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.

Despite the presence of some must-hear rap tracks, it's hard to justify the purchase if you are paying for only about half an album.

If you're not looking for an album that will change the world, but simply change your mood for an hour or two, there's definitely something to be said for Nothing.

All in all, the flow is the same, the beats are a little different, and the person is a little more scarred and a little more wise than we last saw him.

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.

The material found on "Manifesto" is, for the most part, superb, with only a handful of tracks that fail to live up to the quality found on the rest of the album.

The members were certainly armed, and they seem to hit more than they miss.

Not every track on Lip Lock is a home run, but she bats for the cycle here and only strikes out a few times.

It's an album with no direction, no cohesion and a striking lack of energy.

Wayne, much like in his mixtape days, is finally having fun again. And when he does that, the results are captivating.

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

Nelly pushes crossover so far on a few of these tracks a few of his more hardcore fans may be turned off, but frankly since this is a concept album songs like "N Dey Say" are what I expected from "Suit."

On the lyrical side of things, 50 seems to have his edge back. Whether he's orchestrating a robbery or bucking (pun intended) shots at his foes, it seems apparent that the criticisms got to him. For the hard core fans, the softer songs are skippable, but I can't hold that against him too much.

So there you have it, a finely produced, polished, and performed album from one of the game's most hated emcees.

Well it’s a better Drake album than “Honestly, Nevermind” so that’s a plus. It’s not a better 21 album than “I Am > I Was” or “Issa” though so that’s a minus. If you split the difference you wind up with an average album. There are a few joints I’d care to play more than once.

While it's far from the most important record in hip-hop in 2006, let alone in Diddy's career, it's one that does at least keep your interest the whole way through and is worth listening to more than once.

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.

On the tracks of I Am the West that work the best, he's still got the vintage gruff demeanor, lyrical ferocity and hard hitting beats to claim some significant ownership of the Pacific shoreline. At other times he desperately desires to have a contemporary sound, and that's where things fall apart, but those mistakes can be overlooked or easily skipped compared to the quality of the overall presentation.

Though “Blame It On Baby” is fairly short at only 33 and a half minutes, the bop of songs like the Nils & Wheezy produced “Talk About It” and the title track from DJ Kid and friends prove you can hit skip and land on something good anywhere.

If there had been some big singles, fewer guests and more of Jayceon being himself, this could well have been a real classic.

He can literally sleepwalk his way through a Trap House album. He does here.

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.

Rick Ross is an entertainer and Black Market is for the most part an entertaining album.

Juice wants to get in touch with his feelings but then drowns them in a gallon of syrup.

It isn't a flawless EP, but it works more often than it doesn't and is proof that there isn't that much difference between genres as we sometimes pretend there is.

Free Weezy Album is on the whole decidedly mixed. Weezy still has his swagger, and with a little more effort he could add some substance to go along with it.

If you like the Cannibal Ox sound, and want to hear 90s NYC grime done 2011 style, then OX 2010 is worth the investment.

If this is the Wu-Tang of the 2010's, we need more albums like it.

Put a little pop in your life and what you'll discover is that underneath the materialistic veneer Nelly's got a good delivery, sharp lyrics and impeccable breath control, which would make him #1 no matter WHERE he was from.

Goodie Mob sounds newly rejuvenated, almost vivified by the tremendous odds they faced coming back instead of impeded by it.

This isn't the album to introduce the uninitiated to his unique and often oddball style and flow, but long time fans will appreciate this slice of history as proof that Dumile really does rap his own concerts and doesn't send out impostors under his famed Metal Face.

Snoop gets the credit he is due and deserves for coming back strong on Malice N Wonderland and managing not to lose his edge despite all his success. It won't go down as the most important album of his career, but it's not one that you should pass on either.

Throughout “Chixtape 5” though I keep finding songs that pay tribute to hits by other people, and in each case Tory Lanez is not the rapper on the track. ... He’s just straight up crooning. He almost raps on “If You Gotta” featuring Fabolous but can’t resist the urge to sing. Unfortunately this leads F-A-B to imitate him instead of vice versa. The album’s slicker than the tile floors behind the counter at Wendy’s though.

