At the end of another so-so year for hip-hop come two records that could restore your faith in the genre. I Try sees Kweli team up with Mary J Blige and the ubiquitous Kanye West for a piano based track that actually dares to explore the notion of light and shade on a rap tune. The Nas record, meanwhile, is truly astonishing – a duet with his jazz musician father Olu Dara that references over fifty years of black culture whilst taking it to a new dimension. Could that be a new dawn appearing over the horizon?