Lots of Upcoming Hip Hop Albums to be Released in 2009

Los Angeles ,CA (CNS) - It's a new year, and for the hip hop industry, that means lots of new albums will be hitting the stores from reputable artists and still-proving-themselves talent. Here's a quick round-up of what to look out for in the first few months of this year:

This month, The Dream releases Love vs. Money, his sophomore album. Rapper Lil' Jon helps out the songwriter with "Let Me See the Booty."

February is filled with new album releases. Bow Wow's seventh album, New Jack City, comes out with a highly anticipated collaboration with Soulja Boy, "Marco Polo."

Missy Elliott will finally deliver another album this year. The long-awaited Block Party will feature Timbaland, of course, but also T-Pain and Pharrell.

Mos Def has collaborations with Slick Rick and Talib Kweli on his upcoming The Ecstatic album, along with songs produced by Madlib and Chad Hugo. Busta Rhymes is back with Back on My BS, with Pharrell-produced songs and guest rappers Kardinal Offishall, Common, Lil' Wayne, Akon and T.I. featured.

Rapper 50 Cent's fourth album, Before I Self Destruct, is also the name of a movie that just so happens to be written, produced by, directed by and starring 50 Cent. Erykah Badu will be attempting to top the charts again with her album New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh).

In March, Flo Rida's sophomore album R.O.O.T.S. will try to be bigger and better than his first album, which gave club-goers everywhere the hit song "Low." Can the rapper do it?

Will any of these upcoming albums be flops? We'll all just have to wait and see.