Just as the BBC relegate Trevor Nelson and Tim 'as old as ya Dad' Westwood to 1Xtra, Radio 1 start playing Heartbroken every half hour and even Jo Whiley singing the tracks praises. The clip above shows JME and Skepta on the Beeb's new Introducing initiative.

Despite a heavy weekend of man vs beer there was no way I was going to miss seeing Ben Westbeech perform live. Set in the ultra trendy Orange Rooms it was a perfect setting for one of the classier performers making music in 2007.

While warming up to a soundtrack of soulful house flavours and funk a random appearence of Kano next to me at the bar certainly raised a few eye brows. After meeting a few Southampton FC players through Craig David while filming T4 Transmission a few weeks back he was hanging with them and enjoying the attention from the spray on tan collective around. I doubt that will make the Heat spotted section so I'll give you a moment to indulge on that exclusive...

Right back to the music. With full live band in tow Ben Westbeech commanded the stage turning this intimate crowd out and having them shake their money makers to the majority of Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life.

Hearing live tracks like Get Silly, So Good Today and Dance With Me were highlights, but his band added to many of the tracks with extra break sections which gave them new life.

Being a d&b and jungle head Ben had his band pay a little homage to that part of his make up but it served only as a warm up to the last track and heater on the album track Get Closer, which cut half away through to DJ Marky It's The Way and had the crowd at its most liveliest, ending a very polished and energetic performance from one of the artists of the year. So underlooked and criminally missed off of a Mercury nomination because Indie is so in vogue right now, but Ben Westbeech's breakthrough will come soon.

...Kano drank wine by the bottle, is that grimey enough for ya?

Much better Alicia, seriously what is up with that track No One. Someone at the her record company should have just said "ok Alicia we all make mistakes, lets just pretend we didn't hear that and put that track away, here's a piano now do better things." Harsh.

We the dope boys of the year...drinks is on the house!!

Check out those horns, this is the most upbeat track on American Gangster as Jay Hova reaches the high point in the narrative of this concept album. This is already better than Kingdom Come, which to be fair wasn't really up to much at all. Kind of listening to that reminded how disappointed I was listening to the Blueprint 2. Yes it was a mature album from someone now in his mid thirties but with so much rubbish around in Hip-Hop you need Jay-Z doing what he does best - spitting about his hustle over a soulful blaxpoitation soundtrack. On American Gangster he is back to that era and the listening is all the much better for it and will say now, the production from Diddy and his hitmen is of top notch qaulity. If the name Madlib or Pete Rock was behind these beats b-boys would cream. You can't knock Jays hustle, but you can't knock Diddys on this one either.

Check this video of Jay-Z talking about the involement of Diddy.

This is the next single from the excellent ELektrons album. Classic Cliche features the lovely Mpho Skeef. She's featured on plenty of tracks of this ilk before and sounds on point as always. Just hurry up and get that album out I can't wait!

Check the footage of Example as he tries his hand at being a comedian. First on an open mic night in a pub to opening up for the large collared Harry Hill. He also performed You Can't Rap with his band in the studio.

I didn't have time to do a review for What We Made when it came out last month, but the album is definately one of my favourite releases so far. Plenty of wit as you would expect from previous releases and the infamous Beat Stevie clips, but on tracks No Sleep For The Wicked and the title track he shows that he can write about serious matter and write well. The single I Don't Want To and Birthday Card are perfect examples (sorry!) of his story telling and carries on the same vein that label head Mike Skinner has set for The Beats. The latter track, a tale of forgetting the other halfs birthday card is perfect comfort for blokes out there and has massive crossover potential. Throw in references to his favourite eateries, cinema interuptions and getting head from posh birds - What We Made adds up to a pleasently refreshing album. Example knows his strengths and plays up to them in the delivery of his subject matter. He isn't trying to sit in that box full of UK Hip-Hop and is better for it, infact the white guy from Fulham could easily become a bonafide pop star and you wouldn't bet against or begrudge it.

He may have decided to go in a pop direction with his group B.E.P but there is no denying that Will.I.Am can produce a beat. This is Common's third single off Finding Forever, not as good as Like Water For Chocolate or Be but definately a grower. Check Alicia Keys getting invloved.

