Cherry Bomb is Tyler's greatest creation to date. However, the album is bit of a mess in the beginning, and while Tyler's grown immensely as a producer, his rapping isn't consistently up to par.

When the lyrics don’t sound old, they come across as eternally gross.... A lot of lyrics are just corny.

This is the fairytale of Puff Daddy the hitmaker turned businessman and culture tastemaker, and he's writing the epilogue to his happily ever after. So far, so good.

"Trap Queen," "My Way," "Again," and "679" are all great songs: impassioned, radically romantic, and congenial sans the PG-13 restraint of, say, Jidenna's "Classic Man.".... The present ubiquity of Fetty's singles renders Fetty's album largely redundant.

The second half of The Album About Nothing is a bit more hit-and-miss than the opening seven tracks.

Its solid momentum really fizzles out in the last few songs, making for a disappointing finale of an otherwise solid effort. Nonetheless, Love Story is a big step forward for the Slumerican affiliate.

Travi$ Scott made an enjoyable album for his fans peppered with undeniable bangers for his detractors.

Many of the album’s strongest moments find room in the spaces he’s already mined giving his house blends more depth.

Fly International Luxurious Art is an often awkward and fumbling attempt to update Raekwon’s music.

There's nothing new or challenging here. It bangs, though predictably.

Major Without a Deal’s concept songs miss almost as much as they hit.

The rap songs are dated and goofy as hell, but occasionally they're catchy enough. Luckily, Empire keeps a few true R&B greats on call for the love of musicality.

Non-Fiction is a fire sale of songs no one else bought, over beats no other singer could’ve wanted. The beat selection is whiplash, from pop to R&B to retro trance vibes that never settle into a sure, comfortable pattern.

Ultimately, Zedd’s True Colors shows the guy is brilliant at what he does, and for those who want to get all in their feelings on the way to a festival or to soundtrack a beach date with bae (or a group of friends), this will be the disc to keep on repeat.

For what it’s worth, Ciara’s voice sounds stronger than ever. It’s just much of what she’s singing lacks a certain oomph.

Royalty is many things all at once though much of it is not particularly good.

For the most part, Kid Ink is a C-average rapper scoring unexpected B-pluses over A-grade beats from DJ Mustard, Stargate, and Metro Boomin.