Not my favourite Boldy project I've heard thus far. I'm gonna spew a hot take right now and say that I think Alchemist is a pretty overrated producer. He picks good samples yea, he makes solid drumless, and knows how to work well with an artist, but I'm taking many other producers of the like over him. Now this album is good that is for certain, but not particularly mind-blowing. Almost every track I went out of thinking "yea that was pretty good" but it was only near ... read more

Despite the nothing intro and outro, Mike & Keys inconsistent production, and it being far from Dave's best work, this isn't actually bad. Dave and Mike & Keys are two acts that blend together quite well, even if the outcome doesn't have much substance. Thing is, at this point it feels like Dave is really just pumping out unfocused material. I feel like he really needs to sit down and make another Hoffa or Kairi Channel or HDIGH. Best song is "THIS LIFESTYLE".

Idk. It's decent music but it's definitely the worst thing I've heard come out of this era of rock music. Some of the songs are really damn good, well crafted, solemn gems such as "Baby I'm-A Want you", "Diary", and "Games of Magic", but the rest is either just alright or meh, not to mention the insufferable "I Don't Love You" that closes the album. I do appreciate the albums peaks, but the rest is some stale bread.

My first experience with Curren$y, other than Fetti, and it was pretty good. Stoner rap isn't necessarily my field of choice, but I had an enjoyable listen. Most of it is chill, decently produced, and just laid back fun. Curren$y has a really nice cadence that fits perfectly with songs like "Decisions" and "Money Is A Drug", two of my favourites. The features here are kinda hit or miss, providing peaks of the album with Dolph on "All Work" and a pretty ... read more

Actually quite good. Despite the RZA clone allegations and Rae's patchy solo career, this album is very solid front to back. This album does a good job of keeping the shaolin narrative and aesthetic alive through the sampling and Rae's sharp vocals. The feature list on this is pretty impressive, and most people really do their thing, especially Ghost, Meth, Estelle, Black Thought, and Busta. Plenty of playlist worthy stuff here too including "Every Soldier in the Hood", ... read more

This is a combination of genres that I never thought would work so well, and that I never thought I needed this much. Country rap has kinda already been a thing, but not as fleshed as this. This is good stuff. Country is definitely not my genre of choice, but to hear it in this context makes it way more accessible. I love the vibes across this album. There are some really great, grand sounding songs, some of the best being "My Love" and "Sick As Hell". We also get a trap ... read more

One of Freddie's most appealing projects. It's not exactly top notch, there are couple tracks that aren't too hot like "Moving to America" and the lifeless "Body Parts", but we get genuinely some of the guy's best material with "Spring", and "Endless Sea". It's a cheery, fun project. When something's as short as 13 minutes and gives you really great stuff, it's definitely worth the listen. The only thing is with the ... read more

This one is criminally underrated. Probably my favourite of The Leek series that I've heard. The production on here is actually crazy good, shining particularly on songs like "This Bitch", "That Be Me", "Lady Gaga", and "Walnuts". "Un Un" is complete garbage, and "Ahh Shit" is pretty underwhelming, but they don't really disrupt the consistency this album has. This is good shit. The only thing holding it back from an 8/10 or ... read more

This that Cudi I know and love.

I actually like Cudi's part but why is this the worst Zel feature I've ever heard? These two do not bring out the best in each other as much as I love them respectively.

I'm not gonna give a BS intro about the album but there are a couple things I wanna say about pretty much the whole album. What the fuck is with this AI ass vocals? If the mix isn't complete garbage, it sounds like Em is straight up blending his vocals with some AI generated 2000s slim shady sounding thing. It sounds like trash. Why is he doing this. I get it that he's trying to tap back into his roots or at least conceptually go back and forth with his old self but this sounds ... read more

This new Action Bronson is another in the series of the children's drawings core type shit idk what to call it. But yea it's good. A little bit of a mixed bag, definitely leaning more toward a quality sound, but this is pretty much what I expected. I've always admired and in recent months have had him high in my rotation.

The album is packed with a healthy mix of funny and contemplative lyricism. Bronson knows how to set a vibe better than a lot of artists. On tracks like ... read more

To nobody's surprise it seems, Common and Pete Rock are a recipe for an easy album of the year contender. This thing is seriously all killer. To me Common has always been a super consistent MC, releasing quality projects pretty much every drop, and doing so since the 90s. To see him keep exemplifying his longevity is really awesome to see, especially with a release as good as this one.

This longevity is seen not just in Com, but in Pete Rock, who I argued is easily one of hip-hop ... read more

I'm not entirely sure what I just listened to. This whole thing comes at you really fast, but not before the title track, which is smooth beyond measure. The 10 minute runtime for this song might get monotonous for some people but it's seriously a pleasure. I actually felt like I was ascending listening to it. The contrast you get with the energetic next 6 tracks is an exciting ride too. It's good stuff. Not entirely my lane of choice but it's really well structured, funky ... read more

I have never heard more soulful, passionate K-Pop than this. IU has always stood out to me, not only for being as big and successful as she is, being a solo artist, but for her AMAZING talent and mind-blowing vocals. This is some of my favourite kind of music to come out of this industry. It's soft, it's not overproduced garbage, and it actually feels creatively driven by the artist releasing it.

I've said it before and I'll say it a hundred times, I HATE the K-Pop ... read more

I heard somewhere that Lofty said he would just keep dropping music until he got bored. With more sparse releases in the past couple years, I thought we might be reaching that point, but he isn't finished yet. On this one, Lofty provides a brief mix of pretty much everything he's been doing for his career, sticking to his cloud rap roots and presenting his newer wave of downtempo electronic more instrumental based music. It's a healthy mix, and while this project doesn't ... read more

Rating deluxe tracks only:

What on earth. This is way better than the base track list. I always try to listen to a deluxe version of an album even if I'm not super big on the base album, and it's for times like this. Warlord had a lot of really interesting ideas but these bonus tracks are actually phenomenal. They feel more put together, more grand, and just sound better. The features are great, notably Mane Mane on "Sippin" and Bladee on "Pearl Fountain". ... read more

This that real music man.

I find White Flame to be on a similar level of quality than Green Flame, but with considerable differences. This one is less absurd, and as a result we don't get as many acid trip songs that have me questioning how Lil B is as good as he is. I think the highs might be higher on Gren Flame but the lows are sure as hell lower. This one, in contrast, is more rounded out. There are less tracks that I found to be absolutely unlistenable. That said, there is some stuff ... read more

Not feeling super into this as I am the other lean projects I've heard. I can appreciate that Lean actually cares about his music and imbues it with passion, but I found this one tends to fall flat. There are some solid cuts here, namely "Highway Patrol", "Afghanistan", "Hocus Pocus", and "Shawty U Know What It Do", others being just alright, but nothing blew me away. Songs like "Hoover" and "Miami Ultras" really do have a lot to ... read more

Edit: Shmoovy. (70 --> 75)

Groovy.