He's a hollow rapper with no unique trait or style. He drifts through songs such as "Love You/How I'm On It" and "Young King" with no real concept of flow or knowing when to change tone.

I cautiously recommend "Distortion" to Run-D.M.C. fans as being a lot better than their unceremonious disaster of a final album "Crown Royal" while openly admitting anybody younger than 18 may not relate to it and pass right on by to something else.

This is a star studded line-up with Drake ("To the Max"), Future ("I Can't Even Lie"), Nicki Minaj ("Nobody"), and a few of your "grimy" favorites like Fat Joe and Raekwon ("Billy Ocean"). So are you going to enjoy all 80+ minutes of this double album that COULD have been a single disc? Unless you're not a fan of Migos and Travis Scott, yes.

Enough things are right that you can't go wrong with The Last Kiss, but the key is that the album makes you want Jadakiss to stay in the game instead of hanging up his sneakers and walking off the court.

Taking into account the fact that there is probably 15-20 minutes worth of actual Kool Keith verses on this release it is completely unacceptable that this is being passed off as a full album.

It’s a complete package (pun intended). I’ll take the Jay-Z style “Song Cry” feel of “When to Say When” as an album song any day. The MexikoDro and Shebib “From Florida With Love” is the example of why I can handle Drake being Tuned up more than most of his contemporaries. He uses it without abusing it to ridiculous absurdity.

Thankfully the Bankhead rapper you know and love ain't change a damn thang and while this album may not blow down the doors to the Rap Hall of Fame as the greatest of all-time it offers a comfortable consistancy that should keep it hot in your Hummer all summer long.

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.

As much poetry as rap, as much philosophy as sci-fi odyssey, “Bobby Digital and the Pit of Snakes” is not for the first time but the LONG time RZA listener.

Evolution may not be a cutting edge advancement of hip-hop, but it's no embarrassment to Baatin and Dilla's legacy either. It's a solid album you wouldn't be ashamed to pledge a few dollars toward for a copy.

It will forever tarnish everything you ever liked about him, as you will suddenly view him as an eccentric crackpot who is more interested in making "Paper Bubbles" than good music.

He sounds positively dated.

There's nothing ludicrous about Ludacris giving his fans exactly what they want, and it's even less ludicrous that he will probably convert more new fans on the strength of "Release Therapy."

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

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

I suspect as Ross continues to evolve as a lyricist there will be even more of a message in his music, but in the meantime the production and guest stars on "Trilla" make for an effective album that shows Ross has yet to tap into his full potential.

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

I like what I see and hear on Tha Carter IV and no one is going to convince me he isn't a full-fledged artist worthy of being the household name he now is.

Songs About Girls is an album that theoretically has no end and doesn't need to have one.

Busta Rhymes has finally made an album that works from beginning to end--it is just a shame that the lack of crossover hit singles will doubtless leave BOMBS a slightly unappreciated gem.

“Lil Boat 3” finds Yachty syncopating and stretching beyond his naturally baritone voice. He sounds more self-aware than ever, channeling his beloved infectious energy as the main driver for the album, rather than his erratic lyrical ability.

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."

The range on "The New Danger" is as broad and deep as the Brooklyn Renaissance itself.

“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.

Despite some lyrical flaws here and there, it still shines.

Utterly forgettable and insubstantial, No Mercy is a contrived, sputtering guest-filled affair certain to alienate his longtime fans and disappoint those who jumped aboard for "Paper Trail."

As a mixtape, it works, but is nothing more than generic New York street rap set to some largely forgettable instrumentals.

By bringing his beats up to date he may not only win back some old fans but convert a few new ones in the process by showing them he's more than just a Hollywood actor.

His original army of fans, however, will surely enjoy most of the elements of Relapse and it certainly sets up the sequel nicely--though it might be wise to include a few more crossover hits on the second installment, you know, for everyone else.

He’s not quite a great artist. He simply exists, but to those who want more of what XXXTENTACION offered without having to buy 50 posthumous releases, he’ll do.

