MARCH/APRIL 2020 ALBUM REVIEWS

Months have passed and lockdown is still in effect. Hope everyone is getting through it. Anyways here's my latest post. 


CJ FLY- RUDEBWOY



CJ Fly has been active for nearly 10 years and is best known for being one of the original members of the Brooklyn collective Pro Era (along with the face of the group Joey Bada$$, the deceased but much revered Capital STEEZ and DJ Powers Pleasant). The oldest member of P.E. dropped his debut album Rudebwoy in early March and it was met with positive reviews.  

The New Yorker spills his weed-intoxicated guts straight out the gate. Offering the rarely-heard perspective of the 'other' type of rapper... The spitter who hasn't yet attained the level of success or fame that their talent should elevate them to. The opening bars going...

'Ever feel Iike you can't doing nothin' right?
Goin' insane and the frustration make you wanna fight
Was looking down at this page and thinkin' what to write
I'm livin' check to check and yet some people claim they want this life' Goin Thru

His vulnerability, blunt honesty and just straight up barring is appreciated at a time where superficiality is at an all-time high. 

As you can tell from the album title, CJ Fly is of Caribbean descent (Jamaican and Bajan) and references to his island roots are made throughout Rudebwoy via his use of Patois. His talk of New York on Show You shows you (obviously) that he is also very proud of his NY identity.

Rudebwoy has a dope guestlist that nearly rivals Royce's The Allegory. Features include Griselda's Conway The Machine on the thugged-out City We From. His reputation for murderin' mics brought out the best in CJ. The brilliant Oshun delivered some nice vocals and verses on I Tried. Joey Bada$$ (who's also Jamaican as well as St Lucian) represented on the title track and the rest of his Pro Era partners made appearances on Block Party, Goin Thru and the posse cut closer The PROs.

In terms of technical ability, Pro Era don't mess about when it comes to bars so obviously CJ Fly did his thing on the mic. Content was varied. Standout moments include CJ's storytelling on tracks like Barrell where he talks about traumatic life experiences and Struggling where he raps from the perspective of his father who, as hinted from the title, had difficulties adjusting to his new life overseas. Another notable track was Jooks which was a salute to Yonkers legend DMX as he does an almost-perfect impression of the troubled but talented MC. CJ definitely ain't limited when it comes to subject matter.

I first heard CJ Fly on Don't Front from Joey Bada$$'s classic 1999 mixtape. That joint was produced by Statik Selektah and he produced the whole of Rudebwoy. While some tracks were more soulful and others were more grimy, many were head-nodders. It was like vintage 90's East Coast (or 'boom bap' as some call it) with a modern feel.  

Dope beats, dope rhymes. What more could I want? To CJ Fly to get more recognition. A shout for album of the year for sure. I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- Rudebwoy
Verse- Goin' Thru
Feature- Nyckz Caution 
Track- Rudebwoy



JADAKISS- IGNATIUS



Mr Raspy returned with his fifth solo LP Ignatius which dropped in late March. His first since 2015, there tends to be a huge time-gap between Jada's projects. While he's a much-respected veteran in the rap game and one of my all-time favourites, his popularity isn't what it was compared to the mid-2000s as this is his only album not to land in the billboard top 5. With that being said times have changed considerably and Jada's always been more about the bars and less about the charts. Anyways keep reading.

Since the 90s Jadakiss, whether solo or with LOX/D-Block (the original... not Adz and Dirtbike), has never stopped supplying heat for the streets. With Ignatius however the Yonkers great seems to be calming down with the Pusha T-assisted Huntin Season being the only real release of rugged rap. The general tone of Ignatius is quite laid-back. The best production was the 'luxury rap' type beats. To describe luxury rap, I would say think J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League or the type of beats you'd hear Rick Ross on... like Kisses To The Sky which features you know who and Angels Getting Pedicured.   

On one of the standouts, the 80's soul-inspired Me, Jada spits


'... Who started off movin' that work?
Put you in a black hearse, never had a wack verse? (Me)'

I agree 100% with the above bar and I've been saying for years that Jada's never had a wack verse. This hasn't changed but Kiss is well above spittin' non-wack verses... he can spit some of the dopest stanzas about... Damn near everything he spat in the mid-2000s is proof of this. The bars here were cool for any other rapper but this is a bit below the standard that Jada is capable of. It feels like he was just coasting for the majority of the album. The content might have played a role in this as well with the majority of it being either miscellaneous or for the ladies. Cos of this Jada may have not felt the need to really tear the mic up. His best verses actually came on the more introspective tracks such as Government Cheese and the aforementioned track with Pusha.

