Does it need to be an hour and a half in length? No, but this is still undoubtedly one of Dave East's strongest projects. Probably the closest a project of his is to being an 8/10 without being an 8/10, and that pretty much just boils down to how long this thing is. There are plenty of highlights here, and pretty much no bad tracks, but occasionally the next big highlight is a hop, skip, and a jump away. That said, for how long it really is, it's not a slog of a listen. You can get ... read more

Excusing the poor mixing with the nature of a debut mixtape like this, this is genuinely one of East's most quality projects. Dave sounds fired up on Change of Plans. This is way before he was a moderate name in hip-hop and his eagerness is infectious. On top of Dave's energy is the booming production, a mix of original works and some recycled beats, all of which feel super natural and get the blood pumping. Tight, even no-nonsense bars, awesome production, and very of the times DJ ... read more

Solid. Not really dragged compared to some East projects and is decently consistent, particularly in its second half. Features here are kinda hit or miss, I found Offset and Chris Browns features to not add very much, and wasn't a a fan of Durk on "We Riding", but Moneybagg Yo went in on "Salty", one of the best songs here, and D.JONES bounces off Dave well on "Feeling A Way". The production is great as well, going particularly hard on the opener, ... read more

Dave gets more mainstream connections than ever on Survival and he feels pretty natural in this new light. That said, this album is too long, and despite some of the great material, sandwiched between is a lot of filler that just doesn't really do anything to be interesting. Dave's chemistry with more mainstream artists shines on highlights like "OG", with Rick Ross, "Everyday" with Gunna, and "Night Shift" with Lil Baby. "Devil Eyes" is maybe ... read more

This mixtape is unfortunately an unbalanced one. The best stuff here is absolutely amazing, and the type of stuff that people know and love CC for, such as "Motivation", "All I Need", "Realist Alive", "Numb", "I'm Official", and "Illest Alive". From the sampling to heavy drum work, these songs carry an immense weight and depth, are wide in the mix and otherworldly in sound. On the other hand, there's some underwhelming stuff ... read more

What the vast majority of people look for in a Lil B album is nowhere to be found on Rain in England, but it still has a charm. At its core, its a very pure, simple form of Lil B's persona, vision, and motives. It promotes peace and positivity, ironically being more fatiguing a listen than a meditative one. The entire album has amateurish new age production, owed to Lil B not exactly being a genius on the DAW, but its tolerable and at times endearing. That's kinda the whole thing with ... read more

On one hand, it's some of the best Lil B I've heard period, but its held back a bit by a few mediocre or all over the place tracks. "Exhibit 6 is a good intro, and the "All My Life" remix and "Vampires" are evidently more on the wishywashy side of things, but they're tolerable, and I like the production on both. But when you get into the good stuff here it's literally amazing. The production is absolutely stellar, sampling primarily. ... read more

Edit: 75 --> 80

My review for this album is pretty dated now so after a relisten I'm gonna briefly update my thoughts. After checking out a lot more from Lil B, this is miles from his most jarring work and is actually a lot more coherent than I initially thought. The production is great, actually mostly pretty accessible, other than the tinnitus inducing "Based". Yea this is great, a classic, and a game changer.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

Well this was certainly interesting. First ... read more

A less groundbreaking but arguably more digestible release than their debut. Aside from some of this material being dated and kinda dry, the production is quite solid and the energy is there. P has a great cadence, laid back but enthusiastic, amplifying highlights like "So Wat Ch Sayin'", the undoubtable classic, "Please Listen to My Demo", and "The Big Paycheck". "Jane II", and "It's Time 2 Party" made the playlist too. They both have ... read more

On Heavy Is The Head, Stormzy gets us hype, makes us think, lets us chill out, and permits vulnerability. I've wanted to listen to this album for a looooong time and I'm glad I've finally gotten to it. There's a wide array of tones, flavours, and styles on this album, and while that can occasionally make for a haphazardly put together album, HITH carries a considerable amount of cohesion from beginning to end. Bangers like "Audacity", "Handsome", ... read more

