An album made by the wrong artist, the album

Joji’s musical evolution has been long discussed and the progression of where he was in the middle 2010’s to now will always be respected.

He made one of the best sad ballads of the 2020’s with “Glimpse of Us” and followed that up with a pretty underwhelming album, “Smithereens”.

The build for “Piss In The Wind” has been an interesting one. Whether it was him being spotted at a Los Angeles ... read more

His biggest Achilles heel eludes him of a classic, the album

There’s no question that Jermaine came into this record, expecting this to be the big magnum opus. The project that he’s been working on for about a decade, with setting the stage very clearly on the background and the point of view that he had toward both discs.

And to me, this record leaves me with the impression that he can’t really end it this way, but unfortunately, he just might.

In terms of straight rap ... read more

Rain, Rain, Go Away, the album

There’s not much that hasn’t been said about the rapid rise and just as quick of a fall for Charlotte’s DaBaby.

An artist that made himself a pretty big staple in the late 2010’s-early 2020’s, not only in rap, but being a pretty coveted feature on notable pop songs. Hits with Dua Lipa, Camilla Cabello, Post Malone and J. Cole holds a good chunk of weight.

Kirk has never been an album artist, despite a song or two doing big numbers, ... read more

We’ve hit a ceiling, the album

Don Toliver has become one of the most consistent releases of the 2020’s within the trap (and a bit of R&B) lane and has been Travis Scott’s most successful commercial member of the “Cactus Jack” group.

His consistent releases have also had some notable moments within albums, whether it was the commercial success debut that was “Heaven or Hell” to “Life of a Don” or a different direction that for the most ... read more

King of Transitions, the album (mixtape)

My experience with IDK albums has been pretty simple. I’ve found more enjoyment with the individual pieces of an album, rather than the whole pie. Whether it was a bloated track list, too many interludes or features that didn’t fit the puzzle piece, it was always a couple of things that missed on an album, mixtape or EP.

But he’s returned here, with admittingly, a pretty fascinating track list and some heavy-hitting producers. A ... read more

She Rocky on My Drake till I A$AP, The album

The long-awaited drop of "Don't Be Dumb” has hit all streaming platforms as A$AP Rocky returns after an eight-year hiatus from “Testing” from back in 2018.

Admittingly, Rocky is an artist that I’ve taken deeper looks into his discography over the last couple of years, so this is my first Rocky album to listen to in real time.

My main question going into it was whether we would get the same material that we were ... read more

A step forward, many back, the album

What a frustrating listen.

It seemed coming out of his 2023 album, “The First Time”, there would be more momentum for his career.

Sure, the album had occasional dull moments and bad feature decisions, but his sound and song palette took a big jump forward and felt much more matured.

Even with one of the songs from last year, “How does it feel?”, it had juice and bounce to it, even if it came off as a “Rock your body” ... read more

How many rappers’ names or bars would you like to reference? Yes!, the album

My introduction to John Michel and Anthony James really comes a bit later in the year than I have liked and it is, to be fair, a pretty acclaimed album.

One that I unfortunately don’t get as much as others do. The duo spend 36 minutes sifting through pretty similar soulful beats that have quite a bit of color through mostly drums, horns and an electric guitar.

It’s clear these two have an identity ... read more

If I hear one more useless voicemail, I’m ripping my ears out, the album

21’s steam has really started to lose over the last couple of years with a couple standouts from his last album sticking around (red sky, nee-nah, redrum).

He’s back after that January 2024 release and to me, it kind of sticks to the main formula that we got with the last album. Except not as many samples and those are filled in with extremely repetitive and tiresome voicemails that are extremely ... read more

An assortment of everything, the album

Sugar Cherry, formerly known as Lil Rozey and Rozey, is an artist that has periodically dropped a song or two, but hasn’t made a full-fledged project in his career yet.