One of the strongest points of Ignatius were the features. Every rap feature (from the A-List like Pusha and Rozay to the lesser-known Millyz and Nino Man) was impressive to a point where I couldn't pick a favourite. Want something street? You'll prefer King Push. Feeling like you won the lotto? You'll prefer Rozay. Want something serious? Millyz and Nino Man. Very good line-up... You could argue they outshined Jada which is something I wouldn't have imagined writing. Oh and Ty Dolla $ign never has and probably never will disappoint with the hooks.   

Ignatius had a couple dope tracks and it was a decent album overall. I don't know if I'm being too hard or not but I still think the legendary Ruff Ryder's got it in him to make a classic. Jada though seemingly finds himself in a category of dope spitters that for whatever reason can't mould that magnum opus. Maybe he will with his next album... that probably won't drop for another five years. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Angels Getting Pedicured
Verse- Huntin Season verse 1
Feature- TBD
Track- Kisses To The Sky

LIL UZI VERT- ETERNAL ATAKE



The Philly trap star is one of the premier names of the sub-genre. He's known, like many others, for his face tats and piercings. In addition though, his past references to satanism have raised a few eyebrows. You may notice that a popular nickname for the devil rhymes with Uzi Vert. Forgetting all that though, the pint-sized weirdo dropped his highly-anticipated debut Eternal Atake in early March to both critical and commercial success landing at the top of the billboard charts.

Exclusively trap, Eternal Atake is a concept album about space split into three different themes (tracks 1-6 then 7- 12 then 13 onwards). So theme one (the take-off to space) starts off real gassed then after it goes into some EDM-type beats then changes to a mix of either some trippy or gassed production. Bigger Than Life and Prices had some soulful/gospel elements which was cool and Chief Keef impressed with his composing skills on Chrome Heart Tags though I did find Uzi's voice kind of annoying by this point. If Keef Cozart keeps it up, people might start calling him Keith Mozart.

This album was somewhat different to the other trap albums I've reviewed. Other than this album having a concept, the other trap albums I've heard are packed with features but EA only had one. It wasn't another trap artist like Young Thug or his affiliate Playboi Carti but one of my favourite artists Syd from The Internet. Syd's soothing hook and verse certainly made Urgency a better listen. 

Some of the production was dope in places and included some of the best beats I've heard on a trap album such as Baby Pluto, Lo Mein and Prices for example. Some of the other beats though were spoiled by Uzi's flow and tone. As mentioned earlier, Uzi is tryna take the listener outer space but if they're playing EDM then I'm making a U-Turn cos I'm Sorry and Celebration Station had me feelin' more outta place than outer space.    

Bar-wise, Uzi's not a bad rapper. Most Philly artists can more than hold their own. He's obviously not on the level of someone like Black Thought but he does utilise a bit of multi-syllabic rhyming. EA didn't have much to offer in terms of content. It was the same old 'I get bitches, look at my riches, put my opps in ditches' talk. On the bright side there was no satanic talk. He spoke about past relationships and chick stuff on the EDM tracks as well as on one of the standouts Bust Me. Other than that though, I'm pretty sure Uzi gave his fans what they were expecting.

Decent album. Some dope production in places. I ain't got much to say other that. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Bust Me
Verse- Prices verse 2
Feat- Syd
Track- Bust Me  


JAY ELECTRONICA- A WRITTEN TESTIMONY



Perhaps the most enigmatic figure in hip hop, Jay Electronica... fuck that... call him Jay ElecHannukah, Jay Elec Yarmulke... sorry force of habit. I'll start over. Years after blessing the rap world with several instant classics such as Eternal Sunshine, Exhibit A and Exhibit C; the New Orleans God-hop artist known as Jay Electronica... f...inally dropped his debut album at age 43 titled The Written Testimony. Obviously Jay's been a busy guy. I mean he was dating a member of the infamous Rothschild family so I get that he might have forgot that signed rappers are supposed to drop an album or two. Anyways, AWT dropped in mid-March and was well-received by publications. Commercially, it landed just outside the top 10 in the Billboard Charts.

Jay Electronica is known for being a member of the Nation Of Islam and the album kicks off with a speech by the polarizing NOI leader The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan over haunting strings and a high-pitched piano loop. 

