This is a bit of a detour from Eminem’s discography but I thought I might as well check it out while I’m here. Royce seemingly brings the best out of 2010s Eminem, as his verses here are far better than they were on Recovery. This record shines the most in its verses than in its hooks. The hook writing is extremely lackluster, A Kiss is a perfect example of this with the chorus actually bringing the song down a considerable amount, despite the rapping being great. I wouldn’t ... read more

I’m sorry for never asking how your day went Em and I’m sorry that your dog died but I still have to critique your album. Now I said there weren’t many standouts on Relapse, however, I don’t think there’s a single standout here. The best way I could describe Recovery is listenable. Do I want to listen to it? No, absolutely not. I will likely never put this album on again. I will never sit there and say “You know what I want to listen to right now? Almost ... read more

Relapse comes after a nearly five year wait since Eminem’s last studio album, Encore, and improves over that one in most aspects. He’s not at the level he was at during his prime, however, this isn’t the mess that was his previous record. I’ll admit, I was confused for the longest time why this was called Relapse because this is the album where he got sober. It took me far too long to realize that this is his “relapse” back into rapping, as Encore was ... read more

Encore is the album that begins the fall from grace for Eminem’s music. It’s actually kind of insane how this came only two years after The Eminem Show but is this much worse. Then you learn how many drugs he was on at the time and it makes a lot more sense. Apparently a few of these songs were freestyled and then redone so they wouldn’t sound like it, however, I think it’s pretty obvious which ones were. The verses on tracks like Rain Man, Puke, and My 1st Single kind ... read more

Eminem was already a huge figure by the time of The Marshall Mathers LP but by The Eminem Show, he’s a mainstream celebrity. This album sees Eminem move farther from the horrorcore of his previous record and more into a pop rap sound. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some fucked up lines on here, but you’re not getting another Kim. Instead, you’re getting tracks like the extremely fun and catchy Business or the rap rock style Sing For The Moment. This album is ... read more

The Marshall Mathers LP comes just over a year after the commercial success that was The Slim Shady LP and Eminem is just as riled up as ever. This time, the songs are stretched out much longer, allowing the characters of Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers to be explored further than they ever could have on his previous album. Songs on here like Kim or Stan have some of the greatest storytelling Eminem would ever pull off and others like The Way I Am or Drug Ballad have lengthier verses that ... read more

This is yet another solid release from Denzel Curry. The man really can’t miss with any of his projects. I love how hard this leans into southern hip hop with legends like Juicy J and Project Pat (ignore his recent feature on that Tom Macdonald album) as well as the vocal samples on HOT ONE and a few of the interludes. There’s also the inclusion of many newer rappers like Kenny Mason, Mike Dimes, PlayThatBoiZay, and Armani White. Denzel is able to blend these two eras of hip hop ... read more

Before doing this deep dive and at this current moment this is my favorite project of Eminem’s. Nearly every song on this record holds such a special place in my heart. It was the introduction to the Slim Shady character and where I think the insane lyrics and personality of Slim shine through the most. Even outside of my own personal love of this album there are so many undeniable classic tracks like My Name Is, Guilty Conscience, Role Model, Brain Damage, Rock Bottom, and even Bad Meets ... read more

It likely comes down to me enjoying Zaytoven’s production more than Southside’s but I prefer this mixtape to 56 Nights. Zaytoven goes insane on those keys and his beats stay interesting despite using a lot of trap elements I’ve heard thousands of times. There are a few forgettable tracks but not so many to where I wouldn’t want to come back to this as a full project. There are quite a few highs as well like Lay Up, Where I Came From, and Real Sisters that I would hold up ... read more

Infinite is a surprisingly enjoyable debut for Eminem. The personality that would come on his next records isn’t here but he was still a technically skilled rapper. Some of his verses can end up relatively uninteresting, being mostly filler bars to get those internal rhymes, however, they do sound nice. The beats are pretty run of the mill boom bap but they compliment Eminem’s clearly Nas influenced rapping well. One last thing I will mention is that this felt quite a bit longer ... read more