He's still solid with the flow and constructs rhymes that are both interesting and intense, making The Seventh Seal a worthy purchase and return for a man who was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, God without end--Rakim. Amen

This two-hour epic may not be his best work, but it’s his most Game album yet.

"Occasion" is an abomination by all standards, but that it comes from such a respected entity as Kidz in the Hall makes it even more inexcusable.

Ultimately I have two complaints about Blue Slide Park which in the grand scheme of things may be minor.

The hard truth is that “Dope Don’t Sell Itself” takes a tumble down into the same hole of forgettable 2 Chainz albums that has become home to the likes of “Trapavelli Tre’”, “Pretty Girls Like Trap Music”, “Collegrove” and the like. 2 Chainz seems burnt out.

I can listen to “Mansion Musik” for 76 minutes and it’s fine as background music, but if I start paying attention to tracks like “WITCHCRAFT” the bars are so relentlessly negative it accidentally becomes a turnoff.

Ultimately the album gets away with overly familiar breaks thanks to the superb level of stars. ... It’s not his best compilation, it’s not his worst, but it’s another one.

This results in a lot of victories but not a whole lot of personality, and the closest we get to seeing Khaled's soul is the fact he tends to favor putting the Southeast's finest from Pitbull to Rick Ross on his tracks.

Scott Mescudi may be many things and nothing all at once but he's definitely not the "same lame old same thing."

He can clearly still spit elite bars, at more or less the same rate he could over twenty years ago. “The Lost Tapes 2” may be marketed as a sequel, but it’s a selection of largely forgettable album cuts that didn’t make Nas’ last few albums.

It's a solid performance, that is both better and worse than it could have been.

Snoop has been paying dues for two decades and change now, so he's earned the right to be a brand, an icon, a television star and most of all a rap legend. "Doggumentary" won't tarnish the polish on his O.G. status.

Zion I--on four songs, at least--maintain their sterling reputation as one of the most underrated acts around.

Freedom will be a disappointment, and a predictable one at that.

There are more nuanced (and enjoyable) approaches to records focused on depression. Elzhi’s “Lead Poison” is still the one I’d recommend first but NF impresses on “The Search”. ... By stripping that away, his barrage of words – married with the booming, cinematic production (credited as NF and Tommee Profitt) – is surprisingly digestible.

The production of South and Lex carry the majority of the hour long album, and I do mean carry, because I doubt I could get through this otherwise. If you can stand a strong absence of talent on the basis of the beats alone then you're probably going to enjoy Ferrari Boyz a hell of a lot.

These are two-minute tracks that largely veer all over the place – cohesion, concept, and artistry go out the window here.

The only downside to "Feedback" is that by the time you reach the swinging latino rhythms of the instrumental finale "Canto de Ossanha" 52 minutes of hip-hop soul just won't seem like enough.

While it won't be the best or most important album in the entire catalogue, "Redman Presents... Reggie" fits perfectly into his body of work as a whole and will be worthy of multiple replays after the purchase date.

It's good to know Ma$e hasn't lost his knack for perverting classics by other artists.

No Love Lost is too inconsistent to leave a lasting impression, and falls short of greatness.

It's awfully hard to name a bad track on Trill O.G. anywhere.

He still has a lot of talent, he just needs to reign in his creative impulses (along with a few others) to make a better album next time.

The only thing really dissapointing about "Weapons of Mass Destruction" is that Xzibit seems to have once again forsaken his Alkaholiks homies.

There is no doubt that the first half of the album is where the "money" is – a top-heavy reflection of pop-muscle tracks where Lupe is generally playing second fiddle to the beats/choruses. That would have fine if the Chicago native had been allowed to go all out and express himself on the other six tracks, more akin to "All Black Everything" so you may well find yourself stalling after "The Show Goes On."

In 2010 he sounds derivative, uninspired, and starving for a paycheck.

Rather than staying true to political and social roots that got him signed in the first place, David Banner has chosen to mimic what's popular.

Even if this isn't a Grammy-winning album, it is actually better than most of the bullshit Def Jam has released this year, and if LL Cool J had a point to prove on Exit 13, he has made it in acerbic style.

While the music is consistent and fairly unique in its murkiness, it's not particularly compelling and is a tad stale.