Although this was released as a solo album, Jay Z features HEAVILY on AWT and drops an abundance of dope verses. Many would argue that the Roc Nation head stole the show. I wouldn't go that far but given that Jay Elec made us wait so long for what is essentially a 9-track album, this should have been 98% Jay Electronica in my personal opinion. With that being said, I did enjoy them going bar for bar especially on the festive Shiny Suit Theory.

The majority of the production was handled by Jay Electronica himself with additional help from heavyweights like Alchemist, Swizz Beats, No I.D. and Hit-Boy.
  The sound of AWT is difficult to categorise. It's not boom bap, It's not trap, it's not that dirty south sound that the hot boys (also from Jay Electronica's birthplace of Magnolia projects) were known for but the uniqueness of his sound (along with his stellar lyricism) contributes to what has made him such an alluring figure in the last 10 years.
  There were some dope beats though such as the epic blockbuster Universal Soldier, the soulful Fruits Of The Spirit and Ezekiel's Wheel was simply beautiful. The latter sounds like the music you would hear if you were trying to call God and you were put on hold.
   If there's one producer I would have wanted to hear on AWT, it would've been Just Blaze without doubt. Another installment to the flawless exhibit series would've been dope. Certainly would've preferred that over Flux Capacitor which was the only wack track (production-wise) on the album. The rest I thought was mostly dope.

At his best Jay Electronica's pen game is of the highest tier. His rich vocabulary, proud references to his Islamic faith as well as the esoteric makes his music most appealing to the hip hop head... or hip hop nerd if those terms aren't interchangeable. After such a long wait for his debut, he speaks about the pressures on The Blinding of the hype surrounding him. He also delivers what sounds like an autobiography on The Neverending Story.

In regards to the former, did AWT live up to the hype? If you were expecting an instant classic like the Exhibit tracks then probably not. With Jigga's heavy input, it might seem like a collab album but even then this was still a quality release and undeniably one of the best albums to come out this year so far. I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- Universal Soldier
Verse- The Neverending Story
Feature- Jay Z- Shiny Suit Theory
Track- Ezekiel's Wheel


SKEPTA/ CHIP/ YOUNG ADZ- INSOMNIA



This was a project that surprised many. UK Rap A-Lister's Skepta, Chip and Young Adz joined forces to record Insomnia which dropped in late March. It landed at No.3 on the UK album charts and was met with positive reviews.

In spite of the contrasting styles with DBE's Young Adz being a trap artist and North Londoners Skepta and Chip being predominantly grime acts, they did merge well together. In what was most likely a mistake, The Intro is the last track and the album kicks off with trap track Mains with Chip coming out the gate to obliterate.

Which leads to the question, who was the MVP of Insomnia? The first couple of tracks I was saying Chip but Skepta came back heavy afterwards. So it's a tussle between the two Totty MC's. I got one criticism for each though, On Demons Chip says

Yo, lyrical niggas on tired beats
I ain't here for that, turn them off (Forget that)
Me and LB in the pool in Ibiza with six gyal, panties off (It's lit)

If Chip Diddy Chip's gonna make them kinda comments then he should at least spit that on a track with a more fire beat and the next rhyme could at least... rhyme lol.
  Hold tight Skepta as well. I remember him once rapping 'It's Skepta, I will never sing to the inspector'... I rather Skepta just didn't sing at all tbh cos hearing the BBK leader sing on the chick-friendly Golden Brown was a bit cringey still. To be real I'm getting tired of rappers singing but that's just me innit. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the beats. I was expecting a whole bunch of trap and autotune but the production was varied which was good for someone like myself. Yeah the first half was mostly trap but the second half covered sub-genres like drill (Star In The Hood), Mic Check had a garage feel which explains the numerous references to garage classics and High Road had a more traditional hip hop feel. This made for a more well-rounded project. A grime track would've been good though.

In terms of content, we all know what Young Adz is about. This go around an insta model with 4.5m followers and a lesbian (a more PC term) benefited from his LeBron James movements (taking his talents 'down south'). The first half of Insomnia was the typical trap stuff. Balla talk, trapper talk, playa talk and whatnot but room was made for more serious content on tracks like Traumatised and High Road (Young Adz dropping a standout verse on the latter). Basically all the artists showed that they're not one-dimensional.   

