Amusing, yes. Revolutionary? Not quite so much. ... Right now she's doing what sells and it's "Bodak Yellow" all day until her 15 minutes fades away.

slowthai gained notoriety for being unvarnished in his lyrics over his country’s politics, but that isn’t shown much on the album except for its title. He says there’s “Nothing Great About Britain“, but the same can be said about his debut album, even with the bright spots.

Sullivan herself is certainly an artist that doesn’t follow the rules, which is why it’s mildly disappointing to hear her sound like Post Malone or Juice WRLD on tracks. For a woman with as much power and agency as she clearly has, she let too much of this release be shaped by what other people sound like in terms of the production of her vocals and her instrumentals.

Overall this album has some definite stand out tracks: "Not the Only One," "2 Phones," "La Familia" and "Time For That." The rest of the project is not bad, it's just generally underwhelming.

I’m glad he found a lane, stuck to it, and rode the hell out of it until he had to go to the clinic for a shot. On the other hand “Play Cash Cobain” is nearly one straight hour of listening to another dude read me the letters he wrote to Playboy. I prefer that to a rapper bragging about how many people they’ve killed, but an hour straight of either one with no variance is monotonous. He’s a solid producer, and while pitch corrected rap singing isn’t my favorite thing, he’s better than average at that too.

Alias's production merely compounds the record's dense and oppressive aesthetic. The tracks tend to bleed into each other musically, one grainy backing indistinguishable from the next.

If you can get into the fantasy and ignore the reality then DS2 might be good escapist music for a little while.

You can’t examine Young Thug’s music too closely or think about it too carefully if you want to enjoy it, because the casual misogyny of throwing around “Pussy” as an insult reminds you he’s not exactly progressive. If you’re looking for bass to shake the concrete and singing so modulated as to nearly be R&B, tracks like “Jumped Out the Window” and “Boy Back” featuring NAV will definitely fit the bill.

He’s a fine producer, a middling singer, and a very forgettable lyricist. The album’s title banks on his name being the sole draw, but if it has been titled “Featuring Kanye West, Quavo, Kid Cudi, Young Thug, Big Sean and Future” it would be a whole lot more accurate.

The "Issa Album" was a full course meal while "Without Warning" ends up being more of a snack.

York is an interesting and often times bizarre album.

03 Greedo’s lack of depth and highly AutoTuned delivery along with Mustard’s highly listenable production are a Icee for a hot summer day — something cool and refreshing that quickly melts and is easily forgotten.

The problem here is that not only is no progress made, Weekend at Burnie's might just be an artistic regress.

It's no secret the Twins get gully. Fortunately for listeners, it's very contagious. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of lyrical content.

Simply in musical and vocal terms, it feels too limited, mainly due to him over-thinking things.

Death Grips have always been a challenging group to listen to, but Government Plates is more migraine-inducing than head-nodding.

This is one to spin a couple of times, then never again.

For the moment, we are treated to a promising if frustrating record that remarkably lacks a hit single itself.

At 10 songs and nearly an hour long the "Back to Reality" album packs a lot of bang for the buck, and if you're in the mood to go retro this is the perfect album to fire up when you put on your Michael Jackson glove, fire up the Coleco, play Donkey Kong 'til your hands get sore then go party at Studio 54.

It feels like the audio version of Madonna releasing a coffee table art book of her sexual exploits, and I’m not in any way judging you if you get off on that, but it’s just not my thing.

It's a decent but underwhelming album, and one that inspires apathy more than adoration or disgust.

“Hot Pink” doesn’t show an evolution of Doja Cat artistically or musically. The production from the likes of Tyson Trax, Yeti Beats and even the famed Saleem Remi is as slick as her debut, but also just as saccharine as her debut.

Drake breaks no new ground here, and retreads the same tales of love and regret so many times that the songs bleed together. If you just want background music for making love, this is your album. If you want to have your imagination captured by fantastic tales or be taken on an emotional roller coaster, don’t bother. There are no highs or lows here. We’re on medium the whole time.

Unfortunately the haste to produce and release the album shows when listening; the thing is clearly rushed and even feels a tad opportunistic after the surprise critical resurgence of the Wu after the Raekwon-directed "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II."

The Odd Future fam needs better quality control to stay relevant in 2013 and beyond.

While the beats are relatively mediocre and not at all unusual for this brand of hip hop, they do a decent job matching the dark picture Gucci paints. Unfortunately, that picture is more of a rough sketch as Gucci steers more toward unrefined flows and bland, mechanically arching vocals rather than a more thought out approach.

If you can get past some of the dumb lines and the often blunt nature of Big Sean's approach to seduction, there's enough solid, modern R&B here to satisfy those craving something a bit more direct than Drake, but it could have been so much more.

Instead of acknowledging that they perhaps have something unique to offer and trying to put their own twist on rap, the Keys attempt to strip down their sound to fit within hip-hop genre norms--the result being the taming of many gifted rappers whose time would have been otherwise better spent.

The monotonous lack of infection in his voice is prevalent throughout the album, to the point where it sounds like he loses interest in his own words.

