Don Toliver and Kali Uchis in "Drugs N Hella Melodies" come through with a chill and soothing track. Kali Uchis has a great performance with her vocals on the refrain that are complemented by Don's solid verses, even though it can sound quite a lot like Travis Scott at certain points. Production wise this is solid as well, as it feels lush but laidback. The only other criticism I could really make here is that I feel like the song could have gone further than it did as it starts to ... read more

Vince Staples is an artist that I've enjoyed for some time now and I was somewhat excited to hear what he would bring with this new single. Well, it's okay. The instrumental on this thing is really great, but Vince's flows and lyrics were underwhelming on this one. I also wasn't a fan of the delivery on this thing as it felt mainly uninspired. Not a bad track at all, but one that I probably won't be revisiting.

Logic makes his return from retirement with "Intro". A track that features these ambient backing vocals among a piano with Logic rapping triumphantly about his rise in the music industry. This song has some decent flows and solid lines, I just wished it was a little longer and more developed.

An incredibly strong but mellow track has been released from Isaiah Rashad that features his more melodic side. Isaiah Rashad pulls some really decent flows and rhyme schemes here while still providing a laidback song with these gorgeous vocals from background singer, MynameisNomi. This is a really solid track and I'm excited with what Isaiah Rashad will bring on his upcoming release, "The House is Burning".

FAVORITE TRACKS: Plainsong, Pictures of You, Closedown, Fascination Street
LEAST FAVORITE: Lovesong

"Disintegration" by The Cure is an overall decent rock project that has some lush production and wonderfully arranged instrumentation. Robert Smith also delivers some decent songwriting and vocal delivery on here, but what stops this album from being great for me is the long songs. I found them to drag out MUCH longer than they needed to and most of the second half had me feeling ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: No Return, Boom, GNF (OKOKOK), For the Love of New York, Clueless, Bloody Canvas
LEAST FAVORITE: Epidemic, Broken Guitars, Party Lyfe, So Real

Polo G is an artist I've really enjoyed in the past, his breakout mixtape "Die A Legend" is one of my favorite trap projects ever. Last year, Polo G released "The Goat", his debut album and to be honest I wasn't impressed with that project. It just felt formulaic and aside from the subject matter there wasn't much ... read more

Lorde makes a glorious return with this new track "Solar Power" just in time for summer. This is a really refreshing single that comes with a new sound for Lorde but one I will welcome with open arms. There's just a peace that comes with this track and it's happy mood. Instrumentally it's stripped back but Lorde carries with her undoubtedly great songwriting and airy vocals on the chorus. While this song didn't blow me away, I think that this is a great teaser for the next step in ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: Paprika, Be Sweet, Posing in Bondage, Sit
LEAST FAVORITE: Savage Good Boy

"Jubilee" by Japanese Breakfast is a heartfelt and passionate album that's concise but stays true to its core themes and sounds. Admittedly this is my first listen of Japanese Breakfast and I must stay that her vocals are so airy and angelic, but is so versatile when you compare tracks like "Be Sweet" and "Posing For Cars". The songwriting on here is decent as well although ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: All of them except least favorite
LEAST FAVORITE: How Can I Make It OK?

Being that this is my first listen of the band, Wolf Alice, I am utterly blown away by this album. Going in I only knew that this was an alternative rock album but I was pleasantly surprised by the versatility within the rock genre, with the inclusions of shoegaze and grunge that were executed to perfection here. I must also say that the vocals on this thing are consistently gorgeous and mesmerizing, and I ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: John L, Dethroned
LEAST FAVORITE: Marlene Dietrich

black midi is a band that has loads of potential and every member is extremely talented, but this new album, "Cavalcade" just drags for me. There were some shining moments on this thing whether it's the energetic track "John L" or the thumping backend of "Dethroned". Other than that I struggled to find much that I enjoyed here. I will say that I see why people would like this album, but in terms ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: Attitude, The Regulator, Supertouch/****fit, Fearless Vampire Killers, I
LEAST FAVORITE: I Luv I Jah

