darkwiiingduck

A solid comeback album filled with some of the best production I've heard this year. Only complaint is that some of Joey's verses lack some of the substance found on his previous albums.

Although there are a (very) sparse number of good sounding tracks, this album does not accomplish any of the things it set out to. This is quite literally the lowest point in Cudi's career and an LP filled with some of the worst sounding music he's ever created. It's amazing that the same person was able to make this and then bounce back and make Passion Pain & Demon Slayin' just a year later. Whatever happened to him during this point in his life, I would not wish that on my worst enemy.

As the title suggests, this album is not only one of the last times we hear Phife rap his soul out, but it is a heartfelt farewell from his crew and those inspired by him. The project forgoes the heavily jazz-influenced sound of their previous releases and is instead grounded in a fusion of funk, rock and free jazz. As always Phife, Ali and Q-Tip deliver on the vocals and Tip's production adds an amazing touch making this an album you would not be able to get from any other artist. The features ... read more

Westside Gunn has shown time and time again since his first entry in the Hitler Wears Hermes series that while he is an amazing wordsmith, his nack for curation supercedes this and is undoubtedly his best quality. His expertise shines throughout this project from the various expertly selected beats and feature verses from his collaborators. This all results in an excellent, well rounded project and while this is already an album of the year contender, it's good to know that this isn't even his ... read more