He’s someone I’ve come across through particular internet niches and a couple of years ago, stumbled across on “If I come home”, which was produced by Quadeca. The shoe-gazy soundscape really caught my attention and in general, was just a really soothing ... read more

40 minutes of straight twinkies, the album

Redveil became one of the biggest figures of rap music in 2022. Not only with his great project, “Learn 2 Swim”, but a standout performance as the lone feature on JPegMafia and Danny Brown’s “Scaring the Hoes”.

Since then, he’s had a couple of notable songs but has really been away from dropping a good chunk of music up until this year.

Despite being just 21-years old, he’s actually got a decent catalog, ... read more

The absolute epitome of Lil Baby, the album

I do think this was a bit of a smarter marketing strategy in just basically releasing songs that were leaked, alongside unreleased songs, a real fan’s dream.

Baby has never been known for a great album artist. He usually grabs a banger or two, a song that normally ends up trending that is pretty mid and the rest of the album is at best mediocre and at worst, unlistenable.

That is exactly what this is.

Despite the unique perspective of the ... read more

His last chance at keeping relevance, the album

It’s no secret that SoFaygo’s momentum has slowly died out since his debut in 2020 with his hit song, “Knock Knock” creating a ton of buzz.

In 2022, he dropped the longly-anticipated “Pink Heartz”, which had a handful of positive moments, but was bloated and beyond the first 4-5 songs, really lost a lot of momentum and in the end, never had staying power.

While his EP, “Go+” was far from ... read more

Haunted by bad projects, the mixtape (?)

I had a choice between two Offset albums this year to dive into and with this coming out closer to the current day, this one was given the choice.

To say it's uninspired might be a compliment. Offset snoozes over a handful of really lifeless and void production with much of nothing to really say and really goes 1 for 3 on features. The best thing I can say is that it's a short 22-minute listen. I'd rather a project be a short bad than a ... read more

More of a cancer myself, the album

Aries is an artist that I believe is making the music that he genuinely enjoys. He studies it and knows what it takes to make it and put together an album, sonically, that makes sense with the genre he’s going for.

One of my main issues is that this isn’t 2015-2018 anymore.

This is admittingly, my first album of his that I’ve tuned into, so maybe I’m just behind with what he’s been doing over the years. Heard songs, but never a ... read more

This looks like a cool artis… HOLY COW, she has how many monthly listeners?, the album

Something is in the water with the U.K. this year. Olivia Dean is an artist that I’ll be honest, I heard So Easy (To Fall In Love) and was immediately intrigued.

This is such a consistent listen, that has so many cool elements and pretty strong songwriting. I can see why she is up for best new artist at The Grammy’s.

I see a tad of Adele influence, but it really only is prominent on one ... read more

Caring for the hoes, the album

Danny Brown has not been shy over the course of his career and this newest album goes into a direction that he’s never gone down, not only sonically, but lyrical dives that he never has.

“Stardust” goes into a much different direction than Danny has dived, namely through the collaborations that took hardcore rap fans by surprise when he decided to team up with a plethora of underground (and more mainstream) hyperpop artists.

The results to me ... read more

The uncomfortable conversations are at your doorstep, the album

Daniel Caesar has been a bit of a polarizing artist for me to listen to, really since his 2017 album, “Freudian”. He came off as an artist with a soothing voice, string and piano-heavy production and a softness that can come off as very comforting.

And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with him as an artist, it’s always been a bit more difficult for me to find a ton of replay value within his specific ... read more

Running away from the Bon Iver allegations, the album

Johan Lenox has been well-known throughout the trap genre as an influential producer, boasting a handful of notable songs with artists from Travis Scott, The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Metro Boomin, Swae Lee and more.

So, it’s interesting that my first full listen to him kind of steer in a different direction than what production style he goes for. Granite, it does kind of make sense in some areas.

Lenox’s most recent album, ... read more

I don’t hear no bell, the album

Dave’s third album, “The Boy Who Played The Harp” arguably has some of his most vulnerable, cut-throat and straight to the point song writing of any project he’s ever had.

The album’s theme mainly tackles current day social issues, coinciding with his personal issues, whether it’s finding a partner for him or his balance of his faith in Christianity.

His storytelling, perspective and delivery is the grand jewel of what ... read more