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 biggest problem with Wale's debut LP is that sure, the music is good, some of the concepts are interesting...But it is all very middle of the road, and Wale himself is an MC desperately in need of charisma.

His bitterness about that fate may be the only black mark against this album--there's a tinge of resignation here and little effort to make himself more palatable to the masses.

Long-time MF Doom fans and relative newcomers to his innovative beats and flows will both be satisfied by this release.

While it may be a little on the long side, the quality never lets up and you'd have a hard time deciding which tracks, if any, should have been left on the cutting room floor.

On the whole the batting average is much higher than even the best MLB players when it comes to hits on "Day Shift" so E-40 supporters should be kicking themselves if they didn't pick this up.

Vadim manages to mix hip-hop, dancehall, dubstep, soul, and electronic dance music into a concoction that works.

Though Bronson does try new things on his first major-label outing, he still includes his characteristic lyrical qualities along with elements from past releases. In a sense, he's re-introducing himself.

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.

As action-packed as beats and rhymes are, CZARFACE was a quick read I soon found myself putting back on the shelf.

Everybody Down may try to tackle too much in its 48-minute run time, but even if the story isn't always coherent, the emotions of the characters shine through.

Even with Black Milk's limits as a rapper, If There's a Hell Below is a solid album. Black Milk nails the line between being retro and forward-thinking, between street and backpack, between nostalgia and honesty.

As tracks like the apt Andre Harris produced finale “Wings” show, EarthGang can fly on their own without any comparisons. They are as much R&B as hip-hop and for them it’s an ideal match.

The end result sure looks promising from the moment you hit play, with over an hour of music and 18 tracks to look forward to, the kind of full length project all those [Kickstarter] backers have demanded.

Even his non-album singles are bangers, which is what makes it more insulting that we had to wait all these years for them to be compiled together into one “package” for our perusal. Better late than never though.

Her debut is musically brilliant--if a bit samey.

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.

Mozzy’s greatest strength as a writer is clear intimacy. Every time he spits a verse, I feel like he’s talking to me one-on-one with a cigar in hand and his posse surrounding him. There’s wisdom attached to his words because he’s been through it all. ... Mozzy still carries demons, but there are indeed shimmers of happiness percolating throughout some of these passages.

The first overwhelmingly happy Atmosphere record.

Maybe the highest praise one can bestow on Pilot Talk is that it is a real album, not really fit for phone speakers or headphones but best enjoyed on a home or car system, where Ski's warm beats and Spitta's hazy vocals can fill the space.

This is The Roots band, jamming their way through the wealth of protest soul that rocks and rolls, and obviously a crooner like the Grammy award winning John Legend is far more important to capture that soul and make it his own.

Even the weaker of Ghost albums tend to be relatively strong compared to some of his peers, both in and outside of the Wu, and The Big Doe Rehab is no exception.

If you felt Roc's previous albums were too Roc-heavy, this is the ideal album to ease you in to his brand of excess rap. Yet for somebody that held his previous two albums in such high regard, it's a little bit disjointed, unpolished and dare I say it, scruffy

It is the right combination of introspective and funky. It makes these long, endless days and weeks much more manageable. If you need something both banging and relaxing, Shabazz Palaces got you covered.

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

Francis is on a level where even next shit is two steps behind.

It is just so much plain fun to bump loud, sing-a-long to and back it up on various people. Wicked.

No Love Deep Web continues Death Grips' death trip, and is another solid 47 minutes of artistic aggro.

The final installment is arguably the best of the three.

Usually an artist can try and re-create the album that gave him so much acclaim, or he can scrap everything and create something new and fresh, with the risk of alienating his fan base. P.O.S chose to do the latter with We Don't Even Live Here, but unlike many artists, he pulled it off without a hitch.

There's a decade of depth to D. Swain that shows in every bar, note, and beat of this Payback, one which should hopefully give the music biz a big smack in the face.

Vodka & Ayahuasca is not only one of the strongest rap releases so far this year, in terms of 'crazy combinations' it stands up to "Madvillainy" and "Hell: The Sequel."

Sour Soul isn't the best album in Ghostface's discography, but it is a fine effort.

While the tracks never reach and identity outside their own samples Greg does breath fresh new life into them and make things you've probably heard a thousand times, exciting again.

A$AP's charisma and finesse mostly compensate for his shortcomings as a lyricist. That, combined with the trippy heaviness of Danger Mouse's production, make "A.L.L.A." an album worth spending time with, even dead sober.

