Ken Tucker

The rapper's new album is his first collection since becoming a father with singer Beyonce. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the album is an uneven but intriguing collection of songs that tries to navigate a path between parenthood and an obsession with commercial success.

The bulk of Friedberger's work thus far has been recorded with her brother, Matthew, under the name The Fiery Furnaces. For this new solo album, her second, she's written with a new collaborator in singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding.

West has been busy in both the music and gossip worlds: He's just released a new album, titled Yeezus, and fathered a child. Rock critic Ken Tucker says West's constant blending of his public life and his music makes his new record all the more striking -- and a t times problematic.