While the dream pairing of Fabolous & Jadakiss didn't quite live up to the immense expectations, they did deliver a mostly satisfying project that's more Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana than Kanye and Hov. But ultimately they delivered in the area that mattered the most - the bars.
Big Sean may not get the full respect he deserves from people, myself included, but he has proved yet again that he's one of hip-hop's most solid, consistent artists out there today. While I Decided. is more of a half-step forward for Sean than a giant leap ahead, it shows why it's time he gets mentioned among hip-hop's elite.
DROGAS Light saw Lupe trying to prove something that nobody was arguing, and the result is some of his least interesting music this side of LASERS. It's time he dropped the pretentiousness and got back in touch with his core before it's too late.
Pretty Girls Like Trap Music was a welcome return to that hard trap music that made me a fan of 2 Chainz in the first place. There's some real heat on this one and his sharp wit and clever wordplay were on full display. There were some dope nods to the early 2000's trap classics and while this album doesn't quite reach that mark, it is really high quality.
Rad Brown has just shared his energetic new single, "Pace Myself," an eclectic hip-hop single giving off vibes of early Asher Roth.
Dramatic piano-driven soul and uplifting lyrics make Logic and Ryan Tedder's "One Day" a very enjoyable listen.
Vince Staples' latest shows full love to west coast hip-hop and although extremely short, it delivers fully on its concept and gives us what would have been some fantastic summertime tunes. Great music nonetheless and a welcome return to his foundations.
Tory Lanez is an undeniable talent and he continues to put out extremely solid music but, it's still not all that compelling or particularly original.
Lil Baby keeps things the exact same for what is essentially 'Harder Than Ever 1.5'; enjoyable but inconsequential.
This time around on Cozy Tapes the 'friends' really take away from what could've been some interesting songs. They should've let Rocky carry the tape like the first time, instead we ended up with a couple throwaway hype tracks and not a whole lot more.
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.
Our thoughts, opinions, and live reaction to the latest album from Hit-Boy, 'SURF OR DROWN.'
Our thoughts, opinions, and live reaction to the latest album from Drake, 'For All the Dogs.'
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.
Rapper AKTHESAVIOR and lo-fi producer sagun have officially unveiled their collaborative new record 'u r not alone' in its entirety.
Made in 1993, 'CB4' was a consistently funny satire of the hip-hop music and culture of that specific era and likely Chris Rock's best movie he played a lead role in.
Our thoughts, opinions, and live reaction to the latest album from ScHoolboy Q 'BLUE LIPS.' Did he bring TDE back?
Reason's 'There You Have It' is yet another solid project from TDE, but he still needs to develop his own unique musical identity to really stand out as an artist.
Prepare to be uplifted as LilYugen, unveils his latest single "Sun Is Up", drawing on the infectious energy of early Kid Cudi.
Flytrap was an unexpectedly dope album for me; fusing traditional East hip-hop with modern Southern influences to create some of the best modern East coast hip-hop I've heard in a while. Pro Era just might have their next breakout artist.
The beef was reignited between longtime adversaries Eminem and Benzino, but did anybody need this?? Let's chat.
For his first fully independent project in a while Action Bronson plays things surprisingly safe and outside of a few instances, he doesn't really deliver any 'wow' moments like we're used to.
Young Thug's formula hasn't changed much and with younger, hungrier acts on the rise that seem to be doing his style to a higher degree, we're going to need to hear something more impactful if he's to remain relevant in music.
While there's no way that this was the exact vision Lil Peep had for this project, they still did a good job of highlighting the immense talent and potential he had as an artist that could blur genre lines and be the face of this new "emo rap" wave.