New Releases: Jay-Z Leads Hip-Hop Cavalcade

If Tuesday were a bigger day for rap releases, we'd probably forget that any other genres of music exist. Leading the charge is the one and only Jay-Z. Jigga has come out of retirement to rap about what it's like to be rich on Kingdom Come, a record that features the likes of his alleged girlfriend, Beyonce, as well as John Legend, Usher, Pharrell and Coldplay's Chris Martin (?!?!?!).

On the west coast, there's the original Doggfather, Snoop Dogg, whose Tha Blue Carpet Treatment hits stores this week. Joining Snoop are Hov's rival, R. Kelly, Akon, George Clinton, Jamie Foxx and Stevie Wonder (!?!?!). It must have been a slow month for Stevie.

Not to be outdone, 2Pac is back with Pac's Life, which is a funny title, since he doesn't currently have one. Pac's 342nd post-murder release (give or take a few) is mostly a guest-driven affair (Pac's been dead for more than a decade and we suspect the pre-recorded verses are drying up a tad). The names aren't as big as they've been in the past, but Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Keyshia Cole, Chamillionaire and T.I. help suck the dignity out of Pac's legacy.

On the non-hip-hop tip, Tom Waits is issuing a limited-edition collection of mostly previously unreleased material in the form of a three-disc set called Orphans. Not to be out-weirded, Destroyer's Dan Bejar has teamed up with Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug and Frog Eyes wailer Carey Mercer to form Swan Lake, whose Beast Moans debut is also out on Tuesday.

Here are some of this week's other releases:
AKON Konvicted (Universal)
AS THE POETS AFFIRM Awake (Zunior/Outside)
AZ The Format (CT Media/Fontana North)
THE BEATLES Love (Capitol/EMI)
THE CLASH The Singles Box Set (Legacy/Sony BMG)
DAUGHTRY S/T (RCA Contemporary/Sony BMG)
GINUWINE Greatest Hits (Epic/Sony BMG)
IL DIVO Siempre (Columbia/Sony BMG)
JAMIROQUAI High Times: Singles 1992-2006 (Epic/Sony BMG)
JIMMY SWIFT BAND Weight Of The World (Below Me/Outside)
JOSEF K Entomology (Domino/Outside)
LOREENA McKENNITT An Ancient Muse (Verve/Universal)
MIRAH Joyride: Remixes (K/Sonic Unyon)
OASIS Stop The Clocks (Columbia/Sony BMG)
SUFJAN STEVENS Christmas Songs (Asthmatic Kitty/Sonic Unyon)
VARIOUS ARTISTS A Tribute To The King (Universal International/Fontana North)