Although a few late quarter misfirings render the album’s title misleading, there is too much good here to say with a straight face that Iggy will amount to nothing more than a flash in the pan.

Despite showing moments of progression and growth throughout the EP, Ty Dolla $ign still has a long way to go in terms of constructing an album, which hopefully will be fine-tuned as he prepares for his major release later this year.

Raekwon’s passion and well-crafted rhymes show he’s still capable of creating high quality work as an MC, but F.I.L.A. is too disjointed to stand beside his best work.

MellowHigh has its thrills with some credit going to Earl’s playful verse on “Cold World,” but too often the album feels stagnant.

The Saga Continues falls hazily to the side. While the project's title indicates the "saga continues"--featuring solid rhymes from each member and sample-heavy beats from Mathematics--it's not the opus that will surpass the classics in Wu's already established legacy.

On Finally Rich he continues to execute a his niche sound, and at a high level.

The album’s biggest issue is its length. ... While the project is lengthy, it’s just good to hear Kid Cudi sound like himself.

Even without being a completely authentic offering from the Killa Beez, Legendary Weapons is a solid listen that can hold fans over and shows the Wu's weapons remain razor sharp, leaving hope for an official LP.

What makes Total Xanarchy shaky is also what makes for an honest debut. Sure, there are moments of redundancy and filler songs that could have been left on the cutting room floor. But a lot of music on this album is fresh, exciting and a sign of the changing times.

Rise Of An Empire, Young Money Entertainment’s sophomore album, is marred by its lack of star power.

French’s tendency for repetitive subject matter and lack of a distinct rhyme or reason in terms of the type of creative direction that solidifies an artist as an entity of their own leaves a bit to be desired from Jungle Rules. Those missteps aside, Jungle Rules is a quality long player with a few worthwhile peaks, in spite of its valleys.

Fetty’s attempt at putting together a full, formal project takes away from the overall prestige of his hits that have been so cherished over the past 12 months. This isn’t to say that the next album will won’t be able to more effectively balance hits and album cuts. But this one feels like the first attempt that it is.

It’s the heated Cash Money conflict that’s carrying the project, no question, but aside from some of his singles and featured verses, this is as focused and engaging as we’ve heard Wayne since Tha Carter III. S4TW2 falls short of being a great standalone project, but it’s not built for that anyway.

The album, while slightly unfocused, does have its moments, and Inglish in particular, has revealed himself to be an artist to keep an eye on going forward.

The majority of the raps are unfortunately provided by ALC and Dr. No: two artists more known for getting busy behind the boards than on the mic.

Without a doubt, 2 Chainz has the formula to make great music--but now we just need a little more substance, and we’re not talking about freebase cocaine.

Rich Gang is not especially lyrical, but that’s not really a shocker; its strengths lie more in its hooks and club appeal, and it’s fully stocked with tracks that demand to be played at ear-shattering and floor-shaking volumes.

Khalifa likely won’t sway opinion of Wiz Khalifa, whether positive or negative. For better or worse, it’s a portrait of the rapper we’ve seen for years. It does do things a little more consistently and adds a little more detail than what we’re used to seeing.

Rubba Band Business plays to Juicy J's strengths and succeeds in highlighting the best of what he has to offer.

There’s just too much ambition and not enough energy to support Event II fully. Planet Deltron used to be more fun.

Woptober includes a few snags in the form of pedestrian offerings such as “Wop,” the repetitive “Right on Time” and the underwhelming Young Dolph collaboration, “Bling Blaww Burr,” but the album finishes strong with the revealing closeout cut, “Addiction.”

Though it runs a little long, Cats & Dogs is a banging, consistent platter that ought to satisfy backpackers and hard-rocks alike.

Banks & Steelz constantly shift shapes and sounds on Anything But Words, but the experimentation doesn’t always work. However, the album never bores even in its uneven tracks.

Like Soul Food, Age Against The Machine tries to succeed in being different and innovative. At times, the results are disastrous, but the album always remains interesting.

