'TDT' is more of a continuation of Big K.R.I.T.'s last album than a major step forward, but it's a solid offering that shows he's continuing to expand his range as an artist.
Concepts albums are an extremely hard thing to pull off, especially ones that delve into the subject matter that Logic does. While it's not a perfect execution and there are some moments of heavy handedness he's still able to inject it with enough subtlety as to not take away from a largely enjoyable listening experience and it's production is his absolute best yet. Logic is getting better with each passing album and it's time we talked about him among rap's greats.
CZARFACE & MF Doom put out a generally competent, but not particularly exciting, project that aims to please the hip-hop purists out there. But it's largely lethargic feel and average rhymes probably won't satisfy even the staunchest traditionalists out there.
4:44 is Jay-Z's shortest, sharpest, and most concise album yet. He has a lot to get off his chest and he doesn't hold anything back, whether that relates to Beyonce, Kanye, or this new generation of rappers. This is the most hip-hop shit to drop all year with the exception of maybe Kendrick.
'Kids See Ghosts' is almost impossible to categorize the sound they've crafted but it's wholly their own it's got some very strong vibes. Not quite on Daytona levels, but definitely better than Kanye's own offering out of the bunch.
Lyricism and his respect for the culture and tradition of hip-hop is still front and center but with a modern NY sound and feel that doesn't feel too contrived like it did at times on Paranoia. This is the Dave East I've been waiting for - full of lyrical venom, vivid storytelling, and street wise gravitas, yet still in touch with the times.
If you've had a hard time keeping up with the endless stream of music Curren$y puts out and skip one or two projects here and there, make sure you don't miss this one.
Our thoughts, opinions, and live reaction to the latest album from ScHoolboy Q 'BLUE LIPS.' Did he bring TDE back?
Vic Mensa pens a deeply personal and politically conscious debut album that delivers solid production and lyricism but doesn't deliver the promised star quality you expect from someone signed by Hov himself.
Quality Control's first compilation is essentially Migos and friends. A smart move on their parts but it did very little to convince that their other acts are worth my attention. There are some real highlights here but you have to dig through a lot of trash to get to a "Pop Sh*t."
Throughout Western history, music has had a place in daily life - growing its foothold year after year. With the turn of each decade, music has turned as well. Perhaps in an effort to appeal to a developing society... Perhaps as an indicator of that same society's development...
Tubi's catalog is stacked with just about every overlooked, forgotten, or possibly imaginary film to ever feature a rapper.
It's volatile, angry, aggressive, and unrelentingly experimental - basically everything we've come to expect from a Death Grips project.
While you can draw comparisons to many well-known rappers, J’Moris exhibits enough individuality and musical/lyrical capabilities to pique the interest of both hip-hop connoisseurs and those not that familiar with the genre.
'Stay Dangerous' doesn't really elevate his career to any new heights but it doesn't negatively impact it either. It's a YG album full of everything you'd expect from a YG record and it does enough to keep things coasting along.
Lil Baby & Gunna's latest is yet another collab project that does very little, if anything, to push either one of their careers forward. It's largely an unremarkable cash grab.
Our thoughts, opinions, and live reaction to the latest album from Don Toliver, 'Love Sick.'
There's definitely some interesting concepts on the project, but as whole it didn't really deliver something very compelling - still leaving Denzel Curry on the outside looking in.
Lute delivered a really well executed project full of those relatable every man raps and earnest music now synonymous with J. Cole's label Dreamville. However, I'm still not convinced that Lute has enough charisma and personality as a rapper to really leave a mark on music.
King Krule's latest is not an easy album by any measure; you can’t just throw it on and immediately be taken in, it’s meant to be sat with and slowly digested as its many idiosyncrasies slowly reveal themselves. But once I let go of my expectations of what an album is supposed to sound like, I couldn’t help but get pulled into his mad soundscapes of isolation, anxiety, and slightly out of tune instruments. It’s as much a work of art as it is an album, but for someone who loves the odd and experimental as much as I do, The OOZ was about as rich an album as I’ve heard all year.
With 'Creatures,' RPxSB certainly deliver the longest, and possibly one of the more inventive hip-hop albums this year.
Like all of Wiz Khalifa's recent projects, 'Rolling Papers 2' has it's fair share of noteworthy moments, but that gap between the really good and the really bad is still wide as ever.
Yelawolf continues that same blending of genres present on Love Story, but this go around the music is decidedly more southern rock driven than country and noticeably angrier. Overall I think it was a smart choice of treading familiar ground while deviating enough to still be fresh, making Trial By Fire another solid step forward for him and it's unlike almost anything else out there.
For the second year in a row the most talked about inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame isn't from rock, but rap; and for the second year in row there's a lot of bitching about whether or not hip-hop belongs. For a long time, I have been adamantly for it because classic hip-hop definitely shares that same spirit and feeling that birth rock and roll. But as it's grown and evolved as a genre it's become clearer than ever that it's time they cut the cord.