Another good inclusion in the California city series, with some great tracks and features from the likes of Cole, Kendrick, and Push. It doesn't hold up as well as a follow-up to Malibu, mainly with .Paak's sexiness is losing a lot of its charm for me here.

Knxwledge's production here is genuinely great, but outside of a few solid singles, NxWorries doesn't leave much of a lasting impression when it comes to their album craft.

Anderson .Paak's Malibu is neo-soul perfection. 16 tracks of love, sex, community, and family drenched in the salty waves of a California beach on a summer's day. There's nothing quite like it in .Paak's discography, and the rest of the genre, forming a truly unique blend of soul and hip hop.

The beginning of Anderson's California city series is eclectic in the styles it tackles to wild degrees of success, yet leaves hints towards the summer perfection that would be Malibu.

There's a colorfully brilliant cohesion that makes a hemlocke springs standout in the world of visionary pop girlies in her debut album.

Baby Keem's appeal comes from his unique blend of deep-seated pain and unbridled goofiness. The Melodic Blue provided a promising look into Hykeem's future as a songwriter, and Ca$ino doesn't meet those set expectations. I mostly struggle to understand Keem's goal with this album. His duality is still present, the same as it is on The Melodic Blue, but the throughline feels broken. Some tracks have quite the lyrical pull, despite Hykeem writing that he is specifically ... read more

Backward struggles to get off the ground, but manages to stick some kind of landing towards its backend of tracks.

I actually think I love this album. Brent sounds so classic like Michael and Quincy, while tapping into what The Weeknd has made popular this decade, with a focus on intentional songwriting. It's so sexy.

One of the more interesting ventures into Folk Pop I've had. I enjoyed this a good bit.

It's got motion. I had an engaging listen, but nothing makes me think I'll return to it. I have changed my mind about my 5/10 albums in the past, so I guess we'll see.

IDK sets the standard for making an engaging mixtape. He tackles some personal and potent subjects while bouncing around a MIX of styles and ideas. While the album is never boring, nothing particularly stands out as being stellar. Nevertheless, the structure is a artistic feat on its own, and leaves my interested to see what IDK does next.

The DMX feature is awesome, haha.

Love to see my queen Charli killing it these past 2 years, and her sound is one of more perfect matches for a gothic, classical crossover. Wuthering Heights is like an album full of party4us and Everything is romantics, experimenting with some extra edge, but I don't think it all stands out as a monument in her catalogue and evolution.

God forbid a white Latino boy get a little extra Brazilian instrumental motion in the form of an ambient EP following their art pop sailing conceptual epic.

A conceptual single that somehow stretched into a full album, its biggest struggle being that it was made by Jermaine Cole.

Joji's newest album, after a 4-year hiatus, is washed in an all-too-dry sound.

For a double LP as expansive as this, J Cole puts what I consider his foot forward ever. While not every track defends its own necessity, I appreciate Cole's attention to making each one full. It's a long album, but not one that drags or has nothing to say. It just might be saying too much. That said, some of Cole's most memorable lyrics and introspection crop up on The Fall-Off, from The Fall-Off Is Inevitable to I Love Her Again. Ultimately, Cole manages to find some middle ... read more

This is the kind of album that makes you feel cool for being able to listen to music.

I'll say this as a sidenote, because I don't want to take away from the singular identity of this album, but I'm obviously only here because a track was featured in one of my favorite Tyler, the Creator songs. I think hip hop is so important for culture because of its way to introduce so many people like me to music of the past, giving it new life. Artists should remember how important sampling ... read more

Perhaps it's not the masterpiece people were praying for after such a long hiatus for Pretty Boy Flacko, but Don't Be Dumb still delivers a great flow of charming trap tracks that range in various regional US sounds and light experimentation.

Out of all the pop girls, Madison Beer feels to be the least defined persona, leaving the music to fall into a forgettable territory as it lacks in charisma.

When I think about Kate Bush, it's like stepping into a transcendent portal, where the 1980s were merely a setdressing for a timeless sound of unfiltered experimentation. The Dreaming is such a zany world with a biting gothic feel that makes me nostalgic for some hazy dream (intended pun), that I never know whether or not it was ever real.

This album immediately drew me in with its curious album cover. Depicting Kate as Bess Houdini, she kisses Harry Houdini in his chains, passing ... read more