So long as you don't expect Shakespeare and don't presume this to be a rap album, you won't be mad. It's pure pop done the way Pharrell does it.

When push comes to shove, there are only about three songs here that merit that kind of mindshare--and none of those come close to his best singles. By his standards, Mastermind is technically a good album, but neither timely nor memorable.

The production is too inconsistent to get him there, but it's certainly not due to a lack of intrinsic talent on his part. Keep your eyes on Q.

Beach House EP is cringeworthy, brainless hip hop at its worst.

This isn't their greatest album, but there's plenty to enjoy from Evidence, Alchemist, the carefully chosen guests and the mostly excellent instrumentals--Steppington isn't a fully realised character but a thin theme binding together a very good collection of eccentric hip hop.

Kid Ink hasn't so much found his own lane, but taken the well-worn stretch of road that's littered with empty beer bottles and discarded condoms; a road frequented by beautiful video-models and catchy hooks. Despite this, My Own Lane is tasteful, smooth and if taken at face value, an enjoyable example of radio-friendly hip hop.

Decidedly hit and miss, it's the songs that stray beyond the typical tales of money, sex and cars that are worth returning to.

This more cerebral music is interesting and challenging, but it is missing some of immediacy of his earlier work.

If you can get past the ignorance, this is enjoyable for what it is - an album to be played loudly in your car, with the windows down and a middle finger up to anybody who looks at you disapprovingly.

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

Dam-Funk's production is solid and quite funky, while Snoop's personality shines through his vocals just as they have for the past twenty years or so.

It's fair to say he's not a Childish Gambino any more though--he's an Adult Gambino.

Doris may not get the party started, but it's still an inspiring album.

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.

This feels fresh yet familiar; a throwback picture in a modern frame. ... The truest of Eminem fans out there ... will absolutely lap it up.

Hip hop is an artform based on messages, yet all too frequently he comes across as a messenger with little to report.

While none of the songs are straight terrible (except "Bugatti") none leave me feeling like I'd want to leave the CD in my whip on a long trip--it would probably lull me to sleep and I'd crash.

While there are some good songs on Some Say it is often a frustrating listen, which is all the more disappointing given Ghostpoet's potential as an artist.

By Janelle Monae's lofty standards, this is still very good, but not quite as great as her previous offering.

Brown's self-awareness of his situation doesn't seem to have made him alter his intake. At least it has allowed him to make an incredible album.

Not so much a victim of his own success, but an unwillingness to take risks in the name of music.

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

This is certainly a fine album, pretty much throughout.

Stay Trippy may not be the album you play for doubters to prove the artistic merits of hip-hop, and its subject matter wears thin after a while, but damn if it doesn't sound good loud.

Nothing Was the Same is a good album, occasionally great, but sometimes you end up yearning for more of those epic Drake SONGS, of which there aren't nearly enough.

The 40 or so minutes of "All People" are what I imagine taking a shower in a waterfall on a hot summer day would be like--nd if you're too far removed from nature to do that then it's like putting on your swim trunks and running around an open fire hydrant.

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.

It's too bad they didn't spend more time polishing this so that it could be a great album instead of a pretty good one.