(New York, NY) – KOCH Records is pleased to announce the release of a new collaboration album, The Co-Op, by acclaimed mix tape guru/HOT 97/Sirius Radio personality, DJ Envy and esteemed lyricist Red Café.

In October, Justin Hawkins, lead singer of The Darkness, announced that he's leaving the band because he can't live the rock 'n' roll lifestyle again after completing rehab... Weird Al Yankovic's White & Nerdy becomes the parody singer's first ever top-ten hit... and legendary NYC nightclub CBGB, where bands like the Ramones, Talking Heads and Blondie got their start, closed; Patti Smith was the final act...

A handful of new albums hit shelves this week. Most notably, the return of the Illmatic himself, Nas is back with 'Hip Hop Is Dead.' Also look for new ones from Bow Wow, RBD, Styles P, Julio Iglesias and Trick Daddy. Continue reading for reviews and info on this week's new CDs.

After winning music fans over with his 2003 multi-platinum debut Trouble, Senegalese singer Akon returns with more stories from his personal journey via his sophomore CD Konvicted. If Trouble was Akon's ode to redemption (before his music career took off he served time for car theft), Konvicted picks up at rebirth. His mission now is to reinvent himself through his salvation - music.

BET announced today that Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, T.I. & Young Dro, The Game, Lil Wayne & Baby are set to perform at the 2006 "BET Hip-Hop Awards." The all-star roster of participants also includes multi-faceted entertainment mogul Diddy, top nominees Lupe Fiasco and Rick Ross, hip-hop diva Remy Ma, Jim Jones, Rhymefest, Sway, Papoose, DJ Scratch, DJ Drama, Saigon and Styles P.

Multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter/producer Akon scores big with his new single, "Smack That," featuring Eminem with the #1 Most Added song at Rhythmic and Crossover this week at radio. In addition to the #1 status, on Akon’s myspace page, "Smack That" has been listened to over 1 million times in just two weeks. His sophomore release, Konvicted, is set to be in stores on November 21.

Method Man is back with the hot new single "Say" featuring Lauryn Hill! This is the first single off of Method Man’s forthcoming release 4:21. The new album due in stores this summer also features guest appearances from Fat Joe, Styles P and production by the legendary Dr. Dre.

Hip-Hop always had an underground, a minor league, if you will. It was a place that artists kicked around, cutting their teeth, sharpening their lyrical swords while they awaited their chance to shine. But in the mid-'90s, as mainstream Hip-Hop embraced its pop potential, the nature of the underground changed.

A number of big names are dropping new albums this week including highly anticipated fresh cuts from Korn, Lil' Wayne and Lindsay Lohan; plus new collections from Eminem, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Don Omar and a whole lot more. Check out this list of noteworthy release (many with reviews) for Tuesday, December 6th, 2005...