AS the new year is hailed in, it seems pop is still the nation's music of choice, however disconcerting that may be to the aficionado.

Despite purists citing a cadre of "vital" records slated to change the face of music forever, they nevertheless pile up alongside a frequently replenished roster of fresh-faced newcomers poised to champion new sounds and reap global success.

Each camp decries the other but pop music's inexorable appeal is undeniable.

So what is to be done about the current state of creative inertia?

For RJD2, hip-hop producer-extraordinaire, redefinition is his new year's resolution.

Rather than shun the mainstream sound which permeates modern society, RJD2 is reinventing the pop genre by infusing it with his darker and more interesting musical sensibilities.

More Steely Dan than Prefuse 73, the change in style for his new album, The Third Hand, has come with a change in label, with the producer moving from Definitive Jux to XL Recordings.

Before delving into The Third Hand, due to be released in March, it is important to note the many accolades bestowed upon the 30-year-old Philly resident.

Catapulted to notoriety, fame, and uber-serious hip-hop credibility with 2002's Dead Ringer LP, multi-instrumentalist RJD2 has enjoyed a prolific few years.

Following his debut album with the critically acclaimed Last Time We Spoke, in 2004, in the last year alone he has produced records for his group Soul Position and Aceyalone, written scores for video games and DVDs, as well as remixing numerous other artists, most recently Astrud Gilberto.

For The Third Hand, his latest offering, RJD2 has abandoned all the titles put upon him during the last six years.

From underground hip-hop superproducer to virtuoso sample-based instrumental wizard, RJD2 embodies all of these things on The Third Hand, but placates none who seek more of the same.

Recorded, performed, arranged and produced entirely by himself in his basement studio, he commands his trusty MPC 2000XL sampler/sequencer alongside a myriad of analogue synths, electric pianos and guitars, not to mention his own voice.

The result is a cohesive pop album in the most classic sense.

The hip-hop beatsmith has become singer/songwriter, a transition some will find hard to accept.

It is lushly produced with plenty of vocal harmonies and grooves - anyone would be forgiven for thinking an actual band was playing on the record.

If King Crimson went to a therapist and came out happy and optimistic about life, this is the sound they might make.

It is a bold and some would say progressive move for RJD2, but many people are sure to find the new direction a rather uncomfortable shift.

As the man himself says: "I feel like I'm playing a different game now".