Best of 2023

Recent Ratings

Ill Bill - Billy
Ill Bill
Billy
66
May 27
Wun Two - Lua
Wun Two
Lua
63
May 26
Rav - LEAP
Rav
LEAP
83
May 26

Recent Reviews

Rav - LEAP
83
This album is great. This is probably my second favorite solo Rav project now. Well, I don’t know actually. Vestiges really grew on me even more after I reviewed it. Maybe this project will do the same. Anyway, I really fuck with Rav’s production on this project. A lot of the beats remind me of retro video games, and it gives the album a really cool, consistent aesthetic. The themes of self-hatred, mental health struggles, and toxic relationships are of course very relatable for me. ... read more
Spaceman Jones & The Motherships - The Loops of Life, Pt. 2
90
This EP is amazing to me honestly. I really love these guys. Their Immaculate Conception EP was one of my favorite projects of last year, and I think this one is even better. This EP is even better than the first Loops of Life. I highly recommend this shit. Hopefully it’s not sold out already, and, if it is, hopefully it’s released digitally at some point. The production from MOTHERHOOD is pretty stunning, and Spaceman Jones is a really talented MC. He’s a very skilled ... read more
Conway the Machine - WON'T HE DO IT
62
This album is okay I guess. It’s definitely not bad overall. It’s just really disappointing. I don’t know what happened. Conway’s rapping is still solid, but the production and songwriting quality just isn’t there. The second half of this album is pretty damn rough. If the first half didn’t have the couple of highlights that it does then I would be worried that Conway is falling off. This is just the second project I’ve heard from him that I don’t ... read more
billy Woods & Kenny Segal - Maps
91
This album is amazing. Again, this is my second favorite billy woods album behind History Will Absolve Me. It’s close though. Hiding Places & Aethiopes are also amazing. I’d say I like this one marginally more than those two. That’s just a testament to woods’ consistency though. It’s rare for an artist to have even one album that I’d call “amazing,” so the fact that there are three or four woods albums that I would describe in that manner is ... read more
Iceberg Theory & Bloodblixing - SUNDAE FUNNYZ GANGSTA EDITION
86
This album pretty much ended up being just as great as I was expecting it to be. Iceberg Theory is still one of the best rappers alive in my opinion, and these beats are pretty awesome. Bloodblixing himself is definitely an acquired taste, and he has a bigger presence vocally on this album than I was anticipating, but he thankfully came through with a great performance. In fact, this is definitely my favorite project that I’ve ever heard from him. I like this album a lot more than the ... read more

Shoutbox

2mo
I remember reading ur atcq marathon on ur website a few years ago, goat shit
1y
Bro has “This album is ___” at the start of every one of his reviews💀💀💀
1y
u made a real good review for Idlewild on RYM
2y
alright then
2y
What's your favorite Swans record and song? (list)
2y
Another recommendation bc you like Tokyo Cigar, this literally just came out
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/353100-heaven-razah-tokyo-cigar-dj-flipcyide-spiritual-kung-fu.php
2y
Well If U want some Pro Zay recommendations, NcL Zay 1 & 2, SLUMP2 and Tales From The Mud (prod. August Fanon) are good
2y
Saw u rated Tokyo Cigar, have u heard this one by Iceberg Theory? All produced by Tokyo https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/250308-iceberg-theory-philokalia.php

About

Creator of Focus Hip Hop • Contributing author for Hip Hop Golden Age & OK-Tho! Mag • Author of the best reviews on this site

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Rating Distribution

90-99
 
243

80-89
 
913

70-79
 
1058

60-69
 
665

50-59
 
510

40-49
 
201

30-39
 
50

20-29
 
20

10-19
 
6

0-9
 

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Recent Lists

Click this link to read what I have to say about each entry: https://focushiphop.com/2023/01/20/top-10-extended-plays-of-2022/
Updated 4mo agoRanked
Click the link here to go to the full list which has blurbs written for each album: https://focushiphop.com/2023/01/13/top-25-albums-of-2022/
Updated 4mo agoRanked
Here’s my list of the 20 best albums I heard this past year. It should go without saying that these aren’t the only good albums worth hearing from 2021; they’re just my 20 favorites. There are ...
Updated 1y agoRanked 1
Member since May 12, 2019
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May Playlist