1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues is a remix project that sees known artists remixing the original songs from 100 gecs’ debut album and it goes quite well. The last four tracks are underwhelming or questionable, as the two new songs here are underwhelming and the others are live songs and they feel pointless. I would’ve preferred to not have these tracks and for this project to completely consist of remixes, but it’s only a minor nuisance. Regardless, most of the remixes here ... read more

What’s Your Pleasure has surpassed Future Nostalgia as my favorite disco project of the year. Every instrumental glows with disco infused nostalgia and fun without going stale. Ware vocally is also a great fit for these instrumentals as well. She mostly goes with a focused, low-key, and breathy delivery, but she can definitely still pull off some very impressive falsetto and epic vocals. The occasional misstep does occur, but What’s Your Pleasure still stands as an impressive homage ... read more

The Velvet Underground’s collaboration project with Nico, which also happens to be their debut project, is a phenomenal, forward thinking, and raw display of art rock. It’s certainly cliché to say this album is ahead of its time, but it really is. The lyrics alone paint a picture that is quite taboo for 1967. They include sadomasochism, prostitution, and even drug abuse. The track Heroin specifically mentions the drug heroin and someone abusing the drug and the ... read more

Just when I thought The Doors may have been the greatest debut album of all time, Funeral stops me in my tracks as I would argue it is even better than The Doors record. Funeral is an incredibly dense, emotionally potent, and beautiful album that I doubt will be forgotten in the future. Win Butler and his wife, Régine Chassagne, are the 2 vocalists on Funeral and they are both unbelievably stunning. As if the vocal talent on display here wasn’t enough, the instrumentation is ... read more

Yeah, I understand the universal dislike here. This project is essentially really generic trap rap in Russian. The vocals are obnoxious and the instrumentation is really basic and generic hip hop instrumentals. Not to mention that the bass is mixed horribly on the first 2 tracks and the bass elsewhere is unnecessarily boosted so much to where it sounds like a parody of some amateur SoundCloud rap. There isn’t really anything to enjoy here, asides from the last track, but I can ironically ... read more

The Doors’ debut record is another rock record from the late 1960’s that sounds far ahead of its time. To start, Jim Morrison is a very passionate and impressive vocalist. Of course his intense moments and performances are fantastic, but he is still impactful and memorable when he is more modest in his delivery. The instrumentation usually goes for a psychedelic aesthetic with an organ included as well that adds even more to the aesthetic. Despite the instrumentation going for the ... read more

While Come Over When You’re Sober (Part One) does have solid spacey and rock influenced instrumentation, Lil Peep tries way too hard to sound tortured and instead sounds lousy and monotonous. This project isn’t unbearable as it is short and the production makes it tolerable, but it still isn’t a pleasant experience I would return to anytime soon.

Favorite Track: N/A

Least Favorite Track: N/A

The third project in the Hitler Wears Hermes series isn’t nearly as solid as the second, but it is still a great showing that is better than the first. Hitler Wears Hermes 3 feels more like a studio album as opposed to a mixtape for a few reasons. There are more than a few skits here, the project’s length is much longer than previous projects in the HWH series, and there are more features than Gunn usually includes on an album. Regardless, this record’s production continues ... read more

An alternative title for My Turn: Grown Man Mumbles His Ass Off Over Unvaried Trap Production For 60 Minutes Straight

Lil Baby releases My Turn, quite possibly the worst rap album of the year. Lil Baby’s style on this project is so unvaried and lazy, that it makes a weak contemporary of his, Gunna, look like an artistic genius. I decided to bring up Gunna because he and Lil Baby are essentially Young Thug clones, but even Gunna can make some enjoyable tracks and have some variety in his ... read more

Hall & Nash is another collaborative project from Westside Gunn and Conway and it does not fail to deliver. Notably, most of the production is more low-key than what the two usually rap over, but this isn’t a problem as it is still great. This record is really more of the same fantastic east coast hip hop from the two, but arguably better than what both of them have made at this point in their career’s. There are still a couple of flaws here, like the track Loganberry being too ... read more

