A missed opportunity to progress.

I Am Not a Human Being II flashes moments of brilliance, but it's far from his best work.

The problem with Full Speed is that Kid Ink is often lost within his own album, as the listener anticipates the next song that's defined by its guest feature.

Despite being billed as his fifth album, it's nowhere near the level of his strong, yet largely overrated debut "Get Rich or Die Tryin'".

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.

There are enough songs with worthwhile beats and guests to hold this album together to some degree, and depending on whether or not you like Flocka's lyrical style will be the degree.

While it may churn out a few hits, The Hard Way ultimately is a letdown.

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

[comon] managed to record a whole ten scenes, I mean tracks, over the course of the year, and at least three of them are listenable.

Very little is going on lyrically above but Smoke’s energy is priceless. That same energy is only marginally filtered through these swift-moving tracks. The entire album is more of an elongated intro to the Cactus Jack brand.

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

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 beats are solid enough, if not as universally banging as circa Luda '01. The album flows well, has some replay value and tries a few little tricks here and there.

While the beats are relatively mediocre and not at all unusual for this brand of hip hop, they do a decent job matching the dark picture Gucci paints. Unfortunately, that picture is more of a rough sketch as Gucci steers more toward unrefined flows and bland, mechanically arching vocals rather than a more thought out approach.

Your patience will be especially tested during the closing trio of songs that could have been better had they been a couple minutes shorter and/or delivered with more zest musically.

Even though there's little to nothing of intellectual nourishment for the majority of "Jungle Rules," there are slick songs like the Beat Billionaire produced Young Thug feature "Black Out" that you can literally do just that to.

There's simply not enough substance and individuality for me to call this a good rap album. But at the intersection of rap and pop it doesn't embarrass either side.

It feels like the audio version of Madonna releasing a coffee table art book of her sexual exploits, and I’m not in any way judging you if you get off on that, but it’s just not my thing.

The end result is an album that is as unsuccessful as it is daring.

On his new self-titled album Future loses sight of qualities that made his last run at the top a memorable one.

Overall this album has some definite stand out tracks: "Not the Only One," "2 Phones," "La Familia" and "Time For That." The rest of the project is not bad, it's just generally underwhelming.

Overall, aside from some promising lines and one, maybe two standout tracks, “Richer Than I Ever Been” is an album that predictably falls short. It simply features too many weak beats backing up bars that often do more to bore than they do to convey a sense of skill or originality.

I fully respect his artistic and creative choices and his right to be his own man and not be defined by his years as a seminal underground rapper. I respect his choices, but I still pine for a Camu Tao we don't hear on this album and that we won't hear ever again. In the end I feel that his potential still went untapped.

Relentlessly preachy music can be just as obnoxious as the relentlessly vapid, but even pop music can offer more substance than this. If this album was a soda, it would be light and bubbly, yet its sugar free nature would make you crave a Mexican soda in a glass bottle instead.

Amusing, yes. Revolutionary? Not quite so much. ... Right now she's doing what sells and it's "Bodak Yellow" all day until her 15 minutes fades away.

Drake breaks no new ground here, and retreads the same tales of love and regret so many times that the songs bleed together. If you just want background music for making love, this is your album. If you want to have your imagination captured by fantastic tales or be taken on an emotional roller coaster, don’t bother. There are no highs or lows here. We’re on medium the whole time.

Until Trey adds another layer to his songs, whether it be humor, empathy or any emotion other than a caveman-like approach to sex; Trigga remains a hollow, if tempting prospect for men that may well woo your woman, but is unlikely to keep your attention after.

Lyrically, let us not sugar coat the situation and pretend that he's some sort of Pulitzer prize winner in waiting. But in conjunction with the upgraded music, 2 Chainz has definitely put more work into his punchlines and it is most welcome.