Magix/FastTrak have released the very thing for all frustrated hip hop wannabes, in the shape of Music Maker Hip Hop and R&B Edition. In essence, it is a slightly cut down version of the big Music Maker 2004 package, but it is a cheaper introduction to the Music Maker world.

It comes as a 3-disc set, with 2600 loops and B0 video clips from which you compose your chart smash. There are up to 84 stereo tracks available, and the loops and samples (even your own WAV cuttings) are dragged and dropped into empty slots.

Of worthy mention is the Magix Audio Effects Rack, present in both Hip Hop Edition and the big brother 2004, which enables you to change the dimensions of your chosen sound to produce unique results. Also on board is a scratch box, beat box, vocoder, piano, and voice synth. Once your million-seller is finished, you can add an interesting accompanying video, or burn your creation to CD. It's all straightforward to do, and that's to the program's credit.

If this is the genre of music you have set your heart on, then this will help you make the music - the gold chains, sports cars and champagne lifestyle is down to you! It does though perhaps go without saying that if hip hop isn't really your bag, then this won't be either.

Price: £19.99 Manufacturer: Magix/Fast Trak Website: www.magix.com Required Spec: Pentium 300 processor (minimum), 550Mb HD space, 64Mb RAM (minimum), Windows 95 or above