The crown jewel of 70's funk/soul combinations. Being sort of new to the genre, this opinion of mine might change as I prolong my dive into soul and funk. Still, this is, without a doubt, one of the greatest albums the 70's has ever given me. If the obvious superstar hits weren't enough to warrant this a listen, the surrounding tracks are nearly as deserving of a place on the album. The grooves are consistently amazing, the melodies are genuinely life-changing, the ... read more

81 -> 87: Underrated the hell out of this. I used to think the second half struggled to keep up, but after having my ears checked and fixed, I do understand that there's plenty of enjoyable content to be found. Black Milk only bettered his reputation for beatmaking on this album, and while he technically isn't the most impressive rapper, his knack for storytelling and natural musical charm makes this worth a listen anyway. Hell, there's even a monstrous Black Thought feature ... read more

UGK stay underrated.

While not as consistently sensational or polished as the successor Ridin' Dirty, this serves me with true Dirty South tracks that I highly doubt anyone in that scene can match in quality. The production is raw yet smooth, and Pimp C and Bun B have plenty of memorable and HARD performances, even if they weren't yet at their definitive peaks - they'd reach those a few years later.

As a result of its obvious strengths, there's no shortage of great ... read more

elite latenight r&b shit

Jesus, this is goooooddddd. Like really good. Even though Rome's performances are great (as usual), it's The Artivist's production that gets you out of your seat, every single time. The beats fit Rome's style like a glove, even though they aren't as murky and dark as what you'd expect them to be - I know I had expected something different after listening to Kiss The Ring, the tape he's primarily known for. Instead, there's a very apparent jazzy ... read more

Everything I've ever wanted in a soul album. Even if I experience a slight dip in quality on the last third of the record, the first 2 thirds are still *incredible*. The instrumentation is gorgeous, layered and shifts between energetic and discreet beautifully, and Minnie's own contributions speak for themselves - undoubtedly one of the greatest vocalists to step on this planet.

Baby, This Love I Have, Love and It's Glory, Inside My Love, and of course, When It Comes Down To ... read more

Disappointing.

Mac Miller and Joey Bada$$ featuring on this project tells you everything you need to know - these Mass Appeal projects are solely made to bridge the gap between newer fans and older hip-hop. And to honour their legacies, of course. Because you cannot convince me that Forever with Mac Miller should fit on this album, even if he was the biggest L fan ever. It doesn't fit, not even in the slightest. It's a bit disappointing for the fans seeking the old, traditional ... read more

Edit - 22/05-2026: If I Should Die Tonight is *the* best romantic soul song ever.

Unbelievable. I might actually be more into the Smooth Soul side of Marvin, seeing how small I find the difference in quality to be between this and the CLASSIC What's Going On - both are just nothing short of incredible in their own rights, though.

Marvin just cannot do no wrong on here. It's so amazingly relaxing and smooth, which is attributable to both Marvin's obviously scintillating and ... read more

no no no this is actually too good i dont know what do with myself AAAHHHHHH THE FUNKKKKKKKK

Man, mid 2000's Wayne was capable of special things. The production is crisp and perfectly matches Wayne's undeniable swagger, and it's only very few tracks here - including the skits I for once find interesting on an album - that are wasted, which is incredible for a tracklist this long and usual Wayne consistency standards. The rapping is never not entertaining, even including the features who usually do very well in matching Wayne's energy. The Cannon Remix, one of my ... read more

If these guys really have to rap, and if I have to listen to them do it, don't let them do it on a non-sensational beat. Might as well cut off my ears at that point.

Well, I had to get to this album at some point. I suppose my expectations for this were fairly high, since one of the greatest tracks hip-hop has ever given us find place on this very album. However, it is in no way just sunshine and roses over here.

From the first sentence alone, I think my stance on the album should be ... read more

Great features, solid, smooth and overall very likeable production, and Spitta flows almost perfectly as per usual. While the highs aren't necessarily sky-high, there's very little not to like here.

MINDBLOWING!

Finally, it clicked. I think it's been about a year since I first checked this out, and while I did appreciate it, it never knocked as hard as it did today. I lowkey have to write a fitting and worthy review for this, but just know: this is outstanding. The Grand Wizzards did an incredible job on the production side - before you even grasp the greatness on one track, the next amazing, and almost gorgeous, instrumental comes on. On Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New, a ... read more

LB BUSINESS!

Shit is fucking amazing, and a massive part of why my love for LB is as big as it is. I, funnily enough, did have sort of a tough time originally adapting to the more boom-bappy sound they employ on this outing compared to The Minstrel Show, but when it did hit, it fucking HIT.

9th is hands down one of the greatest beatmakers to ever do it, and both Pooh and Phonte (especially Phonte) are extremely likeable on the mic. Some might say it gets a bit too much with the REAAAALL HIP ... read more

"Name a nigga that I ain't better than, my flow iller", "Ten years later, tell me, why y'all still hiding? Niggas know who greater, fuck your favorite, I'm the greatest", "Who the best emcees? Kenny, Joey and Cole", "These other niggas ain't on par, who wanna spar?"

Joey's a pretty nice technical rapper, but isn't this braggadocio energy a little much? It's gotten to the point where he rarely makes space for actually ... read more

Skips on this album: One More Chance, Fuck Me, Respect (fuck that skit at the end), and Friend of Mine. Not crazy about Unbelievable either.

How the fuck do people call this the greatest rap album of all time? It's amazing on many fronts, but still... Yikes.

Aaaaanddd...

How do people call Biggie the greatest when *this* is his best album and his discography is as short as it is?

I do not understand it.

It's the same blueprint as the one used on TT3, however, it doesn't come close to competing in quality. Benny's contemplative moments often come across as forced and preachy, and the production rarely gets as grimy as it does on the predecessor. When it does though, it almost leaves me wondering how these same producers managed to do such a great job formerly. Johnny P's Caddy is very sweet though, and more than solid tracks do appear here and there throughout the remainder ... read more

Who's out here telling lies about Rozay not having any great albums?

I'll admit, the album does start off a little slow. Jay-Z is the only noticeable highlight during the first three tracks. However, after this follows a fantastic and fairly concise showcase of luxury rap, led by none other than the rap king of extravaganza, Ricky Rozay.

You couldn't ask for better music to cruise to than the stretch from Ashamed to Amsterdam, a stretch filled with confident and smooth energy, ... read more

Been listening to a lotta Griselda recently, so I thought: Why not do a discog dive? The journey starts here.

These are just loosies, and with the exception of Part Deux, I probably won't return to these tracks whatsoever. The beats are definitely passable and sometimes even great, but WG is barely even rapping on this project. The songs all end before they really get going, which makes it difficult to really take that many positive things out of this.

For an album regarded this highly by heads, I'd have expected the production to be a LOT better - it's incredibly flavorless for me. And while O.C. is far from the worst rapper I could've asked for to lead the project, he does need more charisma or ferocity to bring life to this project. Sadly, he'd only gotten worse since Word... Life in those aspects.

These shortcomings ultimately reduce the number of tracks I'm actively going back to. There's really no ... read more