Dei Hamo: First Edition

Herald rating: * * * *

There was no doubt Dei Hamo's first album was going to be a flashy affair. After the success of We Gon' Ride and To Tha Floor - the anthemic singles that resurrected his solo career after years in the hip-hop wilderness - he would have been letting the team down had they turned out to be the only party tunes on the album.

Thankfully, that's not the case. In fact, First Edition sounds like one long party. Most of the tracks are slick, bouncy dancefloor tunes that were designed to confuse you about their origin.

Whateva and Hot Girl sound like the Neptunes have been sitting in on the studio sessions - or at least encouraging the big man's way with the ladies.

But Dei Hamo is no gigolo in the traditional sense. He'd rather make you laugh than take you home, as on Do Work and This is My Life, tracks that show he's serious about his rhyming but doesn't take life too seriously.

But when he's not just out to have a good time, he's recalling the day his son was born on A True Story and recounting an emotional break-up ballad on Cry Again, a surprisingly good hip-hop reworking of Split Enz' I Hope I Never, with Tim Finn.

It's an album that will keep the party going on both sides of the globe.