The songs that were already previously available on "So Far Gone" are a winner and the new songs don't bring Drake down off the high cloud he's already on.

Gift of Gab remains a fire-spitter but his flow has withered slightly since the immaculately delivered rhymes crafted in the early 2000s, but it's not always noticeable. Musically, there's some jarring moments that hold this back from being one of their best works.

“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.

Pro Tools could be called a return to form, but since GZA never lost the form in the first place, it would be more apt to say that he's kept the peak form he already had and just honed his lyrical tongue to an even sharper and more polished edge.

Golden Era is hit or miss, but thankfully it's more of the former than the latter.

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

I think there’s room for “alternative hip-hop” in the mix, not everything in rap needs to be swaggering cock grabbing male posturing, and the difference between a rapper who sings and a singer who raps has diminished greatly. That doesn’t mean “Pony” is going to take the place of all-time classics like Organized Konfusion in my rotation, but it does mean that I can see a more open-minded interpretation of rap music as not necessarily destroying hip-hop music and culture. Rex Orange County has his place too.

While there are a few tracks that take left turns, most of the album follows a similar template and sound palette, which leads to a sense of sameness for such a short album. Malibu Ken is an Aesop Rock joint, which means it is worth listening to you until you decipher every pun and metaphor. If it feels less weighty and consequential compared to his solo albums, maybe that is point.

There’s a very real, dare I say relatable feel to Cole’s music that “The Off Season” continues to highlight. Unfortunately, it’s a few songs short of being a great album as Cole experiments with some different styles of production that aren’t always successful. Cole’s nearly-man mentality produces a nearly-great album.

It's an emotional and creative masterpiece in the genre of hip hop.

For me personally their sound isn't progressive any more--it's regressive.

It's certainly an enjoyable listen, with a few great songs – and at least it actually happened – but with the combined power, money and talent that Carter and West continually brag about, you can't help but feel that Watch the Throne could and should have been better.

The Odd Couple [is] thirteen songs chock full of honest, unabashed, experimental self-expression that isn't afraid to take chances.

Kiss of Death is the Jadakiss album that everybody's been waiting for, 'Kiss fans and critics alike.

If not here, then on the EP as a whole, Freddie Gibbs is clearly in command, fully aware of his own potential and self-assured that if we don't get it now...we'll catch up eventually.

Eleven tracks featuring Gift of Gab's superb rhyme writing, breath control and musical flow just don't seem like enough, but the amount of content he packs into that small space creates an energy density comparable to NOX, fueling this rocketship all the way to Mars and beyond to distant stars.

The album is an excellent listen from start to finish, and a generally successful snapshot of London in 2008.

The fans that know and love P or Havoc will immediately identify with H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 and will enjoy listening to it, for sure.

"Return of the Mac" is everything that "Blood Money" should have been and wasn't.

This is not a bad album – on the contrary, I like it. Drake is a clever guy, sure – but he will look back on this with disappointment at the imbalance of it, the intermittent connection, the lack of boldness.

The Life of Pablo has a lot going for it, but sometimes, even with all the best intentions, you can mess up a good thing just by virtue of being yourself.

The Music Scene is a good album, but one that is hard to get excited about.

Songs like “Wishing Well” carry on the things that made him popular — a catchy melody and hook, AutoTuned lyrics, tales of depression and drug use. All of Juice WRLD’s trademarks can be found here.

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.

P.O.S. has created something that sounds vibrant and alive, and stretches the narrow limits of the genre.

In fact whether or not you consider this an actual Wu-Tang Clan album there's not much to hate about "Chamber Music" other than the fact it's a small dose of the dopeness instead of the full out Wu-Tang hit that fans undoubtedly wanted.

Slay-Z is a solid EP that is also incredibly frustrating. It's frustrating because it is an example of the talent that Banks is wasting by devoting so much of her time and energy to having pissing contests on social media.

“Limbo” shows that if he takes his time and works with the right people, the results can be drastically improved. The hidden talent Amine had is hidden no more, and I’m happy to say I won’t be nearly so reluctant to listen to his NEXT album.

It doesn't sound like much upon first listen. But after a few spins "In Search of Stoney Jackson" becomes a charming little record that has quite a lot to offer despite its fragmented, uncoordinated appearance.

