Sound Check: Spearhead, Me'Shell NdegeOcello

March 23 -- POLITICS, RAP, SOUL: Politically minded rapper Michael Franti will release his first album in four years with rap act Spearhead. Stay Human, due out May 15 through Six Degrees Records, is a concept album based around an imaginary broadcast from a community radio station covering the pending execution of a black activist on death row.

ANOTHER STAB: Hard rock act Stabbing Westward has completed work on its fourth album, which will be self-titled, and it's slated for a May 22 release through Koch Records. The band, which topped the rock charts with the ubiquitous 1995 hit "Save Yourself," worked with Pulp producer Ed Buller.

SOUND IT OUT: Me'Shell NdegeOcello is at work in the studio, recording a follow-up to her acclaimed 1999 album of laid-back funk, Bitter. The singer recently previewed some of the songs at a show in Los Angeles — but the disc won't be out until Sept. 11, through Maverick Records.

JUST MICHELLE: A newer act on Maverick, Arizona singer-songwriter Michelle Branch, is working in the studio with producer John Shanks (Melissa Etheridge) to record a new album. Branch has performed with numerous Latin and jazz artists, including Tito Puente, Diana Krall, and Chick Corea, and four songs from a previous album, Broken Bracelet, were used on ABC television show Wasteland.

NOT UNUSUAL: Welsh singer Tom Jones teamed with Swedish pop act The Cardigans to record a cover of the Talking Heads classic "Burning Down the House" — which will be the first song on the soundtrack to Someone Like You. The 10-song collection, due out April 3 from TVT Records, also includes unreleased material from Wynonna Judd and Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band.

MIXED GOO: Pop-rock band the Goo Goo Dolls, who last struck with Dizzy Up the Girl in 1998, will release Ego, Opinion, Art, & Commerce in May through Third Rail/Hollywood Records. The 22-track compilation includes remixed material never released Stateside.

FOR REAL: Contemporary soul artist Ginuwine will launch his third album, The Life, April 3 on Epic Records. Rapper Ludacris and producer Timbaland lend their touches to several tracks. The album's first single, "There It Is," has risen to No. 30 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.