Your patience will be especially tested during the closing trio of songs that could have been better had they been a couple minutes shorter and/or delivered with more zest musically.

It is an LP with one hit single, some solid album cuts and the rest is genuinely quite forgettable.

Unfortunately, the rhythm of the album is constantly interrupted by cacophonous dirges which makes it feel unsettled.

This album feels like “how do you do fellow kids” in rap form. It’s trying so hard to be slutty that it’s transparent in its aims and it robs Latto of the power she once had.

It's cotton candy hip-hop that's enjoyable to consume but has no real substance.

“Don’t Be Dumb” certainly doesn’t feel like something that has been multi-drafted, painstakingly thought out or perfected with time. Instead, it plays like a subpar effort from an artist we have all seen deliver notably stronger work in the past.

They offer a positive, upbeat take on hip-hop with heavy doses of melody. While it didn't totally win me over, there are enough bright points, and it is done with enough skill and passion that I recommend it to anyone nostalgic for the days of b-boys and beatboxes.

Neva Left is unfortunately, yet predictably, another mixed bag. The good tracks are effectively updates to proven formulas, which when matched to more imposing beats, show Snoop hasn't lost his touch.

A third of the songs are about hooking up with ladies, a third are heartfelt ballads to lovers, and a third are break-up songs. It's the lifecycle of a relationship, over and over. I'm not convinced by it, but it's working for him.

At the end of the day Mac Miller is without a doubt capable of bringing more to the table than shallow, boring rap. Unfortunately, he doesn't do much to prove that on GO:OD AM.

I fully respect his artistic and creative choices and his right to be his own man and not be defined by his years as a seminal underground rapper. I respect his choices, but I still pine for a Camu Tao we don't hear on this album and that we won't hear ever again. In the end I feel that his potential still went untapped.

It certainly doesn't reach the catchy levels of Ross' biggest hits on most songs, but sounds good enough to have been decent album tracks.

The Pinkprint is let down by some basic conceptual flaws, lackadaisical decision-making and even placing too much faith in bonus tracks to appease the masses

We got what feels like a very quickly thrown together product that lacks the depth and introspection of his previous projects.

Drake's Views is him lying on a therapist's couch whining for large chunks of time and the album drags as a result. Yet, if you took the best dozen tracks, you'd have a perfectly enjoyable, listenable LP.

The inspiring message that is clearly part of the appeal is still buried under too much empty rap rhetoric.

The whole of the self-titled Fetty Wap album is remarkably inoffensive and uninspired.

In the end though it’s all just a little too polished, like a hip hop manicure after a rap spa day, one that leaves everything radiant and glossy but says nothing about what’s underneath.

His album is incredibly well polished, but the gleam of his ice is an illusion, as these diamonds are nothing more than cubic zirconias.

The stakes were so high, the pressure was on and what makes him interesting was ironed out in favour of low risk, high percentage choruses. Couple that with a mixed bag of lyrics from the rapper himself, and you get a curiously crafted mess that contains a few great songs that you'll end up loving, and lot of numbers that just weren't bold enough or executed with confidence.

The biggest fault of Cruel Summer may be that it lacks a unifying voice or vision.

Even though there's little to nothing of intellectual nourishment for the majority of "Jungle Rules," there are slick songs like the Beat Billionaire produced Young Thug feature "Black Out" that you can literally do just that to.

Until Trey adds another layer to his songs, whether it be humor, empathy or any emotion other than a caveman-like approach to sex; Trigga remains a hollow, if tempting prospect for men that may well woo your woman, but is unlikely to keep your attention after.

The beats are solid enough, if not as universally banging as circa Luda '01. The album flows well, has some replay value and tries a few little tricks here and there.

So long as you don't expect Shakespeare and don't presume this to be a rap album, you won't be mad. It's pure pop done the way Pharrell does it.

Lyrically, let us not sugar coat the situation and pretend that he's some sort of Pulitzer prize winner in waiting. But in conjunction with the upgraded music, 2 Chainz has definitely put more work into his punchlines and it is most welcome.

There’s so much that could be done with a Northern UK emcee to celebrate a part of England that has numerous industrial cities with interesting stories, but Aitch’s message doesn’t register as well as it should thanks to production akin to a box-ticking exercise.

His technique has a strong propensity towards predictable stream-of-consciousness rhyming.

Ed Sheeran is an impressive talent, but his juvenile lyrics and lightweight sensibility make him a tough sell to any one old enough to drink.

On his new self-titled album Future loses sight of qualities that made his last run at the top a memorable one.

The problem for Wiley on 100% Publishing is that things just vary too wildly from song to song.

It’s difficult to gauge its direction, and it often seems aimless and forgettable, despite some interesting experiments here and there. Overall though, it’s a continuation of their gradual decline since their stellar debut, resembling more a mixtape of half-formed ideas than a cohesive, fully realised project.

Minus the niceness of "Manson Murder" and "Hater Love", this should have been a mixtape as it isn't a patch on any of Styles' previous LPs.

Overall, aside from some promising lines and one, maybe two standout tracks, “Richer Than I Ever Been” is an album that predictably falls short. It simply features too many weak beats backing up bars that often do more to bore than they do to convey a sense of skill or originality.

