Following up Cross was always going to be a nearly impossible task. That debut was an era-defining explosion that smashed electro, rock, and pure chaos together into something totally wild and unforgettable. So of course, expectations were sky-high.

With Audio, Video, Disco., Justice took a different route. Rather than trying to one-up the raw energy of Cross, they dialled things back, though not completely, but enough to make you feel it. This album leans more into prog rock, vintage synths, ... read more

Take Care is where Drake really became Drake. Sure, Thank Me Later put him on the map, but this album is where his sound, his persona, and his signature style of vulnerability and arrogance all came together in full form. It’s moody, melancholic, a little self-obsessed, and somehow that made it timeless for a whole generation.

From the opening notes of Over My Dead Body, you can tell Drake went for a more melancholic direction. Then Shot For Me slides in with Drake doing his classic ... read more

Nothing But the Beat marks the peak of David Guetta’s transition into the full-on pop-EDM machine. And it’s got a few moments that were everywhere back then. Titanium with Sia is probably the best thing to come out of it, Without You is fine, Where Them Girls At is pretty much still a banger, and I Can Only Imagine is still sort of hitting. But that’s really about it.

The rest is just a boring blur of generic EDM drops, uninspired beats, and a bunch of features that ... read more

Kevin Parker really made himself some introduction with InnerSpeaker, and damn, what a way to enter the scene. This debut is one that immediately sticks with you, and stays with you forever. InnerSpeaker is a record that I just keep coming back to. And it already begins with the cover art, which already accurately gives a glimpse of what the album would sound like: psychedelic as hell.

From the opening track It Is Not Meant to Be, you know you’re in for something reaklly special. And ... read more

And my ears hurt from listening.

I’m sorry, but did we really wait this long for this? And honestly, didn’t we leave this sound back in 2019?

Look, Pi'erre Bourne has contributed a lot to modern rap over the past decade. His production has shaped a whole wave of artists and hits, and he deserves credit for that. But when it comes to rapping, he’s just never been that guy. And Made In Paris really drives that home. The rapping here is just really uninspired, generic, and just tiring to sit through. This ... read more

Pharrell is on a pretty great streak right now, huh?

This track definitely extends that streak. The beat is really bouncy and fun, just classic Pharrell. And then Rick Ross comes in and glides over it like only he can. His delivery has so much charisma, as always. Really vibey track. Nothing groundbreaking, but it does exactly what it’s supposed to do.

Lorde’s finally back. After the somewhat forgettable Solar Power, she returns with a pretry fine album: Virgin. When the singles dropped, I was a bit indifferent. I really liked Hammer, but What Was That and Man of the Year didn’t do too much for me, though they were still decent. Thankfully, the full album brings back a bit of that signature Lorde vibe, while still evolving a bit from the Solar Power era. It’s not quite Melodrama levels, but it feels like a subtle return to ... read more

What a dull and painfully safe single, again. Maroon 5 really should’ve called it quits like seven years ago. Their formula has been worn thin for years (if not completely dried up already) and All Night is just another lifeless attempt at a hit. It’s so plain and unseasoned it almost hurts to listen to.

The lyrics don’t say anything, the beat feels like it was pulled from a stock library, and then there’s that random saxophone that comes in. It’s supposed to ... read more

This was pretty disappointing. I didn’t have super high expectations to begin with because it’s just a soundtrack album, and the singles weren’t all that promising, but still, this ended up being really dull. Honestly, the only song I genuinely liked was the one by Don Toliver and Doja Cat. That one had some energy and style.

Surprisingly, the Tiësto and Sexyy Red track was also one of the more listenable ones, which says a lot. The rest of the album just doesn’t ... read more

I’m kind of indifferent about this one. It’s enjoyable enough, like, Don’s signature sound is still there, but it’s also getting pretty repetitive at this point. Tbh, this track feels more like a leftover or deluxe cut from Hardstone Psycho than a fresh new direction. It doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.

