Album: River Nelson, The Rise And Fall Of River Nelson (Dusty Vinyl)

It may be the Brooklyn rapper's debut release, but The Rise And Fall Of River Nelson sounds like an old-school hip-hop offering from the likes of Talib Kweli or Common, with his thoughtful sentiments and positive attitude set to infectious symphonic-soul beats by British producer Lewis Parker.

The opening gambit of "Always Winter" sets the scene for the entire album: "For hours we lean on cars that's not ours and talk bad about the world under a sky without stars", a vivid sketch of chilly street-corner life in Brooklyn.

Elsewhere, a memorable romantic interlude is captured in evocative lines like "she rose from my bed, shook the dreams from her hair"; he doesn't shirk the problems, but he's keen to present his 'hood as home to people who "got visions within 'em, bits of optimism".

DOWNLOAD THIS Always Winter; Hold On; Beautiful Life; Moonrise