I found “To What End” is an album that grows on the listener. It does have a few tracks that sound like they could have been from older albums and the shorter track lengths I can’t ignore, but there are great tracks here to appease any self-respecting hip-hop fan seeking something more genuine and soulful in their 2023 playlists.

His lyrics are more considered; his flow is varied and on point pretty much throughout; the choice in music is superb; there are concepts that deserve your attention. The Game has delivered one of the greatest hip hop double albums in history.

As for today's singing rappers, Vert fits in comfortably next to the likes of Fetty Wap and French Montana, and I have little qualms with calling him a better writer than the latter. The production is a little bit more of a mixed bag.

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

There's enough variation in energy and production to keep the listener engaged throughout, and several times there are sudden drops into another beat entirely in the middle of a song.

The beats are banging, and Waka proves that owning a thesaurus and being clever aren't the only way to be a rapper. Waka is a blunt instrument that beats you into submission.

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

There are also some genuine standout tracks, and all in all, A$AP Rocky and his team deserved the critical and commercial acclaim that will inevitably flood their way.

Yes true believers these villains are definitely up to no good, but they're just the anti-heroes you've been looking for. With beats and rhymes more punishing than Frank Castle, Czarface Meets Metal Face is the hip-hop for everyone who's had it up to here with mumble mouthed singing emcees.

A mature performance over sleek, fresh production makes Life's Quest a pleasure.

While it's disappointing that Bada$$ doesn't offer more inspiring rhymes, it would be a mistake to write off "All-Amerikkkan Bada$$" because he isn't the second coming of Ice Cube.

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.

It would be more fitting to say Hell3 is an album that challenges conventional understanding of WHAT beginnings and endings are, leaving it up to the listener to draw their own conclusions, and that's what makes Hell3 both interesting and frustrating--but far moreso of the former than the latter.

The Cool Kids don't want people debating over the underlying message of every song, picking apart and arguing over every little lyric. Rather, the duo wants listeners to simply sit back and enjoy the ride, and those who do so will almost certainly not be disappointed with the often quirky rhymes and unique production from Chuck and Mikey.

All in all, Dizzee hasn't gone all out to make an artistic masterpiece, but it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.

B4.DA.$$ is a step in the right direction in New York hip-hop getting the attention and validation its long been denied.

Cole World does end up as a good debut.

It is very dense and maybe needed more melodies to help digest it all. Adding to that, the production at times lets her down, ranging from excellent to average, with a couple of songs that could well have worked better as skits.

As for meaningful depth to his bars, humorous “press rewind” punchlines or emotionally resonant stories, I regretfully must honestly say he didn’t grab me in any of these categories. As a lyricist he was “just there” — not terrible, not brilliant, just okay. Does he show future potential on “Meet the Woo Vol. 2“? Yes. Absolutely.

"Movie Scenes" is mystical, it is magical, and it's also prone to confuse some.

This is a fun, modern rap album with strong roots in '90s creativity and '80s innocence that has the potential to reach longtime fans as well as recruit new followers.

I'm curious to see and hear how an album that addresses nothing but social issues would turn out, but I'm more than satisfied with this release in the meanwhile as Mike continues to pledge his allegiance to getting rich independently, or simply put, the grind.

Some areas of this album [are] a little redundant.

This isn't an album of 1990's styles brought to 2012 - these are contemporary beats and rhymes that can hang with anything else coming out on the scene

Themselves do have a niche. They are not for rap purists; they are not for hip-hop newcomers. But they are for faithful listeners, sick of what they've been hearing, but not ready to give up entirely.

Musically, it has only a few elements, but are arranged well, a simplicity the lesser often veer into undeveloped blandness.

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.

Mr. Dibbs and Oh No might have been preferable to will.i.am and Nottz, even though the beats here are decent enough. It's cool to see Murs get the money he deserves for his project and even to hear him team up with luminaries like Snoop, and it's head and shoulders above the other garbage the major labels are circulating these days.

Considering how tight "Strength & Loyalty" is, it's not likely anybody is going to forget Bone Thugs-N-Harmony any time soon.

With "The Undisputed Truth," Brother Ali improves as a rapper, while sacrificing none of the unique, personal touch that made "Shadows on the Sun" so impressive.

With very little filler and a strong selection of songs from start to finish, the hype that this is potentially "album of the year" according to Atlantic Records may ACTUALLY be true.

It's hard to complain much about Event II given Del's razor sharp wit and deft tongue skills.