Namie Amuro faces off with some of Japan's biggest musical heavyweights on her new pulse-pounding album, Checkmate!. This collaboration album features such artists as Ai, Anna Tsuchiya, Yamashita Tomohisa, After School, ravex, Mummy-D, Zeebra, Suite Chic, Heartsdales, Jhett, Kawabata Kaname and American rapper Lil Wayne.
The album is an incredible mixture of dance and hip-hop tracks that are full of energy and fun. Each track brings something different to the table, and even though this is a collaboration-laden album, it is also antagonistic, with Namie facing off with some of the other featured artists. This can be felt in the rap song Wet N' Wild featuring Heartsdales and Suite Chic and #1 with Kawabata Kaname from Chemistry.
Each track blends each artist's style and voice wonderfully to create an extremely enjoyable listening experience. Listeners won't be able to stop themselves from getting up and moving to the pounding beats.
The standard edition has 13 tracks, while the deluxe edition features an extra DVD with seven music videos. This album is a must-buy for Namie Amuro fans and those who love J-pop. It's well worth splashing out on.