It is remarkable that this man never made a project better than this.

I've seen criticisms that refer to To Pimp A Butterfly as the quintessential Obama-era album in its political messaging, and with nearly a decade of hindsight, I do not necessarily disagree with that. As I get older, I find myself connecting less and less with some of the political messaging of this album. However, TPAB's greatest strength is not in that. Rather, it's a meditation on Kendrick Lamar as a person. He struggles with adjusting to fame, deals with survivor's guilt, family issues, the ... read more

There is not much that I can say about this that hasn't been said ad nauseum over the last eleven and a half years. To Pimp a Butterfly was my favorite Kendrick album for years, but good kid, m.A.A.d city has resonated with me more and more as I've gotten older, and it has more than earned its spot among the greatest musical works of our (or any) era.

This would be up there with the absolute best work of her career (Lemonade, Renaissance, the majority of her self-titled album) if it was like... 20 minutes shorter. Even though it's not perfect, it's still quite great and a worthy addition to what's developed into one of the most interesting discographies in modern music.

Favorite tracks: AMERIICAN REQUIEM, BODYGUARD, DAUGHTER, RIIVERDANCE, II HANDS II HEAVEN, TYRANT
Least favorite tracks: SPAGHETTII, LEVII'S JEANS

Tracks 10-16 are some of the best songs she’s ever made. Agora Hills might be the best song of her career so far, even with the dubious Fortnite bar. Unfortunately, this album is 17 tracks long and largely falls short of the lofty expectations she placed on it. Ultimately still good though.

Blu is the most consistent rapper in the game at this point. Following a very tumultuous first half of the 2010s marred by self-sabotage that resulted in him being dropped from a major label and otherwise middling (in some cases, outright bad) music, Blu has returned to form in a big way since 2015's Madlib-produced Bad Neighbor but ESPECIALLY since 2018's Oh No-produced A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night. The beats don't always do him justice, but Blu's bars and the cast of features ... read more

There's something to be said about the joy with which Noname is rapping these days. I loved her previous works, but they sounded like they came from a rapper who isn't nearly as confident in their abilities as a rapper of her caliber probably should be. On Sundial, she sounds energetic and like a person who finally realized, "yeah, I'm great at this."

The production is wonderful, and I was happy to see that Saba had two credits in that department, though I wish he rapped on here as ... read more

WrestleMania 40 is in Philly... Uzi is going to play Shinsuke Nakamura to the ring, isn't he?

History was always going to be kind to this tape, and the user score proves that.

A good, not great album. There are people who do this sound in a more interesting way. However, Reuben is still very young so maybe in five years, he'll have hit his stride. For now, it just feels like he's drowning in his influences, namely Phonte, Saba, and maybe even a little bit of Murs. I'll have to keep an eye on him though.

I've been listening to a lot of old soul this week, and I have to say that this is one of the best soul releases of the 1970s, and by extension, one of the best soul releases of all time. Words don't do this album justice.

It's a really good album that I'll probably never feel the desire to listen to in full again. Not going to rate it. Kingdom Hearts Key was added to the playlist though, that's one of the best songs of the year in my opinion.

Bar for bar, this is up there with some of Logic's most thoughtful and introspective music ever. The biggest issue, of course, are the skits. I get that they exist to help move along the narrative of the album, but I can't help but feel that they're too long, not particularly funny most of the time, and attached to the end of some really great songs. I've already acquired a fanmade skitless version, but I chose to talk about the version on streaming services because that's the one most readily ... read more

Gave this album another few listens and man, it's great. I don't know what kind of mood I was in last year, but this is one of the better R&B releases in a while. Looking forward to hearing what she does next.

Really, really great (occasionally flat-out stunning) record. This may be high praise, but I hear a lot of Amy Winehouse in her style. This is going to get a LOT of play from me this year.

Rough listen.

It's fun!

This bumps in the whip.

This is a hot mess.

Foushee clearly doesn't know what she wants musically at this point in her career. She has a GREAT voice and adapts to different styles incredibly well. But my goodness, this project is all over the place. That's not necessarily a bad thing because I don't think there's a song on here that's terrible, but there are things she excels at and things she does not. The opening track is outstanding, and I thought that was the direction we were headed in, but then she tries other sounds, namely the ... read more