THIS IS A BIG MONTH FOR HIP HOP! DAMN NEAR EVERYBODY'S ALBUM DROPS THIS MONTH!

Get ready for a hip-hop explosion.

From hotly anticipated comebacks (Ne-Yo and Nelly) to long-awaited debuts (can you believe Nicki Minaj's album is still forthcoming?) to hipster favorites like Kid Cudi and N.E.R.D., club-friendly acts (Akon and Flo Rida) and even a greatest-hits collection from Jay-Z, November is so full of releases, your iPod may not be able to contain it all.

"We haven't seen something like this in a while," says Jermaine Hall, Vibe magazine's editor in chief. "It might even be the most exciting month since Kanye [West] and 50 [Cent] coming out together," he says of that 2007 faceoff, which caused some of hip hop's biggest record sales ever.

According to Nielsen, this year saw a substantial sales rise for hip hop in general, all before this month's burst of releases.

"If you look at what Kanye did with ‘808s and Heartbreaks' [in 2008] the first week alone, he had 450,000 in sales," says David Bakula, senior vice president at Nielsen Entertainment. "Add a couple of others and you've got a lot of potential to hit 1.3 million units in a week alone."

Those "couple of others" will arrive in a big-time showdown of releases on Nov. 22, when four artists will go head to head.

Queens-bred Minaj will match her debut, "Pink Friday," with West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," Jay-Z's greatest hits and Lloyd Banks' comeback effort, "The Hunger for More 2."

"It's definitely the biggest day of the year," Banks told Rap-Up.com. "I'm cool, hip hop is competitive. I'd rather be in there with the traffic than not be there."

Minaj, too, is ready to battle. "The stars are going to align," she told Connecticut's Hot 93.7. "It's been a long time since we've had a powerful week in hip hop, so it's a great thing. It's not about who sells more, but it's about making an insane impact."

Nov. 22
Kanye West — "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
(Def Jam)
He has already made headlines by feuding with Walmart for censoring his breast-baring album cover, dissing a journalist for misspelling his album title, and got heads turning after he released an epic 34-minute movie for his single "Runaway" on MTV. The hype may be real: "My Beautiful" is set to become 2010's No. 1-selling hip-hop album.

Nov. 23
Akon — "Akonic"
(Konvict/Universal)
Akon's been lying low for the past few years but is back with lead single "Angels" — a Euro-pop dance track — from his fourth studio effort. With David Guetta on the production team, expect club-bangers like "Drop Down Low" and "Hold You."

Nov. 30
Black Eyed Peas — "The Beginning"
(Interscope)
Riding the success of "The E.N.D.," the band starts where they left off — still dancing like it's 3008. Their robotic lead single, "The Time," samples "Dirty Dancing's" "(I've Had) The Time of My Life."

Nov. 22
Nicki Minaj — "Pink Friday"
(Young Money)
Minaj's debut got help from hip hop's most sought-after producers — think the Neptunes, Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, will.i.am and Lil Wayne. To solidify her in music royalty, Minaj is also predicted to be the highest-selling female emcee since Missy Elliott.

Out now
N.E.R.D. — "Nothing"
(Star Trak Entertainment)
Led by smooth-crooning Pharrell's sweet yet effective falsetto, N.E.R.D. has a potpourri of sounds, from marching drums to old-school '70s electric/funk guitars, as heard on tracks like "Nothing on You."

Out Tuesday
Kid Cudi — "Man on the Moon 2: Legend of Mr. Rager"
(G.O.O.D. /Universal Motown)
The 26-year-old makes a comeback with big-name collaborations from Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West (for the lead single "Erase Me").

Nov. 22
Jay-Z — "The Hits Collection Vol. 1"
(Def Jam)
The two-disk album features five never-released tracks and 14 of Hova's biggest hits, including "Big Pimpin'," "Hard Knock Life," "Izzo," "Run This Town." Fans can also order one of only 99 collector's edition box sets, which include an autographed 100-page photo book.

Nov. 16
Rihanna — "Loud"
(Def Jam)
The good girl gone bad has returned to her club-busting roots with the single "Only Girl in the World." But the most anticipated track from "Loud" is part two of this year's smash hit "Love the Way You Lie," with Eminem, a song about domestic abuse.