The self-titled LP from D.C. originated band, Bad Brains, is a great collection of hard punk tracks mixed with the occasional slower paced and mellow reggae song. The energy on this thing is infectious and extremely consistent throughout the record. Not to mention the incredible flows that H.R. pulls off effortlessly with fantastic delivery. One thing I really love about this ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: Bath Salts, Dogs Out, Hold Me Down
LEAST FAVORITE: Skyscrapers, Take Control

"Exodus", the first poshumous release from rapper DMX has its great moments but it definitely has its lows. The first five tracks on this thing are extremely solid and the album was shaping up to be a fantastic project, but after "Hold Me Down", I felt that this thing drastically dropped in quality. "Skyscrapers" was this awkward collaboration with Bono from U2, that ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: traitor, good 4 u, jealousy, jealousy
LEAST FAVORITE: 1 step forward, 3 steps back

"SOUR" by Olivia Rodrigo, is an album that shows a lot of potential but ultimately falls short in its execution of production and themes. Admittedly, Olivia Rodrigo wasn't an artist I caught onto when she started to gain traction with "driver's license", and even when I eventually heard the song I thought it was just okay. I started to wonder what I was missing because it was ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: Money Machine Madness, Pressure + Layers (Extended), Hotel California, Dinero, Dead on Arrival, Tuesday, Headed to the Moon
LEAST FAVORITE: Soul Food & Vegetables

BIGBABYGUCCI crafts a fantastic, atmospheric trap album with "1 NIGHT I TOOK ACID". BIGBABYGUCCI is an artist that I've had my eyes on for a while now. He's a rapper that has so much personality and brings so much energy and effort into every track, and his main producer, Fish, does a great job of ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: 95. s o u t h, m y . l i f e, a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e, 1 0 0 . mil'
LEAST FAVORITE: a m a r i

On "The Off-Season", J. Cole starts off strong in the first half but fails to capitalize in the second half. J. Cole is an artist I was kinda raised with, songs like Power Trip and Crooked Smile were played quite frequently around the house. Over time though, his music just wasn't hitting the same. KOD was a solid enough release but not one I revisited and it had ... read more

"Interlude", being the first single off of "The Off-Season", is a decent release from veteran rapper J. Cole. What really peaked my interest during my listen, was the crisp drum pattern that blended so well with this ambient choir in the background, it all felt like it was building up to this monumental moment. Cole does his thing on this verse here, with nothing short of good lyricism, especially with the Christ and Pimp C line. What doesn't make this a fantastic track for ... read more

Trippie Redd has released the highly anticipated single, "Miss The Rage", with the assistance of Atlanta rapper, Playboi Carti and in my opinion it did not disappoint. Ever since I heard the crazy reversed melody, and the deep, distorted 808s that were displayed in the original snippet, I was really excited to hear this thing whenever it would release. Now that it has released, I love both Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti's energy on this thing. Trippie Redd crafts this enticing and ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: All of them except least favorites
LEAST FAVORITE: Right Now, Top, All My Chains

"Luv Is Rage" is an album where you can see Lil Uzi Vert exploring styles and experimenting and frankly I think it's done really well on this thing. You can find everything here that would continue to blossom in his later projects such as his hype songs ("Enemies", "Banned from TV"), and his slower, more reflective side that is featured on the last track, ... read more

FAVORITE TRACKS: Wassup, Thornton Street
LEAST FAVORITE: Dream in Color

"Just Until..." by Cordae is an okay teaser to his upcoming album "From A Bird's Eye View". I've enjoyed Cordae's music ever since the release of "Kung Fu" and I've been really happy to see his rise in the rap game since. His last release "The Lost Boy" was a really decent album with a good mix of introspective tracks and bangers. I was really excited to listen to his new EP and ... read more

Little Simz has released a new track titled "Introvert" and wow I am blown away. The production on this song is amazing, with the rising strings on the outro and the cleanliness of the percussion shown throughout. Little Simz has some great lyricism here and I'm loving how much she let out on this track with fantastic delivery. Overall the cinematic feel of this song gave me goosebumps and her new album can't come soon enough after this.