Anthony Malone

Armand Hammer aren’t prophets, they’re regular individuals feeling the increasing pressures of the world. Test Strips focuses on what’s remaining of humanity, and how our experiences in the past are reflected in adulthood.

Voir Dire is an exceptional collection of raps, but missing connectivity between Earl and Alc holds back the tape’s potential. Where Earl breathes life into his verses, Alc plays it safe with more simple ideas that feel a bit boring and recycled.

454’s past work blurred the lines of hyperpop, trap, and elements of plug, whereas Surf Gang originated in heavy sampling, drill, and alternative trap. On Fast 5, they share each other’s worlds in order to create something fun and entirely refreshing.

Alchemist’s Flying High EP is an enjoyable listen, but there’s a shrouding feeling that the legendary producer has gotten comfortable creatively.

Bishop’s storytelling is exceptional, learning from generations of west coast emcees who created the blueprint. GENERATIONAL CURSE excites the future, and for Bishop, the future couldn’t be brighter.

Afterlyfe isn’t a departure in sound; it’s an experimental experience that delivers some of Yeat’s most exciting and worst work.

Beware of the Monkey cautions the imminent dangers of depression. But through learning to avoid its pitfalls, he’s found comfort as a rapper with increasing fame, and he’s learning to cope with the grief.

Music in 2022 lacks any viable shelf life due to how easily digestible the streaming era has become. Dozens of releases are listened to and consumed within hours until the next “highly-anticipated” release. But The Elephant Man’s Bones subverts this, by being the realization of internet dream collaboration chatter, where the result is better than fantasy.

Trifecta 2 is an accessible gateway into the world of VPN scams and nervous production, making the project a worthy addition to the Michigan rap catalog.

Ken Carson lacks the creativity that made Yeat redefine the English language or Sofaygo’s niche for back pocket melodies. Instead, he cruises throughout the 48-minute runtime on autopilot, eventually running out of things to say and seemingly hoping no one will notice.

Look At Me: The Album is another reminder of the plague of milking an artist’s work through posthumous material.

It’s Almost Dry is a good rap record that delivers a few hard hitting tracks, some great production and bar-for-bar excellence by one of the best rappers in the game, but the album lacks the bite of past releases.

Colors suffer from an overabundance of songs that inflates the project, ruining what could be a more digestible project if the fat was trimmed and tracks such as “Snow Bunny”— a generic and cookie cutter love song with the depth of a pond — didn’t populate almost half of the tracklist.

SICK! is Earl’s victory lap but on an emotional level. He finds acceptance in himself, his growing responsibilities and place in rap.

Balens Cho sports a more optimistic tone compared to Pray for Haiti’s thick grit and grime, but the rhymes never lose potency.

LP!, while not the full vision of what he wanted due to copyright issues and record labels’ limiting artistic rules, is a way for him to take back his creativity and, most importantly, his freedom.

Folarin II places Wale back in a focused light but brings more attention to the lack of accolades given to him rather than the quality of his current output. Appreciation should be paid to rap veterans but when it becomes a main focus, it can grow tiresome. And yet, Wale has a point, even if it’s delivered in a grating way.

Trust Fund Babies doesn’t succeed much at all, but it does create anticipation for Wayne’s next solo work and further shows that even in his late 30s, Wayne can still rap circles around Great Value rappers.

Trip At Knight is his most consistent project to date, though it doesn’t break new ground.

GUMBO’ is arguably Siifu’s greatest work to date. It’s an album that’s accessible but never treads on its underground street cred or lessens the dusty aesthetic to conform.

At times, East sounds rejuvenated and hungry on Hoffa, but those instances are too far and between, muddled by desires for radio play and playlist fodder.