All in all this project comes up very short. Lil Wayne is simply not what he used to be, and 2 Chainz leaves much to be desired.

There are enough songs with worthwhile beats and guests to hold this album together to some degree, and depending on whether or not you like Flocka's lyrical style will be the degree.

She's going for Nicki Minaj meets Eminem meets Rihanna on the Tyra show. It feels like a major missed opportunity.

The end result is an album that is as unsuccessful as it is daring.

The Return of Mr. Zone 6 is the best and worst of Gucci Mane in almost equal measure, though it's enough of the best to pull up to an acceptable level.

Jay-Z is trying to come across as brand new, but he only succeeds in looking like an old brand in need of a revamp.

Kid Ink hasn't so much found his own lane, but taken the well-worn stretch of road that's littered with empty beer bottles and discarded condoms; a road frequented by beautiful video-models and catchy hooks. Despite this, My Own Lane is tasteful, smooth and if taken at face value, an enjoyable example of radio-friendly hip hop.

If you can get past the ignorance, this is enjoyable for what it is - an album to be played loudly in your car, with the windows down and a middle finger up to anybody who looks at you disapprovingly.

Much of Love Story is tepid, but there are moments where Yela nails the singing/rapping combination.

Rag'n'Bone Man needs to think more thoroughly about what exact story he wants to tell. Until then, Human is a heartwarming, mature pop album. Maybe it's been a wise decision to tone down the artist's hip-hop and rap background for now. But just the same, it could also have played a credible role.

He clearly cares about his output, but “Music To Be Murdered By” is, unfortunately, another mixed bag of tricks, propped up by lyrical acrobatics and underwhelming production.

Other tracks, such as "Gave It All I Got" bring a more introspective sentiment to Lil Big Pac, but these are few and far between and still lack quality deliveries and substantial beats to back them.

You see, the first 5 songs set the album up to be a pure party album - which actually would have worked a lot better, with the last track being a comedown moment. But then, delusions of adequacy spring up and the LP ends up shooting off in different tangents, where musically it is solid (if entirely unchallenging), but lyrically/conceptually it do nothing for you.

ye is an average album with some good songs, some bad songs, and some songs that will clearly be spun millions of times. The problem is that "average" has never been good enough for Kanye West nor should it be.

Very little is going on lyrically above but Smoke’s energy is priceless. That same energy is only marginally filtered through these swift-moving tracks. The entire album is more of an elongated intro to the Cactus Jack brand.

From the dance beats to the cross-pollination of guest artists to the old pop samples, Global Warming is a big dumb album that feels so calculated and market-tested that it is not much fun to listen to.

Like the core message of Everything Is Borrowed, this album will, unfortunately, come and go soon enough, little trace left behind.

The problem Ludacris faces is that both sides of him are great to listen to but it inevitably restricts him from making the cohesive magnum opus his career deserves.

Relentlessly preachy music can be just as obnoxious as the relentlessly vapid, but even pop music can offer more substance than this. If this album was a soda, it would be light and bubbly, yet its sugar free nature would make you crave a Mexican soda in a glass bottle instead.

While the beats are mostly good, it feels like Macklemore missed out on an opportunity to really set his solo career apart from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

The best thing about “Save Me” may be that it’s a very small bite to digest, clocking in at just barely over 20 minutes after the conclusion of “Love Thy Enemies.”

Radioactive is a mixed bag that has some outstanding tracks, while others fail from a lack of execution particularly in the production and hook department.

Most poeple probably have those two tracks ["Love Sosa" and "I Don't Like"], and there isn't anything else on here that warrants buying this or taking the time to find a torrent of it.

As fun as R.O.O.T.S. may be for a short while, artistically, this album is almost without merit, with pointless lyrics and over-sampling.

Shady XV seems like it was made for: diehard fans of Marshall; and fresh kids who don't know no better. Otherwise, you'll probably have forgotten about the album by 2015, and 95% of the label's energy will soon be diverted to the next Eminem solo LP all over again.

It’s beige, hollow music and that’s what ultimately frustrates your dedicated rap listener because it doesn’t make sense why it’s so damn popular. When you throw the poor writing on top of this, and some real hit-and-miss production into the mix, “Certified Lover Boy” may well be Drake’s worst album.

There are some other strong tracks on this album, including Santigold's guest spot on "Car Song," and "Energy," which sounds like a lost Talking Heads song. There are also several that are either forgettable or downright bad.

A missed opportunity to progress.

Whatever made this a substantive and interesting group a decade ago has been completely lost in the process, but if all you care about is dancing and partying then take their word for it.

He sounds positively dated.

RZA is certainly experimenting on a bunch of tracks, but results are unconvincing.

There's at least one cringeworthy line in nearly every song.

There is very little humour and some of the production is flat out boring.

Most people will want Wiz to succeed, as he does successfully come across as likeable personality, and even Rick Ross has displayed a genuine hunger to improve, so anything is possible. But this album is, put simply, one that won't make much of an impression, good or bad. And that's the worst kind.

It's not that the album isn't good, it's that it pails in comparison to "Jackpot."