While the tides of hip-hop may be in flux, and the release might not break any new ground, the collaborative LP is a genuine and welcomed addition to the modern hip-hop landscape.

More than it's lack of rap, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded suffers most from not fully being any one thing, as it's unable to balance multiple approaches into one package.

At times, he comes across as brilliantly unorthodox with flows, genre-crossing beats and meticulously honest lyrics but those unfamiliar with his outré style may be pushed even further away from the album’s peculiarity.

What works for Wiz is crafting similar songs to perfect the Taylor Gang aesthetic.

Lil B die-hards may accuse I'm Gay of pandering to hip-hop purists; in reality, though, the project's production is high quality and inventive.

Overall, Slime Season 3 stacks up well against Thug’s colorful catalog and is undoubtedly the most listenable mixtape in the series thus far.

Staying in the conversation by releasing a steady stream of new material can be good, but it works best when there’s more cohesion and less filler.

What you'll find in Power & Passion isn't anything outside of his unorthodox style and New York bubble. Rather, it's a fine appetizer before he gears up for an album debut.

SremmLife 2 is by no means a sophomore slump but just doesn’t quite fill the same space as the first installment did last year.

ColleGrove isn’t necessarily a letdown but doesn’t exactly exceed expectations. There are some moments of brilliance from both sides but overall, a collaboration of this magnitude should have stronger replay value across more songs.

Stay Dangerous doesn't quite feel like the grand statement of Still Brazy or My Krazy Life. It's a slight step back from a rapper who is capable of much greater. While the brief glimpses of his personal life aren't quite enough to elevate the project, it's worthwhile to hear him breezing over Mustard beats once again.

If you’re willing adjust to a less joyful Guwop, there are actually some great things happening on Trap House III.

It is simply an album that lacks a clear perspective on the many heavy topics it tackles. A first time listener may walk away feeling very familiar with Freddie Gibbs’ sound, but still unsure of who exactly he is.

Excuse My French is a good album, possibly the best one the Coke Boy could make.

In order to show growth, and furthermore her push for long lasting notoriety, Lil Loaf seems to serve up a different persona on each song. But whether it’s addressing the haters or luring her love in for the kill, the young upstart makes sure to maintain her cool in any and every situation.

With so many personalities vying for attention, the artists struggle to display their own individuality, instead constantly relishing in their new spoils.

While HSC2 is a solid and enjoyable album, we hope that our favorite scientists will tinker with a slightly different, more exciting formula moving forward.

We get a strong dose of the old school Snoop we love and know while getting a little taste of the more distinguished Doggfather who we hope will eventually provide tracks filled with more wisdom and less weed. Don’t count on the latter though.

Tyga has served up a solid effort with The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty, exploring new territory and pushing himself in a different direction than he’d gone during his ratchet past work. It’s just not necessarily a better one.

The problem with Ferg’s swag raps, though, is that like any party (or after-party) that goes on for too long, it ends up just feeling overwrought and repetitive.

For the majority of the 20 tracks, each has a different producer and no two songs sound alike. This both helps and hinders the listening experience. On one hand, the scattered sounds align perfectly with the overarching idea of wildly varying teenage emotions, but on the other, it’s hard to attentively listen to all the way through--especially with a whopping 21 songs.

Finding the balance between sex, love, and ratchet, Testimony is truly a testament to a new era in R&B that shifts safe lyrics to smooth street tales.

There isn’t enough here to make Makonnen’s name start buzzing like it used to. The jury is still out on whether or not he will fade into the one-hit wonder category but one thing is for sure, the EP hinders more than it helps.

He simply doesn’t provide enough flash to continue his meteoric ascent toward becoming an independently viable brand.

He proves easy to listen to both as a capable MC with some shining moments.

With his gruff tone and no-nonsense flow, Rob holds down 14 tracks with only one guest appearance without any problems.

The industry veterans offer a release that's thoughtful and well-crafted.

OF Tape, Vol. 2 works within itself, and adds another project to the growing catalog of the collective.

