Vendetta: Hip Hop

Thinking they must have been immaculately conceived, or maybe they just didn't respect their own mothers, reggaeton singer Ivy Queen bristled when she announced her pregnancy and then felt exiled by the male chauvinists within the music industry. Vendetta is the artist's aptly titled and excellent blow against this empire, and it is epic in both its message and its presentation, with 32 songs included in the Vendetta: The Project set, while Vendetta: Salsa, Vendetta: Hip Hop, Vendetta: Bachata, and Vendetta: Urban are eight-song slices of the album broken into specific genres. The cover art of the genre releases beats the collection's, plus the separation of styles makes for an interesting listen, but the mothership release is far and away the one to pick, as it presents the Queen's angry and awesome return in total. ~ David Jeffries