An appreciable post-Ultra 85 release. It's clear why these songs weren't on the album, and that's okay, because they're okay and work well in a standalone post-production EP. I usually enjoy releases like this because its more flavours from the preceding projects we loved, with no real need for cohesion and no need to dig too deep. It's just some good music. "This Is The Way", and "Not a Game" were my favourites, both great vibes and stellar ... read more

I like giving Cench the benefit of the doubt. Yea, its not very out there and pretty linear drill, but I really have no major gripes. If you can get past the occasional dumb bar and not overthink the music, it's a vibe. Even if the quality of his music has regressed since 23, a mixtape I really quite enjoyed, Cench is still enthusiastic and still cares to deliver. He's not just dropping bullshit and I really believe that. The features here are mostly good like 21 on "GBP", ... read more

People actually like this? I've heard worse trap music but this is the most uninspiring, low effort album of the like I've heard in a while. OsamaSon made a pretty big wave a couple years ago and I meant to check it out but never did, so I figured I'd peep this release. Out of the entire 18 song track list, really only three songs stuck with me. "Made Sum Plans", "Room 156", and "I Got The Fye", carry cool, heavy production that isn't really ... read more

Julia never fails to amaze me. With her creative twists, turns, and enigmatic artistry, she is, in my opinion, one of the greatest, most talented and interesting pop artists of this generation. While later works like Aviary and Something in the Room She Moves are sonically more 'out there', Ekstasis isn't a shortage of creativity and innovation. Its complexities almost make its material more digestible in a front to back listen rather than revisiting songs individually, which ... read more

Kinda a cool EP. This project does enough to give me a taste of Hodgy as an artist on his own, which is really what I was looking for, but does considerably less for him to stand out amongst his contemporaries. "Everyday" and "Again" are pretty sweet, particularly the latter, which works quite well for just being an acoustic singer-rap song. "We Never Knew" is hard too but the other two tracks are just uninteresting and patchy. It can be pointless or inappropriate ... read more

Knew I was gonna cry to this.

My “i miss mac miller” crewneck is one of my favourite tops I own for a reason. I won’t act like I repped Mac as religiously as I do some artists, but for several years, Mac and his music have torn my heart to pieces. It’s rare that we get an artist as down to earth, transparent, and human. Mac was self aware, insightful, smart. His music encouraged people to be honest, not just with others but with themselves. It’s touching work like ... read more

Listening to this album before Radio probably was not the play since as far as I know, Cool J's sophomore LP is a step up both creatively and sonically, and it probably would've been better to see that progression first hand, but alas, here I am. The production and flows are dated but not nearly so much that it's a turn-off. What I find more of a problem in with this album is that it's just inconsistent. Hip-Hop acts back then, while certainly delivering some great classics, ... read more

Finally checking out NBN who I have been putting off listening to for actual years. Their debut self titled album is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. Mostly really consistent production, slick rhymes, and a cadence from Treach that makes pretty much every track. This album feels like a gateway between the 'industry' pop rap of the time and conscious, hardcore material, like Cool J but for the bros. There are plenty of highlights to go around here, namely "Yoke the Joker", ... read more

I mean it's not really *good* music but how can you hate it? Ringo is 84 years old and still kickin' like this. Even if his solo music is as mediocre as its been for the past like 50 years, he's still having fun, spreading peace and love. Country doesn't feel too foreign to Ringo so the product isn't mid for being some jarring, poor attempt at breaking new musical grounds, but its mid because Ringo just isn't really a good songwriter. Musically there's a charm ... read more

While the user score is enough to figure out Syro is held to high regard, I wasn't expecting to come out of this listen with the album near my top Aphex Twin experiences. Out of both SAW's, Richard D. James, and Come To Daddy, Syro comes second to SAW2. Given his prime and highly critically acclaimed early 90s-2000s run, I can't say I expected new heights here. Maybe this means I'm due for a relisten on other projects but I also trust my judgement. I've often enjoyed ... read more