Pluto may be far from the sun, but Future shines brightest when he aligns with the stars.

What he does on MC4 is play to his strengths. French knows he isn’t a lyrical miracle but recognizes what it takes to make a strong rap song whether he plays point guard or not.

ll in all, the project is a welcome addition to the D-Block rapper’s catalogue, though it’s narrow vision holds the album back from reaching any great heights.

Spanning 16 tracks, 1017 Bricksquad Presents: Gucci Mane & Waka Flocka Flame – Ferrari Boyz gets redundant at times, but it features more studs ("PacMan,") than duds ("Mud Musik").

Ye feels lyrically scatterbrained, as if its creator was unable to focus on anything for long enough to deliver a cohesive message.

At 24 tracks and 98 minutes long, the bloated project sounds like two distinct albums. Often we learn more from a story by what isn’t written, rather than by what is. Lupe spends so much time telling the story of everything, he leaves little room for the listener’s reflection on anything.

The album does not compare to Below The Heavens as the excess number of tracks and the lack of coherence, despite how long Blu and Bombay collaborated to assemble this LP, result in a middle-of-the-road project, regardless if the road is in the West or East.

Simply put, this is a step forward for the Rhymesayers veteran.

With Violence Begets Violence, JMT are as vicious and energetic as ever, reminding why they've been able to enjoy such longevity.

Weighing in at a terse 32 minutes in length, spanning eight tracks plus an introduction, the album is a cohesive and methodical offering yet because of the constrained spin time, neither Bishop Nehru nor MF Doom have the space to flex their creative impulses and push the envelope in their respective spheres.

He treats this debut album like a retail mixtape, and the result is a project that picks off from where The Luca Brasi Story left off. Unfortunately, these high points aren’t enough for him here to progress further.

Big Baby D.R.A.M. does have moments where tracks like “Sweet VA Breeze” and “WiFi” easily blend into each other, sounding a bit too similar. But those middling songs don’t really hinder the overall replay value of the album.

The result is tailored toward the stereotypical collegiate definition of "fun," sounding like the soundtrack to a keg party, rather than the "grown and sexy" interpretation of a good time.

Indicud is an at-times very good album, but it’s certainly no 2001. This isn’t because of a lack of ingenuity or creativity on Cudi’s part, but rather because the decision to act as the project’s sole producer didn’t do him any favors.

The album never reaches jaw-dropping levels because the envelope’s never pushed, but that’s not the point. Albert Einstein is about two artists doing what they do best, and for one of them, it’s a return to form.

Pac Div was hoping to achieve a harder sound with GMB, and when it comes to the tongue-in-cheek "Bank," "Sneakerboxes," which features Chip Gnarly & Big Silk, and "Debo," they certainly get there. But it is when they take a more casual approach to their sound, as on "Slow," which sounds like a club anthem lost at a children's party, or the aimlessly catchy "Can't Help It," that they reach heights only attained by Superman.

He’s perfected his lane, but he hasn’t pushed anything forward or changed anything significantly.

It truly sounds like a vintage New York hip-hop album, and it’ll appeal to those still looking for that. On the flip side, the production is so outdated you can’t help but think that these songs have literally just been sitting around this whole time.

Kurupt’s energy doesn’t carry over to every song on Streetlights.

The songs are short, not mixed particularly well and--perhaps due to his untimely passing--feel unfinished. Had X been around to see this album all the way through and hash out some of its rushed wrinkles, it has the potential to have been his best project yet. But as it sits right now, Skins renders itself another opportunity for XXXTentacion's cult-like following to continue enjoying new music.

He puts out so much that there's no filter, and even bright flashes are clouded by curious moments.

This joint LP produces sub-par lyrics, multiple cartoon beats and a whole lot of, "What the hell did they just say?"

Unfortunately, the third installment of the critically acclaimed series fails to excite.

Dirty Gold‘s shortcomings overshadow the shining moments on the album as Haze struggles to find her identity, somewhere between underground rebel and mainstream player.