “Eve is the pitbull of female rapper, where others like Foxy Brown and Lil’ Kim have gone soft.” Let’s hope Eve stays true.

If the first single is any proof, she has. “Tambourine” is one of those Swizz Beats club bangers that you just can’t get out of your head. Other confirmed collaborations include Sean Paul, Pharrell, T.I., Robin Thicke, and Mary J. Blige with production by Swizz Beats, Dr. Dre, Pharrell, Cool & Dre, and Scott Storch. I’m salivating already.

50 Cent - Curtis
September 7th

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson came onto the scene in 2003 and is set to prove that he is here to stay with his self-titled third release, Curtis. Some may not like 50’s aggressiveness in nature, but you gotta admit; when he’s out there he’s everywhere. 50 Cent has a knack for picking a great song. His flow isn’t bad, but it’s the catchiness of his songs that makes him so popular. Get Rich or Die Tryin, The Massacre, and his work with other G-Unit member have been point on and are what kids are looking for in hip hop today.

Even though Curtis isn’t set to be released until September, 50 Cent confirmed that four singles with videos will be released before the album hits the stores. Two of those songs, “Straight to the Bank” and “Amusement Park” are already on the charts. “Straight to the Bank” is nothing special and I wasn’t feeling “Amusement Park” initially, but with lyrics such as “you ain’t gotta take your panties off, just move ‘em to the side”, “Amusement Park” is slowly growing on me. Let’s hope 50’s waiting to pull the big guns out.

Ludacris, Justin Timberlake, and Jay-Z are confirmed to have worked on the album, as well as Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Young Buck, Akon, and Robin Thicke. Production will include Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Akon, and Eminem. It’s gonna be a long summer!

UGK - Underground Kingz
August 7th

UGK have been around for some time, 15 years to be exact, and I must admit I hadn’t heard of them until they rapped on Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin”. I only recently became a fan since hearing Bun B and Pimp C on other people’s songs as well as Bun B’s Trill which is a favorite of mine. Underground Kingz is UGK’s seventh CD and the first time they’re collaborated since 2001’s Dirty Money. It has been pushed back several times, but should finally see the light of day this August.

The first single “The Game Belongs to Me” didn’t do so well on the charts, but was hot to me. The second single, “Int’l Players Anthem”, is a collaboration with Outkast and is slowly catching on. Underground Kingz is set to be a double album, which leaves room for plenty of guest spots: Outkast, Rick Ross, Jazze Pha, Charlie Wilson, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, T.I., Slim Thug, Ronald Isley, Talib Kweli, Raheem DeVaughn, Sleepy Brown, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, Too Short, and Young Buck are all scheduled to appear. Most of the tracks are produced by Pimp C, with a few by Swizz Beats, Lil Jon, Jazze Pha, Mannie Fresh, Scarface, and Marly Marl.

Plies - Real Testament
August 7th

This is the only album on my list by a debut artist. If you haven’t heard “Shawty” by Plies featuring T-Pain, go check it now! This song is hot, mostly because of T-Pain’s hook, but this kid Plies has some potential. Normally I wouldn’t look forward to a CD by a newcomer based on the first single, but looking at the guest appearances on The Real Testament has my interest peaked. The list includes, Rich Boy, T.I., Pretty Ricky, The Notorious B.I.G. (an old verse obviously), Rick Ross, Lil’ Wayne, Trina, and Trick Daddy. Production credits have not been released yet, but because Plies is a new artist you probably won’t find many big name producers on here. But that doesn’t mean this album won’t be hot. We shall see…

Yellowcard - Paper Walls
July 17th

Another first on my list is my first anticipated rock album of the summer. This position goes to pop-punkers, Yellowcard. I’ve been a fan of Yellowcard since 2003’s Ocean Avenue. Their songs constantly make it onto video games such as Burnout and Madden, and are a staple in today’s MTV generation. What can I say, they’re catchy!

Paper Walls is the third major-label release from Yellowcard with the first single being “Light Up the Sky”. I have yet to hear the first single, as I do not listen to rock radio, but here is some buzz from those who have previewed the new album: Jason Tate, webmaster of absolutepunk.net has said it is “the best “pop-punk” album of the past 5 or so years” and Drew Beringer claims it to be “like Ocean Avenue, but with more balls.” He went on further to say “The more I listen to Paper Walls by Yellowcard, the more I fall in love with it. It’s been a long time since a pop-punk album has really enthralled me. Everyone is going to dig this.” I hope so Drew!

Mike Jones - The American Dream
July 10th

Mike Jones, to some, comes off as being annoying (Who? Mike Jones! Who? Mike Jones!), but I just see him as determined. I mean who else would call out his own cell phone number in all of his raps to gain attention (281-330-8004 – yes that’s his real number). Mike Jones’ rap flow may not be the best in the business, but repetition is his fame.

The American Dream is Mike Jones’ sophomore release and contains the single “My ‘64” which samples Easy-E’s “Boyz in the Hood”. “Mr. Jones”, the album’s first single, barely got any airplay. The CD has a slew of collaborations, to include Bun B, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Slim Thug, Lil Flip, LeToya Luckett, Trey Songz, Lil’ Mo, Pimp C, Bobby Brown, T.I., and The Game. Production by Swizz Beats, Mannie Fresh, Danja, and Scott Storch, among others.

Well, there you have it, my list of the 12 most anticipated summer music releases of 2007. I’m not saying these CDs will be hot, but let’s hope they are. What CD releases are you looking forward to this summer?