Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2007 Finding Forever Common ★★★½ 72 Hip-Hop Finding Forever is the victim of being in the shadow of the classic Common album that came out just a few years prior. The album is a clear step down from Be, both for Common as an emcee and for Kanye WestContinue reading “Finding Forever – Common ★★★½”
Tag Archives: Hip-hop
Universal Mind Control – Common ★★
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2008 Universal Mind Control Common ★★ 39 Hip-Hop There was a lot to be excited about in late 2008, when Common was about to release new music. Common was coming off of his two most successful albums, and was about to make the third of his deal with GOODContinue reading “Universal Mind Control – Common ★★”
To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar ★★★★★
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2015 To Pimp A Butterfly Kendrick Lamar ★★★★★ 96 Hip-Hop West Coast Hip-Hop Jazz Rap I remember the night To Pimp A Butterfly came out. The album’s two lead singles helped build up hype in Kendrick Lamar’s fanbase — which had slowly but steadily grew in size since 2012’sContinue reading “To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar ★★★★★”
LULU – Conway the Machine ★★★★
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2020 LULU Conway the Machine ★★★★ 77 Hip-Hop At only 22 minutes long, Conway the Machine might technically consider LULU an EP, but it feels like a complete album, and The Alchemist’s production just transports you into Conway’s world, with HARD bass notes, menacing, dissonant synths and gritty, methodicalContinue reading “LULU – Conway the Machine ★★★★”
I Know NIGO! – Nigo ★★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2022 I Know Nigo! Nigo ★★★½ 72 Hip-Hop I Know Nigo! Is a quick, fun, hip-hop compilation record curated by Japanese fashion designer and BAPE founder Nigo. A DJ with Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boy, the second album under his name — and first since way back in 2000Continue reading “I Know NIGO! – Nigo ★★★½”
Straight Outta Compton – NWA ★★
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 1988 Straight Outta Compton N.W.A. ★★ 40 Hip-Hop Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. was a monumental and pioneering hip-hop record, but age has not been kind to it, and while you have to talk about how instrumental the album was in forming gangsta rap, highly political music about racialContinue reading “Straight Outta Compton – NWA ★★”
House of Balloons -The Weeknd ★★★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2011 House of Balloons The Weeknd ★★★★½ 87 Hip-Hop R&B Alternative R&B I really love how House of Balloons flows from beginning to end, that the subjects and themes return from song to song, and put the main character through a wringer of emotions and situations delivered with R&BContinue reading “House of Balloons -The Weeknd ★★★★½”
The Impossible Kid – Aesop Rock ★★★
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2016 The Impossible Kid Aesop Rock ★★★ 60 Hip-Hop The Impossible Kid is a fine album from a rapper who’s a holdout from an era of underground, electronic alternative New York-based hip hop that never really thrived or flourished into the mainstream. While most of Aesop Rock’s peers fromContinue reading “The Impossible Kid – Aesop Rock ★★★”
Whole Lotta Red – Playboi Carti ★★½
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2020 Whole Lotta Red Playboi Carti ★★½ 46 Hip-Hop Playboi Carti is an artist who has always been more about vibe and aesthetic than substance. His beat selection mixed with adlibs, repetitive hooks and lyrics make for a hypnotic, non-stop, “get hype” experience that all runs and flows together. Continue reading “Whole Lotta Red – Playboi Carti ★★½”
RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART – Vince Staples ★★★★
Year Album Artist Stars Score Genre 2022 RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART Vince Staples ★★★★ 80 Hip-Hop Vince Staples has done it again, creating another highly-consistent and cohesive hip-hop album in RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART, which sounds both very different from anything he’s done before and also feels exactly like any other album VinceContinue reading “RAMONA PARK BROKE MY HEART – Vince Staples ★★★★”
Fresh Out The Deli 