Overall, it’s an album embedded with enough humor, knowledge, and obscure Hip Hop references that will force listeners to keep this one in rotation.

Excuse My French comes off as extremely formulaic.

Kool Herc: Fertile Crescent is at its root empowering, challenging and subversive, most strikingly, it’s simply an incredibly rewarding listen.

The heart of the issue with Lip Lock is that Eve hasn’t restored the command she once had, which subsequently allows these new sounds to lead her down a road of uncertainty.

Ultimately, fans looking for a solid but not necessarily classic addition to the Infamous Mobb Deep catalogue, should be satisfied with 13.

For all of its powerful lyricism, Prisoner Of Conscious is not a particularly dynamic listen.

Unfortunately, Authentic suffers the same fate as LL’s other late-career missteps: too many features and a superficial brand of R&B bog down another release from one of rap’s earliest superstars.

Longtime Swollen Members fans likely won’t raise an eyebrow, but the consistent horrorcore references are likely to turn off potential new fans that aren’t down with the macabre subject matter

His immersion in Rastafarianism has produced a middling album, at best.

Indicud is an ambitious project that Kid Cudi took a blind shot at, and while by no means does he completely exemplify his immortal identity, he certainly makes a compelling case nonetheless.

Experimental is a tag few artists at his age would attempt, and yet Ghost does it with immeasurable confidence.

His sexual callousness wears off quickly, and what listeners are left with is a release better fit for a Ramada Inn than a Four Seasons.

Using Wolf as a platform to let his imagination run wild while remaining accessible, Tyler, the Creator displays maturation on his own twisted terms.

Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric use '90s East Coast Hip Hop as a blueprint to innovate, and ultimately, that’s what made that era so special in the first place.

For the casual Weezy fan (one that hears the music but doesn't listen), I Am Not a Human Being II is perfect mindless fun. However, for those who expected more from this repeatedly delayed effort, Wayne may have to hop in his spaceship and try again.

The biggest success of The 20/20 Experience lies within Justin Timberlake being able to gracefully glide into Adult Contemporary Music without coming across as trite or cheesy. There is enough oomph for the youngins, yet a defined maturity that proves Timberlake’s overstanding of eventually aging out of the capricious sect of R&B.

Short but sweet, Disrupted Ads chalks up another win towards Oh No's already prolific legacy as one of the present underground's consistently effective studio rats.

By co-opting the title of John Coltrane’s 1965 classic, A Love Supreme, Bilal is at least hinting at lofty expectations. For the most part he exceeds them.

The most glaring issue with No Love Lost is the truly terrible production featured throughout.

Debuts this good just don't come along very often, and it all comes down to the precocious Harlem rookie's vision.

Despite its missteps, GMB is a commendable project that should hold over diehard fans.

With Selling My Soul, Masta Killa seems to have winged his way through songs that are lazy and conceptually not well put together.

This is a strong return to form for the self-proclaimed King of the South.

Though French Montana fits well on "Diamonds," his presence distracts from the youngster's appeal with similarly dull results stemming from rivals Young Jeezy & Rick Ross on "Understand Me" and an updated "3Hunna" respectively. These flaws along with the senseless experimental delivery of "Laughin' To The Bank" water down an otherwise exciting listen for anyone willing to humor Keef's madness.

His sophomore solo set, God of the Serengeti, sticks to the script, and that's not a bad thing.

Jesus Piece ends up being the least compelling release in Game's storied catalogue, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a listen.

Through the first 11 tracks on Diamond In The Ruff, Freeway is near flawless, showcasing an array of styles and fresh patterns while refusing to peddle shallow perspective. And then, over the course of the final five songs, the album nearly falls off a cliff.

Girl On Fire pushes her superb writing skills forward without losing what makes Alicia Keys the artist she promised to be 11 years ago.