RJD2/MrBradleyP/Bob and the Devil/Mayor Wertz/p. stoops

Hip-hop DJ-turned-arbiter of the new soul movement under way, RJD2 seems to consistently grow his sound with each new album. The latest, Dame Fortune, released in March, pushes forward this funky, soulful vision with thrilling hooks and more danceable melodies than you’d think could possibly fit onto one CD. “Peace of What,” with Jordan Brown handling soaring vocal duty, dishes a choppy wave of percussion and tinkling keys, and exemplifies the current state of RJD2’s production skills. This is a far cry from his mid-2000s work with Blueprint (see “No Gimmicks,” etc.), but it’s no less indicative of the musician’s journey to find his own sound always. (Eric Sandy)