Freed from production duties, she pours herself into her voice and her lyrics, giving a vocal performance that drips feeling and firmly establishes her as a singer to be reckoned with.

It's got guest collabs that make sense without being overbearing, a few genre defying styles that go from almost dancey to instrospection and back but it never loses track.

Feist manages to deliver an understated, yet powerful resolution that ultimately defines Metals not so much as a break up album or a make up album, but as a journey to acceptance.

Stereotype succeeds in melding styles seamlessly, and delivering enough synergy to help each one of the acts involved broaden its audience.

Random Axe don't break the mold on this album, but they are sure to make stalwart fans of each individual rapper happy with a release that's thematically consistent if not repetitive and evocative of the three's surefire chemistry.

Though it may not be the knock out aural masterpiece one would expect from the likes of a Flying Lotus production, The Golden Age of Apocalypse excels by harnessing the spirits of Pastorious, Sun-Ra, and other left-of-center demigods, dazzling us with FlyLo and Bruner's unique brand of collaborative eccentric genius.

Overall, this is a pretty interesting effort that is very genre-bending in its approach.

All things considered, Young Krizzle delivers.

It's a pleasure to listen to, and perhaps its sheer existence (thanks in part to crowdsourcing on Kickstarter) is a fact to be celebrated in itself

You won't find much in the way of a message on Mic Tyson (closest thing might be on the driving "Pyrex": "wake up, all that crack and the street talk/is made up like Jack & The Beanstalk"), but you will find a raw rap sound seldom heard in these calloused days

Ali touches on every heavy topic under the sun but it's the more personal anecdotes, like flying home from Europe to attend his Dad's funeral or coming off tour to find his son neglected and injured that hit hardest and make Mourning in America worth copping.

A celebration of quality rap music, past, present, and future.

Overall, in fact, it might feel like a little too much of The Weeknd all at once. But then again the music is so good it might just be what the doctor ordered.

It's good time music written to the sound of heartbreak and everyday affairs, which makes it even more relatable, accessible even.

With this release, Statik Selektah continues to prove that he one of hip hop's finest beatsmiths. Meanwhile, Action Bronson shows that he will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.

The fiery spirit of Africa For Africa certainly carries echos of the immortal Fela, and Femi seems quite comfortable carrying on his father's legacy. But, with another powerful addition to an already stellar catalogue, the son is not so quietly building a legacy all his own.

Solidarity is a straight up funky, raucous, dancefloor-troubling, riot-provoking monster of an album.

He's found ways to make complexity entertaining and to harness pain in the names of maturity and laughter.

Perhaps it's best enjoyed as an album of two halves--with funk on the A side, and a more introspective flipside. Either way, Sinkane's trip to the Red Planet is more than worth signing up for.

This is the sound of a musician at the top of his game marking his entry into the big time.

Lushlife's Plateau Vision is arguably the best rap record since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

All in all, it's the sound of a bunch of musicians from the top of the game performing at the top of their game. Ruthlessly tight, deeply soulful with tunes to keep you riveted to your stereo until deep into the night.

All Day offers a departure of sorts from Night Ripper and Feed the Animals, his previous releases. The composition of those two essentially follow the same furious blueprint, whereas All Day allows the musical ideas a bit more time to breathe and evolve.

Homeboy Sandman's latest offering is worth a purchase. The style he provides through-out the 6 tracks on Subject: Matter shows off his intelligence–something a lot of Hip-Hop is missing these days. His story-telling abilities and vivid imagery go hand-in-hand on every track.

Not only does the duo own the niche that they have established on their EPs, they also break new ground, infusing other elements and genres within the album. Overall, a great listen.

This record a solid improvement over the excellent Causers Of This, and I am excited for his continued growth as an artist.

Rugby Thompson is by far the most cohesive piece of work Smoke DZA has put out and it's clear he has developed in to a serious player in the independent hip-hop scene.

This is a very solid debut release and well worth the wait.