The instrumentation is underwhelming, but it’s okay here or there. The instrumentation here makes this record somewhat tolerable at least, but the vocals and songwriting are absolutely horrendous. The singing is very hard to sit through and the songwriting is unbelievably basic and corny, even for love songs. The vocals are overly sentimental and Eazy puts in as little effort as possible, but he thinks that since they sound edgy and tortured that they convey emotion. Before I wrap this ... read more

Pop Smoke’s posthumous record, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, is a surprisingly enjoyable send off to the late rapper. This album sees Pop Smoke do his usually great drill raps with more diversity than his previous mixtapes. There are melodic tracks, love tracks, and tracks that have glitzier production than Pop Smoke usually raps over. It’s certainly not perfect, as Smoke can be somewhat lackluster vocally and some of the features are weak, but this album still really ... read more

Pop Smoke’s first mixtape is a great UK drill project. Smoke’s bold and deep vocal delivery and the drill production come together to make a really enjoyable mixtape. This project and Meet The Woo 2 showcased what potential Smoke had and it’s sad to see him go.

Favorite Tracks: Welcome To The Party, Hawk Em, Scenario, Dior, Feeling, Brother Man

Least Favorite Track: PTSD

Flygod Is an Awesome God 2 is one of the weaker releases by Westside Gunn in recent time. It’s not bad, but its forgettable by Gunn’s standards and it feels like a quick attempt to capitalize on more streams after his most popular album, Pray for Paris. This release is of little significance, but if you love Griselda, you won’t mind it.

Favorite Tracks: Jose Canseco, One More Hit, Lil Cease, Buffs vs. Wires

Least Favorite Track: Steve Behr

FLYGOD Is An Awesome GOD is a solid release from Westside Gunn. It faces inconsistency issues, like some of his other works and is one of the weakest projects I have heard from him, but it’s definitely enjoyable and isn’t a bad addition to his catalog at all.

Favorite Tracks: Bautista, Lunchin, Thousand Shot Mac, Pete Sake, GunnLib, Lakers Vs Rockets

Least Favorite Track: Sensational Sherri

Westside Gunn and Conway’s second collaborative project is a fantastic display of lyricism and grittiness. It’s as if Gunn made another Hitler Wears Hermes project with added input from another great rapper. Richer Porter has an underwritten and repetitive chorus and the two interludes/skits here don’t add much, but these are minor missteps as this album is pretty great.

Favorite Tracks: Rahbanga, Brains On The Basquiat, Fendi Seats, Alligator straps, empire, If I Ruled The ... read more

Before this review starts, I think it’s important to mention the reason why Westside Gunn chose to title this series of mixtapes such a controversial name. From a documentary, Gunn stated “The whole Hitler Wears Hermes, you know the title, man, was just, I wanted to come with, you know, some of the grimiest but flyest shit I could come up with, cuz like, that’s basically my whole style, you know. Just the grimiest, flyest shit I could think of, so. You know, everybody was ... read more

KiCK i proves itself to be one of the most eccentric projects I’ve listened to all year. Erratic electronic production meets reggaeton elements to make for an intriguing listen. It can be inconsistent here or there, as one track can be an absolute banger and the next can be underwhelming, but KiCK i still stands as one of the most unique and enjoyable projects of the year.

Favorite Tracks: Mequetrefe, Riquiquí, Watch, KLK, Rip the Slit, La Chíqui, No Queda Nada

Least ... read more

The first release in Westside Gunn’s well known Hitler Wears Hermes series is somewhat underwhelming to say the least. It’s not bad by any means, but Gunn has certainly improved since this project. To start, it’s not much different from really any other release from Gunn. Classy, yet hard-hitting east coast hip hop production and Gunn’s signature high-pitched delivery with gritty lyricism. With these aspects in mind, you could just jump to the conclusion that Gunn has a ... read more

Ghost Hardware is likely Burial’s best EP up to this point in his career. The title track is on Untrue and is inarguably one of his best songs. Shutta is another great track that relies heavily on syncopated rhythms and Burial’s always fantastic vocal sampling. Exit Woundz is really the only lowlight here, as it’s underwhelming and one-dimensional compared to the other two tracks here, but it does have its moments. All in all, Ghost Hardware is yet another great effort from ... read more