I've been wanting someone to do a vocal of this track for years but why does it have to be Fire Camp? Saying that the chorus is catchy like previous Bizzle releases if simplicit and some of bars are alright. But couldn't someone like Durrty Doogz have provided the vocal instead, that I'd love to hear.

My ten favourite UK tracks at the minute in no order...

Tinchy Stryder – Something About Your Smile

Shameless – Every Day

Smasher – Back In The Day 2

JME, Skepta, Kano – Fuckin Widda Team

Example – Posh Birds

Akala – Bit By Bit

Durrty Goodz – Switching Songs

The Nextmen feat. Sway – Camera Tricks

Mitchell Brothers – Michael Jackson

Skepta – You Dun Know

Hit up www.rapnews.co.uk for more realness...

Whoops, no it's this one...

Kanye you done done it again...

Early highlights for me are the Goodlife, Flashing Lights, Champion and Big Brother. The artwork is pretty hot too. Isn't it ironic that Kanye's embarrassing moment at the MTV Europe awards last year has seen him stumble across the sounds Ed Banger and other dance music, which are a clear influence on a few of the tracks. Those that like that Kanye boom-bap and sample sound needn't fret though as that's catered for too. I won't be buying Fiddy's album to compare as it's not my thing and I doubt he will make a better album. I'd expect he will out sell Kanye though as his name has a bigger reach in buyers than Kanye.

Akala - Bit by Bit

Akala is one of those artists that ticks all the right boxes yet never leaves you feeling that you've heard anything groundbreaking or that makes you go 'wow that's hot'. Yet he is nice on the mic and has plenty of substance in his lyrics. The guy also has his head screwed on business wise with his Illa State imprint putting out his first album and mixtape. But despite this he hasn't made the sort of noise previous Best Hip-Hop MOBO winner Sway has made. Bit by Bit though could be start of the breakthough as he spits over the electro heavy track sure to gain love from those outside his usual Hip-Hop/Grime fanbase. Already MTV Dance have started playing the video and with acts like Justice, Simian Mobile Disco and any dance act to have ever been near the Eifel Tower in vogue right now, this track will do Akala no harm at all.

Ali Love - Late Night Session

The amazingly talented and seriously overlooked Ali Love drops the next single from his hotly anticipated album Love Music on the 1st October. Late Night Session sounds like something the great Earth, Wind & Fire would have done and the video director has acknowledged this with a promo that looks like it came out way back with it's neon lights and plenty of special effects that may look dated in these CGI times, but suit the vibe of the track perfectly.

Next week sees the two undoubtedly biggest Hip-Hop artists of present day go head to head when their albums are both released on the same day. But while the artists, both cocky in front of any microphone and camera, may be a little worried at what they risk to lose when the record stores open on Monday.

Fiddy has been boasting that if he doesn’t outsell Kanye in first week sales then he will leave the rap game and looking at it, would he really be that missed. When his second album came out despite relying on a week rap about sex first single the buzz was still there.

Third time round and he doesn’t seem to be straying too far away from this formula. But it seems the listening public aren’t greatly enthused, as numerous singles have been floating around to promote the album with the latest finding him playing the third wheel to Justin Timberlake and Timberland on what was surely leftovers from the Future Sex/Love Sounds album.

Kanye on the other hand has seen his cockiness annoy and made many overlook his obvious talents because of this. But sonically Graduation will see him embarking on a new sound as the Daft Punk sampling first single showed. Ironically it was his cringe worthy drunken stance against fellow French Dance act Justice for winning the MTV Europe Best Video award, that had him directed towards the electro sounds by someone close to him.

While Late Registration wasn’t as strong lyrically as The College Dropout, his lyrics may now come under closer scrutiny with his boasts of how great a rapper he is, now he is going as far to say anyone not putting him in their top 3 greatest rappers of all time are losing credibility.

When both albums drop, no matter how good the albums are they will ultimately be overlooked in favour of comparing their sales and in the current climate of records being bought it may not match the highs they’ve been used to. My money is on Kanye to come up with a better album and personally wouldn’t see it as a bad thing he outsold Fiddy, if only to see if he keeps his promise.

Can't wait for the album.