Today is Election Day, which means that the polls are open and the races for your local school board, aldermen, state representatives and the like are coming to a close with the help of good old-fashioned democracy. There are a handful of notable races happening across the country today, notably for mayor of New York City (something of a foregone conclusion) and for governor of New Jersey (a hotly-contested race) and Virginia (which everybody believes will be something of an early referendum on the job that Barack Obama has been doing). There is also a same-sex marriage law up for grabs in Maine and a civil unions law at stake in Washington (in both situations, laws have been passed but the public has the opportunity to overturn the legislation).

This election cycle obviously hasn't had the same high-profile stars as last year's presidential election (nobody is interested in writing songs for the mayor of Boston), but that doesn't mean your Election Day needs to be completely devoid of tunes. On the contrary, there are plenty of songs that engage our democratic ideals and also happen to be catchy, like Serj Tankian's "Unthinking Majority" and Pink's "Dear Mr. President." Ghostface's "Run" isn't about a campaign, but wouldn't it make an amazing motivational song for voters anyway? Anybody with a more aggro approach to today can sink their teeth into Corrosion of Conformity's "Vote with a Bullet" or (hed) pe's "Represent." And in case you just want to relive last year's historic election, bust out Young Jeezy's "My President."

What's on your voting soundtrack today? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

By Datwon Thomas, EIC/COO of Global Grind

Throw in an understated lyrical swag, witty word play, the penchant for murdering hip-hop soul features and the ability to start Twitter trending topics at the drop of a hashtag and you have Brooklyn's heir to the Hov throne in Def Jam's marquee playboy, Fabolous.

His ascent to the upper crust of the crafty MC list is a long time coming since the kid (in hip-hop years, anyway) already has nearly a decade under his belt. All of his albums can be categorized under the "LL Cool J School for the Rap Balladeer," yet the mixtape mainstay (in his earlier years) can whip up a mean 16 if you let him change out of his Fabolous attire into his Loso streetwear.

With the arrival of Loso's Way, Fab took a page out of the Big Homie's concept album book. He created his own gangsta paradise in which his well spun tales of Scarface-ish rags-to-riches-to-regret laid heavy on a personal journey to get closer to fans through creativity rather than cornball boasting. He nearly pulled off the feat, yet let the concept get away from him a bit.

There is no question that he has that thing that all MCs of his elite caliber would like to possess, which is the ability to make you catch their hot lines at a later date. If you are an occasional rap listener, it takes at least a few days for a Fab line to properly incubate. Yet, his slow, steady, never-in-a-rush flow makes him an easy target for the masses to enjoy. Rare vocal inflection may be a drawback as he continues forward, but judging from his most recent guest spot on Ghostface's new album Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry, Fab is ready to test new ground in story rhymes and humor tones he didn't try in his early years.

Personal style — which is a huge selling point for today's hottest MCs — is Fab's strong suit. Never one to spill his swag juice cup, you can find him asking his over 200,000 twitda-did-da fam which outfit he should rock on stage. A stark difference in approach to connecting with fans from almost anyone on the Hottest MCs list.

What about his realism and street cred factor, you ask? He's been shot! 'Nuff said.

If you're a hip-hop fan, September is going to be a pretty great month for you. In addition to the new albums from Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Gucci Mane, the month will also see the release of Raekwon's long-awaited Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. The Wu-Tang member (also known as the Chef) has been hitting up social networking sites attempting to build buzz for the record, his first in six years. He's pretty active on Twitter, and his YouTube account has also built up a healthy back catalog. In the past two days, though, he has really kicked it up a notch.

First, he debuted some new album art from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. The original album cover was assumed to be a simple variation on the first Cuban Linx (with a purple background), but this really takes it further. The Chef casts himself as a "sleeping giant" surrounded by tiny people and the head of the Statue of Liberty.

Is Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II going to be a concept album about Lilliput? It seems unlikely. Then again, Raekwon has been outside of his element for the past few days. He's been filing video dispatches from Toronto, including a news update from outside the CN Tower. In the video blog, the Chef says all eyes are on him, and he guarantees the audience that he's bringing "the real s---" on his new album.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II is not only a hotly-anticipated hip-hop album, but it will also mean a lot for the Wu-Tang Clan. After a string of can't-miss records, the group has had a bit of a dry spell as of late. They haven't recorded together since 2007's 8 Diagrams (an album Raekwon famously disliked), and their solo output after that was slow and uninspired. But something seems to have sparked, as last year's GZA album Pro Tools was surprisingly great, and Method Man dropped his best rhymes in years on Blackout 2, which dropped a few months back. With new albums from Ghostface and Raekwon on the horizon, it looks like a Wu-Renaissance is in the cards.

A Tribe Called Quest, the Pharcyde, De La Soul. The date is ... last Saturday?!

The 1994 — excuse me, 2008 — Rock the Bells Tour is well under way, and I was there at the Los Angeles installment to catch up with a truly epic bill of hip-hop greats, both old and new. This year’s lineup is no joke, combining the aforementioned, fully reunited legends with contemporary, sure-to-be-hall-of-famers like Nas and Mos Def, and of course several up and coming “kids" (Kids in the Hall and Cool Kids, to be exact) to form a monumental trifecta of hip-hop’s past, present and future. Laugh it up, you lucky New Yorkers, but the rest of the country will be just fine without Jay-Z.

Hip-hop artists are genuinely the hardest workers in showbiz, as every artist we spoke with had all sorts of projects in the works. Expect more from Murs, Rakim, De La Soul, Method Man, Ghostface and Raekwon (but don’t let all the other reunions get your hopes up for catching a glimpse of Wu-Tang).

Read the rest of this post on the You R Here blog ...

· The Pitchfork Music Festival, taking place July 18-20 in Chicago, has added a bunch more acts to this year’s roster, including: Ghostface & Raekwon, Dinosaur Jr, Mission of Burma (performing their classic album, Vs., Jarvis Cocker, The Apples in Stereo, Jay Reatard, the Dirty Projectors, and F--- Buttons (who were awesome last night in New York).

· Up until now, the only thing Prince and Dave Matthews have had in common is their mutual affinity for busting out the "guitar face" when soloing. But the jam king is borrowing a page from his purple majesty’s playbook and bundling vouchers for a free downloadable iTunes live-albums with every ticket purchase to his band’s upcoming summer tour. The live albums will be compilations of the best performances from the summer gigs, and will be available in September, but only if you get your tix at a venue serviced by Ticketmaster.

· Can't wait till Tuesday for Fall Out Boy's Live in Phoenix CD/DVD set? You can stream the whole shebang over at Buzznet or Friends or Enemies right now.

· Police reportedly arrested Poison drummer Rikki Rockett (born Richard Ream), 46, on Monday at Los Angeles International Airport on a rape warrant issued in Mississippi.