In Brief

* * * Smoothe Da Hustler, “Once Upon a Time in America,” Profile. With spartan production sensibilities, the Brooklyn rapper lays out testosterone-filled narratives with dazzling verve. Rap music is filled to the brim with wannabe John Gottis but very few have Smoothe’s uncanny penchant for the cinematically visual, thematically profound and musically cutting-edge.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).