DON'T COME INTO THIS EXPECTING TRADITIONALIST HIP-HOP!

Being one of late 2010's most notable and sonically misunderstood hip-hop releases, Saba gets emotionally vulnerable while employing very melancholic, trippy, and miserably calming sounds. The jazzy undertones are everywhere, and 'neo-souly' vibes get involved often too. Some flows, beats, or hooks might come across as unfulfilling or awkward however, only really clicking after a handful of listens. Once it does though, ... read more

The fucking Ken Kaniff skit😭

Early Em was incredible.

It's solid. Super easy to listen to, the jazzy, melancholic productions makes it feel very comforting, and Jmack is usually a lil more interesting than his other wannabe jazz-rappers, which makes this more worthwhile. That's not to say that Jmack is the descendant of like Kendrick or some shit, Blu and Mick Jenkins pretty effortlessly stealing the show on their features is no coincidence - they're just a LOT fucking better, both in lyricism, rapping and track presence. I ... read more

Fucking masterful prog rock, everything from the guitars, the drumming, to the melodies is top tier. This'll prolly hit DIFFERENT riding the highway.

Red Barchetta, YYZ, and The Camera Eye were my favorites, although nothing here wasn't pleasant to the ears.

Well oh well.

After what feels like an eternity, my brain finally decided that rock/metal is interesting. Funnily enough, my search for an album like this one began after listening to the newest Peggy album, which was HEAVILY influenced by rock and had multiple delicious guitar riffs, all while being hard as fuck, so I figured metal and rock could be appealing to me...
And it was! As experimental, full of contrasts, brash, and diverse as it is, it still ticked a LOT of boxes in my musical ... read more

I can't even imagine how much inspiration 90's R&B groups like Jodeci must've taken from 70's soul like this, it makes the majority of love ballads from 90's R&B look like total ripoffs of classics like these. This is amazing though. It isn't a sub-genre of soul I'm particularly familiar with, as most of the soul I've listened to has had Stevie or Marvin on the cover. This is more catchy in a very smooth and loving way, and overall it's super ... read more

Either accompanied by frenzied, fast-paced beats or traditional yet gorgeous beats, Lupe never drops below great in quality on Food & Liquor. Although already having released a couple of mixtapes, the maturity and know-how displayed across multiple facets on this, a debut album, is wildly impressive. Lupe's rapping and lyricism indicates he's a veteran in the game, one who's BEEN doing it, however he was just getting started. His metaphor game and lyrical creativity was, ... read more

Edit: 92 -> 95: Relistening to this, it's a fucking masterpiece. So many fucking fantastic, danceable songs and no misses AT ALL. GET THAT RATING UP Y'ALL!!!

Old Review:

Saw a comment on Genius that said: "Andy one of those guys who would kill it in any era". I'm not trying to say that no one has thought this before, but it's still very fucking true. And it's because he's making music FOR THE ART. Whether he's collaborating with hip-hop legends ... read more

Best rapping on any album ever. This guy's rhyming abilities are off the charts, and he does it while telling these very descriptive and dense street stories. The combo leaves you stunned constantly. Moreover, it's probably also deserving of a spot in the top 5 best produced 90's records - every producer brought their A game on here.
This album is perfection, and any rating below 100 should be considered as an insult.

Not nearly as consistent or stuffed with highs as Malibu, however the summer vibes are still, just like Malibu, very much evident. Apart from Tints, the sole definite 10/10 on the album, the genius of the album kicks in during a feature-heavy second half, where a plethora of great songs find place, whether it's the ever so charming and Cole-featuring Trippy or the two-part triumph Cheers, that also features a legend in Q-Tip, who is one of my favorite emcees ever for obvious reasons. And ... read more

I can't believe there was a time I didn't appreciate and understand what this album brings😭

The energy and rawness is literally unmatched - you won't find another album this powerful, there's so many emcees capable of delivering crazy verses, and RZA brought some unbelievably fire beats all throughout. Combine all this, and you have a top 5 hip-hop album of all time.
This album deserves all the praise it gets and more.

Short and sweet. The title track is the standout but there's plenty to enjoy here, whether it's Lupe imagining Amy Winehouse as a battle rapper or the simply admirable rapping and production all throughout.

Talk about inconsistency!

AZ is not exactly generous on here. 3 amazing songs and 3 very good songs is what he offers, with the rest being very forgettable. In addition, he has to reuse his bars from Life's A Bitch countless times, which, regardless of it being a legendary verse, I find both lazy and superficial.

I wouldn't recommend this as a full listen, but there's definitely songs on here that, if not included, invalidates your 'best of 90's hip-hop' ... read more

Let's forget the man and focus on the music, please? Thank you.
At some point in a hip-hop listeners journey, this has been one of their very favorite albums. Most likely in the early stages of this journey, as the album is quite accessible, it's production is modern, it holds classics songs, and if you're someone who just started listening to hip-hop, chances are that someone told you to check out this Kanye guy. He probably also told you to listen to The Life of Pablo, and as ... read more

It's actually pretty incredible how under the radar artists affiliated with Mello Music Group are going nowadays. The Easy Truth by Skyzoo and Apollo Brown is proof of that, as this in a perfect world would be a household album. Skyzoo is an incredibly capable rapper, having released notable projects in the 2010's with this being my personal favorite, whereas Apollo Brown is a producer, who specializes in soulful neo boom-bap beats, also enjoying his prime in the 2010's. This ... read more

A surprisingly underrated and underappreciated trap album, considering Metro produced pretty much all of it (his name is on the cover too). Not every beat is sensational, and the song quality swings a lot, but no song or beat is less than good at all. And when it hits, it for sure fucking hits. Met Gala is one of the best trap songs ever period, and Finesse the Plug Interlude and Bucket List almost play on the same level for me. Gucci never fails to bring a tiny giggle out of me either, whether ... read more

Jeez, this has got to be one of the most overrated hip-hop records of the 90's. Lauryn Hill's performances are pretty much the only things to take away from this, and she's often just featured for a hook and a verse, with her usually incompetent (maybe not Wyclef) companions taking up most of the songs' runtimes.
This thing is *BLOATED* too. I'm only taking away 5/6 songs from this, with the rest being preeetty mediocre considering what they're hyped up to be. The ... read more

Pretty damn good. This is actually my introduction to indie rock as a whole, I never *really* tried it before, so I could imagine my rating being a bit premature. That being said:

🎵 YOU CAN LOVE AGAIN, IF YOU TRY AGAIN🎵

This shit is amazing, imma rate later on

If you ever wondered what an album soaked in a southern playa's drank would sound like, this answers your question - Smino literally dropped a cup filled with lean on this and decided to release it anyway. I'm glad he did though.