This track also kind of reflects the current state of mainstream hip hop. We’re hitting that point where it’s starting to feel a little ... read more

Where the hell do you even start with this one? MBDTF is hands down one of the best rap albums of all time. No debate. After the whole Taylor Swift thing, Kanye was basically blacklisted, hated by the media, turned into a meme, and honestly just written off by a lot of people. But what does he do? He goes quiet, heads to Hawaii, gathers the Avengers of hip hop and production, wears suits in the studio, locks in, and drops an actual masterpiece. This album was a statement, a culture-defining ... read more

Now this is how you kick down the door with a debut. Reasonable Doubt is one of the greatest rap albums of all time, and it was only a debut album? Man what the actual fuck. What JAY-Z delivered here is just pure class. He came into the game fully formed, like he’d already been doing this for 30 years. The confidence, the presence, the storytelling, the mafioso vibe, the hunger, all of it is on full display.

This album is the blueprint (no pun intended) for that street-mafioso sound. ... read more

With Watch the Throne, we really witnessed history. WTT was a full-blown cultural event, and everybody locked in. You’ve got two of hip-hop’s biggest giants, both at the top of their games, teaming up to make a record that flexes luxury, legacy, and lyrical dominance. It was flashy, indulgent, powerful, and that was the whole point of it. This album was about showing you how high the ceiling could go when you combine Kanye’s creative madness with Jay’s cold and ... read more

This is exactly how you announce your arrival. LIVE.LOVE.A$AP is such an incredible and impressive debut. From the second Palace kicks in, you knew Rocky wasn’t playing around. He immediately showed you his signature sound: calm, confident, composed, and completely in control of this hypnotic, hazy soundscape that would become his trademark.

What’s wild is that Rocky came up in New York, yet this tape doesn’t sound anything like traditional East Coast rap. Instead, he pulled ... read more

With F.A.M.E., Chris Brown made a bit of a commercial comeback, and it’s definitely a small step up from Graffiti, which was just a mess overall. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because F.A.M.E. still suffers from many of the same issues that have haunted his discography: a lack of depth, way too much filler, and that overly polished, radio-chasing sound that leaves little room for real artistry.

There are some solid tracks here, no doubt. She Ain’t You is one of the ... read more

The album where the Ed Sheeran invasion began. This is where the torture started, but not yet where it peaked. I’ll give it that. Compared to the overly polished, mathematically-titled pop machines that came later, this debut feels less manufactured. But that doesn’t save it from being a pretty dull listen overall.

There's this acoustic-boy-next-door charm he was clearly going for, but most of the songs just kind of blend together into this beige, coffeehouse background music. ... read more

If House of Balloons was the shock to the system, and Thursday was the introspective slow-burn, then Echoes of Silence is the final descent into darkness. And this mixtape might just be the most haunting and emotionally raw of the three. This mixtape feels like the moment where all the heartbreak and emotional detachment finally catches up to him. You can hear it in his voice, in the production, in the silences between the beats. This is Abel at his most stripped down, and not in terms of ... read more

Till this date, it’s still pretty wild how quickly The Weeknd followed up House of Balloons with another incredible project. Thursday might not have the instant shock factor or cohesive perfection of House of Balloons, but damn, it’s still great. It proves that Abel wasn’t just a one-project wonder. He had a whole vision, and this second instalment of the trilogy makes that crystal clear.

Right from the start, Lonely Star sets the tone. Still one of my favourite songs of his, ... read more

I’m not gonna lie… I absolutely loved this back then😭 We all did, let's be real. You can act like you didn’t, but when Party Rock Anthem dropped, you were shuffling at the playground with your friends. LMFAO was literally everywhere. And yeah, Sexy and I Know It was dumb as hell, but it got stuck in your head whether you wanted it to or not. There’s no shame in admitting it, we all had our LMFAO phase, even if it only lasted a few months and was probably ... read more