This album will take you on an emotional roller coaster but it won’t give you a stiff neck or scare the living shit out of you. It’s a ride you’ll want to go on again and again.

“Light-Years” is a good album, but not the best in Mass Appeal’s 2025 roll-out. Nas is an elite lyricist, no question. And Premo? He’s an elite producer. But for “Light-Years”, he laced several tracks that were simply “just OK.”

This is just great Hip-Hop. .... It had no right to be good, let alone excellent. It’s the best Mobb Deep album since “Murda Muzik”.

“The Coldest Profession” is certainly Roc Marciano and DJ Premier doing their thing, but it turns out that two greats of Hip-Hop combining doesn’t guarantee greatness.

Pusha is more thoughtful and Malice is more cocksure. Through the alchemy of Pharrell Williams the result is their finest work to date.

While it could’ve benefitted from at least one RZA-produced track, I will say that with the production and trademark rhymes, Ghostface Killah has given one of the more unmistakable New York City rap albums for 2025.

If there’s any album to compare this to, it would have to be The Clipse’s recently released “Let God Sort Em Out”, as both are similar and uncompromisingly raw in sound and content. But “Alfredo 2” differs in style and tone. The album’s edge? It has a narcotic swagger with flash and no polish, as well as being a very welcome and well-timed contemporary follow-up.

While Mac Miller’s latest posthumous release does accomplish something interesting and worthy of accolades, and is ultimately a strong album, it should be held to its own limits.

It’s the definition of “it’s fine.”

Is “Missionary” the greatest Snoop Dogg album of all time? No. Is it at least as good as “BODR” though, the album that announced his purchase of Death Row? Absolutely.

Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX” wrestles with rage, frustration and inner-conflict. All of these elements and the way the Compton artist binds them together are what makes it an intriguing and impressive album.

“Alligator Bites Never Heal” makes sense as a mixtape designed to showcase a star in the making, even if some of the bites of famous rappers may feel a bit on the nose for long-term listeners.

Like any successful artist, he’s willing to take risks, and he’s doing it more than I’d expect this far into his career. He’s singing on “Gold Crossbow” for a start, an irresistible set of drums that slap you round the face, with a lovely piece of piano that gives it an underlying sense of horror.

“The Force” is a successful return for the 56-year-old, and possibly the most impressive example of a rapper approaching sixty, demonstrating why he’s one of the greats. Q-Tip frontloads the record with some stellar sounds, and it’s an album open to repeated listens, but it gets a bit bogged down in proving LL can still rap his ass off. A strong return, but doesn’t quite match those classics from yesteryear.

It’s evident that his pen game remains sharp, but the aforementioned polarization causes Eminem to also remain as an acquired taste even now: You either like him or you don’t.

Wasting no time and not adding any filler, the psychedelic soul of “Dreamin’” kicks off the album with Common sounding as though he hasn’t aged vocally. .... The album title has “Vol. 1” as a suffix, indicating there’s more to come. I hope so because “The Auditorium, Vol. 1” is the kind of listen that makes one wonder what’s next from the two.

Knxwledge really knows how to bring the best out of Brandon. “HereIAm” swells with organs that make you feel like you’re at church for Sunday service. .... “Why Lawd?” proves it’s possible to remain true to your vision and bring the haters to you instead of the other way around.

As far as I’m concerned “We Still Don’t Trust You” is a solid hour of music that came with an unnecessary bonus disc.

Aside from leaning too hard into the baller and misogynistic cliches “2093” is a solid listen.

While “Everybody Can’t Go” is mostly good, Benny will need to push some boundaries if he’s ever going to top his classic albums.

I can say I recommend the entire thing as high quality.

“Magic 3” continues to strengthen the argument for Nas as the GOAT and his legions of fans who appreciate his output in 2023 will clearly agree with this take.

She can often sound like the guest rapper on her own songs, which is why she doesn’t really need the collaborations that some emcees rely upon. But there’s no denying the clear star power on display throughout “Scarlet”, an album that is her most direct, and shows that a pissed-off rapper that has something to get off of their chest, often results in their best work.

“Solid Gold” is Aesop at his most complex, but then tones it down on “Vititus”, a dedication to his late grandmother. With “Black Snow” closing out the album, it ends with “ITS is not a cult” to coincide with the concept.

Overall, “Voir Dire” isn’t bad. But to speak the truth, in the spirit of the album, both men have had more superior output. Plus, The Alchemist’s beats are usually better suited for rappers with gangsta motifs, because it sounds more like shared vision then.

Sure, there are a few things that could be improved (that golden scrotum line for one – not even Roc Marciano could pull that one off), but I can’t imagine many Nas fans are upset with more of the same, when both Nas and Hit-Boy are on such a hot streak.

Nevertheless, while it’s difficult to get past the wording of Travis Scott’s “Astroworld” follow up, the instrumental completeness and overall energy is difficult to forget.

The focus of Quavo’s “Rocket Power” is on him — as it should be.