There's too much material here to sit and listen to straight through in one sitting. Give it time though and Culture II will grow on you.

It is certainly a satisfying listen, worthy of a sensible level of recommendation.

"Murray's Revenge" clocks in at a meager thirty-three minutes, which is simply too short for a full-length album.... Regardless, he is back, and better than ever.

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

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.

Making an album is a team game, and the end product isn't big enough, not quite as daring or bold as we may well have expected.

He has created a haunting, unique, and well-realized artistic statement that is the perfect soundtrack for the early hours of the morning.

"Idlewild" seems to prove they're two seperate artists even more than the last double album did.

At least a third of the tracks are songs I could do without. The other two-thirds show that whether you love or hate the modern day Marshall Mathers, he's still as relevant as he ever was.

He's never too sappy, too apologetic, or too mean-spirited.

Sometimes this anger is ugly and interesting. Sometimes it is shallow and shocking. But something tells me that, while I have no trouble dismissing loads of offensive hip-hop, I won't be able to write this one off so easily.

On the whole it works more often than not though, as Morello and Riley have a genuine and unforced chemistry.

If Jay-Z is like a smooth mellow shot of Maker's Mark, then Mad Child is like wolfing Bacardi 151 and Swollen Members follows it with a smooth Prevail chaser. If you like the burn, this machine is beautiful.

It’s a good album. ... Emo rappers often tend to release short albums with even shorter tracks, and this one is suspiciously long and incredibly overloaded with talent.

Within the initial audio assault of "Matangi" lies a fine album, but it's also one that could have done with some pruning, a bit more care taken in the sequencing and perhaps a bit more self-belief.

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.

Even with the occasional humorless rhyme and plodding beat, Joey Badda$$'s latest mixtape is further proof that he is a force to be reckoned with, and that the hype around him is not unwarranted.

[A] fun, rambunctious, guilty pleasure of an album.

After three decades in the music business, it's inspiring to see him deliver an excellent album: overseeing it, driving his guests/writers/producers onto greater things and delivering it in an interesting way is no mean feat. His voice has matured.

Despite the prolific amount of material having the possibility of thinning out the quality of his beats and rhymes, Plies just keeps getting better with every CD.

It's [the] beats by Danger Mouse that make "Demon Days" a winner, even when the Gorillaz concept threatens to overwhelm itself with pretentious twaddle.

Despite it's unevenness, Ridin High is a nice portfolio from an up-and-coming duo.

Home might be a bust as an instrumental hip-hop album, but it is very successful as a piece of well-crafted electronic music.

It's funny and soulful, and will help keep the blues at bay.

The sound's still high quality on "Shock Value II," it's just not 100% his own any more - maybe 50%, maybe 75%, all depending on what the co-credits really mean.

Overall Bandana is certainly a solid album. It was one of 2019’s most anticipated releases and, while it’s not as good as “Pinata”, it’s still a worthy inclusion in any hip-hop fan’s collection.

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."

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.