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

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.

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.”

In the City offers good production, excellent melodies, and - of course - the same song, idea(s), and kinds of guest appearances many times over.

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

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.

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

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.

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’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.

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.

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.

York is an interesting and often times bizarre album.

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.

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

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.

Where a lack of rhymes fail them, the hip-rock-electronica music carries them forward into music that's passable even when it's not profound. So long as you get it, LMFAO may not change the world, but it's a fun way to kill time. Just don't drink like they do or you'll kill brain cells too.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

He sounds positively dated.

The danger though is that The King & I turns into a new version of the "Duets" album, simply rebranded as a Faith Evans album featuring snippets of her late husband. This is exacerbated on the second half of the album by one rap all-star cameo after another.

You'll keep looking for songs with more depth than "Ba Bump," only to find that they're basically all at that level.

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.