Among many other hip hop records of the early 2010s, "Nothing Was The Same" played a big role in shaping my introduction to the broader genre. Listening to this album really feels like traveling back in time; the Drake we hear throughout this record is quite different from the multi-genre industry titan, meme king, and self-obsessed mogul that he'd later become. How so? Because it feels earnest. Sure, there's still elements of Drake's most insufferable navel-gazing ... read more

It's difficult to describe what I love about JPEGMAFIA's music, and what's different about "LP!" from the rest of his discography. In my mind though, it's less about the actual subject matter of his lyrics and more how he uses this diverse array of wild samples to build infectious melodies. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this record to curious listeners, it's an extremely cohesive project that stands out within his catalog for its sheer dynamism ... read more

DISCLAIMER: I tried my best to listen to this record and not have an immediately negative reaction. This is not to say that anyone else is obligated to do so; rather, I was morbidly curious and decided that whatever little money literal billionaire Kanye West could make from my Spotify stream was not the end of the world. As a matter of fact, it's not an endorsement of the disgusting shit he constantly says or endorses. Does this make me part of a broader problem? I don't know. If it ... read more

Among many Stevie Wonders records you should check out, "Innervisions" features some of the best songs of his career. In comparison to a later release, like the similarly outstanding "Songs in the Key of Life," this one is a bit shorter, with nine tracks and a smooth 44-minute runtime. In other words, this album's uniquely accessible.

There's little fat in this record too; each track does enough to sound different from the previous one, whether it's in ... read more

"Lulu" is an unpleasant record to revisit, but an interesting one to talk about because of where it goes wrong. I feel like Lou Reed gets the vast majority of criticism because of the shocking nature of his lyrics, his spoken-word approach to vocals, and the fact that most people who heard "Lulu" were Metallica fans. However, in my opinion, James Hetfield's singing is as cringe-inducing as Reed, and in some cases even worse, if "The View" is any indication. I ... read more

Mori Calliope's "SINDERELLA" is cringe to the point where it surprisingly works in the album's favor. In fact, there are times where the record heads into such over-the-top territory that it becomes indecipherable, and you can actually tune it out. Once you do that, you can hear a few vocal melodies here and there that have potential. If you were inebriated enough, you could maybe even tell yourself that you're not listening to Mori Calliope; maybe, just maybe, you can ... read more

JPEGMAFIA literally released "I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU" today, when I'm writing this review, and I've already listened to it three consecutive times. As a matter of fact, I'm experience it right now for a fourth listen, and it remains as spectacular and gripping as it did a few hours ago.

All the trademarks of Peggy's music are here: the hyper-stimulating percussion, inter-cut media samples, and his instantly recognizable staccato, triplet-heavy flow. However, ... read more

Ice Spice's "Y2K!" falls into the same genre of extremely sexualized, over-the-top, faux-empowerment music as Kim Petras or Sexyy Red. I'm willing to admit that I might be ignorant, but even some of the more tolerable sounding tracks on "Y2K!" (like "Oh Shhh...") sound more like they were made for temporary male arousal than they feel authentic or connected to anything fun. Honestly, these tracks sound like Boondocks parodies of early 00s hip hop music.

We Three took the dark arts of alt-pop and brought them to a whole new level of atrocious in "Love Me." The track "Hell As Well" alone is one of the most spectacularly disastrous attempts to discuss a serious issue (sexual abuse and bigotry in religion) in music I've ever heard, with totally unsubtle lyrics, and a TikTok-inspired sound that legitimately made me laugh out loud at how completely out of place it sounded. Unfortunately, the rest of "Love Me" is ... read more

"To Pimp a Butterfly" totally redefined hip hop concept albums as we know them. Crazier yet was the fact that it followed up arguably the most moving autobiographical record of this century in "good kid, m.A.A.d. city," while retaining a similar standard of artistic brilliance. Defined by Kendrick Lamar's struggle to reconcile his survivor's guilt with his intimate knowledge of the black experience in America, this album is a stunning look inside his disillusioned ... read more

"good kid, m.A.A.d City" is arguably the greatest hip hop album of all-time, if not potentially the outright greatest album of all-time. Told from the perspective of Kendrick Lamar recounting a single day from his childhood, as well as him reflecting on his life as a successful artist, this record's honestly more comparable to something like "The Wall" - with how vulnerable, artistically resonant, and timeless it remains as art after all these years - than it is to ... read more

"Section 80" was my introduction to Kendrick Lamar, my favorite hip hop artist of the last 15 years. For that reason alone, this record will always occupy a significant space in my heart. I do think, however, that it holds up quite well several years later, even if it's a little easier to talk about where the album falls short than it is to talk about what it does well.

Because "Section 80" came out so early in Kendrick's career, his style isn't as fully ... read more

For everything that it launched, as well as the broader disappointment that came with the rest of "For All The Dogs," it's easy to forget how "First Person Shooter" holds up on its own. The initial instrumental has this epic buildup into a grand and infectious refrain, with J. Cole and Drake each matching the appropriate energy of the track with their respective verses, along with a catchy hook. Cole's verses in particular are especially strong. Everyone talks ... read more

It's batshit crazy that this generation's "California Love" is a song calling the biggest pop star of the era a pedophile. An immortal classic that will forever be one of the greatest hits of all-time, as well as one of the most brutal take downs of an artist ever. Kendrick became the GOAT with "Not Like Us."

"Meet the Grahams" doesn't even really qualify as a diss track as much as it is a nuclear fucking bomb that Kendrick Lamar dropped on Drake's entire family. You can't be more ruthless than writing a song directed toward family members of an artist you hate, telling them all that you hope he dies, and that you will basically raise his children for him. I can't give this song a 100 because I don't know the legitimacy of the abandoned daughter claim, and yet ... read more

When "Family Matters" came out, I initially thought it was one of the greatest diss tracks ever, and I eagerly anticipated Kendrick Lamar's response. Obviously, we know what happened next: Kendrick would steal Drake's thunder by one-upping him with "Meet the Grahams" half an hour later, and then drop "Not Like Us," which cemented his victory. Months later, however, there's been a bit of a cultural tendency to look back at "Family Matters" ... read more

"If he walk around with that stick, it ain't Andre 3k" is one of the hardest bars of all-time, and yet it goes completely under the radar because of like 20 other hot lines in this track.

The only reason it isn't a 100 is because the outro feels anticlimactic for what's supposed to be a declaration of war. Still: leading contender for best song of 2024.

The guy who shot Trump was literally a Republican, and Tom Macdonald’s immediate instinct is to blame the left. Bitch, you missed too! Lmao

While I understand the natural anathema to Dr. Luke's involvement has caused widespread panning of this track, on the merits, "Woman's World" sucks too. The production sounds awful and overly polished, like it's stuck in 2014. Really not a fan of the overly glossy sound, the bad percussion mixing, and the totally lifeless melody, which, to me, comes across as a pale imitation of "Born this Way." I've heard worse this year, but it's pretty saddening ... read more

Hardy's latest album, "Quit!!" is an incremental step up from the mind-numbingly stupid "the mockingbird and THE CROW," as it features Hardy getting closer to developing a consistently enjoyable sound and taking a more committed hard rock approach. But I wouldn't go as so far as to say that this record is "good." On the whole, it's still plagued by poor execution.

Beginning with something positive, I enjoyed the Queens of the Stone Age-inspired ... read more