L- Marie - Street Heat Vol. 3

L-Marie has polished her sound even further since her last mixtape. The choice of samples throughout Vol. 3 is outstanding, with soul loops and beats providing a funky, ready made atmosphere for L's glorious voice. Collaborations with producers Koncrete Beats and DJ Dema score highly on the funk scale, and guest MCs bring some much needed hip-hop flavour to leaven the mixture. Throughout L's lyrics are heartfelt and honest. The only drawback is that with 19 tracks even the most marvellous of voices, when pushed to emotive overdrive, begins to grate a little. Her voice is more suited to Morcheeba-style chillout, but you can't fault someone for following their instinct and being true to their own musical vision – for fans of modern soul/R&B, this is a great mixtape. L-Marie is undeniably a huge talent. [Bram Gieben]