Speak Now is another great collection of pop tunes from Taylor Swift. It doesn’t quite have the pop country mastery that her next album, Red, would but that doesn’t mean these tracks aren’t fantastically written and produced. Some of my personal favorite tracks of hers like Never Grow Up, Dear John, and Enchanted land here. I started to tear up listening to the first. Maybe it’s the nostalgia talking, as that was one that played quite a bit throughout my childhood, but I ... read more

This album marks the turning point for Arctic Monkeys, they’re never going to make another Favourite Worst Nightmare and I’m okay with that. Just because they’ve switched sounds doesn’t mean they are still making great music. I actually love a lot of the elements they’re playing with here. The strings, the big guitar solos, the piano, and the still fantastic bass all mix together extremely well. Especially on tracks like Body Paint. That song feels so unique in the ... read more

While not as gentle as Sling, this record feels a lot more natural. It really taps in with nature with lots of woodwinds, lovely piano melodies, and mixing that’s reminiscent of an older time. The album cover matches that perfectly with that shade of green, the graininess, and her messy hair. She feels so mature on this album as well with her soft voice and open lyricism. I enjoy the lyrics but the instrumentals are the best thing about Charm. The arrangements are lush and there’s a ... read more

I’m splitting this review up into four parts being the three volumes and an overall statement about the album as I feel like that’s the best way to do this. I will also rate each volume separately.

Volume 1 - 92

This first nine track run is entirely made up of highlights along with The Book of Love. I Think I Need a New Heart is fantastic too, I absolutely love that vocal run Stephin does during the chorus. I enjoy the last three tracks as well with Nothing Matters When ... read more

I enjoyed this record more than I expected to with what I’ve heard of it, however, I see why it gets a lot of the criticisms it does. Some of these tracks can get repetitive really fast. Daft Punk songs are normally repetitive but these seem to drag on longer than normal, each repeating for four plus minutes. That being said, I do like what’s going on in them. The first three track run is great. Human After All is pretty easily my favorite track on the album. It just hits so hard. ... read more

This is one of those albums that just makes me say “god, I love hip hop.” From the fantastic sampling, to the hard-hitting and at times confrontational bars, to the extremely catchy hooks, this album cements itself as one of the greats in hip hop history. What’s insane is that one of the members would go on to make a project that’s held even higher than this one. It’s clear that Lauryn Hill is the best artist out of these three, as she outshines them on nearly ... read more

This is a relatively uninteresting tape from Lil Yachty’s new group/label. I don’t hate most of what’s going on but I don’t love it either. Yachty is clearly the best rapper out of these five, although I see some potential for most of these artists. KARRABOOO especially as she comes through with some of my favorite performances on this mixtape. There are a few great moments like 2 HANDS 2 EYES 10 WHIPS/RENT DUE. Everyone does pretty well and both beats are actually ... read more

Please Please Me sees The Beatles in a bit too early of a state. It’s clear they weren’t in their best form yet but really how could they be, it’s their debut album and half of it is made up of covers. There are some absolute bangers on here though. Twist And Shout is the obvious one. What a fucking performance from John, his vocals honestly feel out of place in the song, but in a good way, if that makes sense. There’s the title track too which is just so nice, I love ... read more

It’s a classic for a reason and mostly holds up today. There are the obvious sexist/homophobic lines scattered throughout but that’s kind of what you’re getting yourself into with any rap album of this era. The production has such a classic sound with those punchy drums under hits of sampled guitars, pianos, or horns and some amazing bass on the tracks where it shows up. There’s also enough of THOSE bells (you know the ones I’m talking about) and record scratching ... read more

This album is front to back, non-stop energy. Joey Valence’s sometimes smooth, sometimes hard-hitting, and sometimes even club-like beats make for such a fantastic companion to he and Brae’s lively rapping. This record consists of so many different types of hip hop that I don’t even know where to begin. There are these super bass-y tracks like DOUGHBOY and BUSSIT but even these break the mold a bit with BUSSIT having this random breakbeat section toward the middle. There are ... read more