Before listening to this album, I was kind of expecting the worst. Initially thought this was just an album done for the hype but it's actually quite a good project. The younger audiences will probably appreciate this one more than me but this album did have some moments. Young Adz, Chip and Skepta can sleep well, I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- Insomnia Interlude/ Star In The Hood
Verse- Chip Verse 1 (Mains) 
Feature- Dirtbike LB
Track- High Road

WESTSIDE GUNN- PRAY FOR PARIS



The head of Griselda's work-rate can rival any artist, even Lil Wayne during his monumental 2005-2009 run. In the past two years, the self-proclaimed Flygod dropped 8 different projects (including Griselda's debut album last year) with Pray For Paris being his latest release. Dropping in mid-April, it was met with positive reviews which no doubt solidifies Griselda's importance to the game.

Being the flygod that he is, PFP kicks off with the recording of a Leonardo Da Vinci painting being auctioned for a record $400m... I need to buy some paintings... and it kinda sets the tone for the rest of the album because if you know about Westside Gunn, you know he loves extravagance and he spits plenty of that throughout.

The last solo album I heard from Gunn was Supreme Blientele and the most recent project I heard from the Buffalo rapper overall was Griselda's WWCD. What's changed and what hasn't? 
   Well French Toast is the first tune I've heard from WG that's aimed at the ladies or should I say les dames (Google translation told me that). The Wale-assisted tune is somewhat gritty but the lush piano loop and Joyce Wrice's lovely vocals adds a touch of class to the rugged drums and ad-libs. 
   One of my fave beats on the album was 327, which featured Joey Bada$$ and Tyler, The Creator. Prior to this, I don't recall hearing WG on a 'lo-fi' beat. It was a standout track though so I wouldn't mind hearing more of this.
   Daringer who is Griselda's in-house producer and has featured prominently in previous projects took a backseat this time as he only made one beat. PFP instead saw Westside work with a West Side legend in the NY-born/LA-raised DJ Muggs, a future West side legend in Tyler, The Creator (no G-Funk sounds from either), hip hop's GOAT DJ Premier and most surprisingly Jay Versace. The boy in that meme who took a selfie crying his eyes out? Yes that's the one. None of them disappointed with their contributions. I was actually impressed by Jay Versace's gospel-influenced production.   

What's remained is that other than French Toast, WG stays true to his core base and to who he is. That trapper talk, the gangsta talk and the drip talk wasn't gonna go anywhere other than to France with him. I am not complaining. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  
      Regular collaborator The Alchemist came through and dropped 2 tracks. I love a soulful loop but the sample used on $500 Dollar Ounces was a little tedious. He more than redeemed himself on the addictive Claiborne Kick which was a definite standout.
    His Griselda family (professionally and personally), Conway and Benny, dropped by to butcher two tracks like the lyrical machines they are.
   No WG album would be complete without a Keisha Plum spoken word, a Westside Pootie skit, some WWE skits as well as the best ad-libs in the game right now and none of the aforementioned were absent.

The production was mostly cool as I previously mentioned but there were a few tracks where the beat didn't merge well with WG's vocals. 
  The feature-list was impressive... maybe too impressive... as bar for bar WG does end up getting outshined by Benny, Conway, Joey, Roc Marciano and also Boldy James. WG can spit though and does drop some entertaining verses.

All in all, it's a good effort by the Buffalo boss and it was refreshing to see WG put at least one foot outside of his comfort zone. No surprise one of the better albums to drop this year. I'll give this an 8

FAVES
Beat- 327
Verse- 327
Feature- Benny The Butcher
Track- Claiborne Kick



As inconvenient as lockdown has been for people the world over, I'm lucky that I'm able to catch up on my reviews. I've almost caught up. Anyways next post should be coming soon.

Peace Out!

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 ALBUM REVIEWS

Yo. I guess I could ask how your year's going but let's be real... 2020's been crazy AF. If you're bored in the house and in the house bored though at least you got these album reviews to read, check it out.


MICK JENKINS- THE CIRCUS



Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins kicked off 2020 with a nice 7 track EP titled The Circus. 

The Circus is a mix of soothing sounds and 'turn up' tracks and the production is what makes this an enjoyable listening experience... especially the 3 track run of Carefree, The Light and Flaunt. 

The content for the most part tends to be quite miscellaneous though I did dig the topic of Carefree

'It just don't look like this If you living carefree then you probably don't look like us' Carefree


The above quote is the opening bars to the standout track which is about Mick trying to enjoy his life in spite of having to endure racial profiling by the police. This is sure to resonate with black people who experience this regularly... mix the content with Black Milk's dope mellow/melancholy instrumental and you have a contender for one of my fave tunes of 2020. Flaunt had some lightweight boasting but as mentioned a lot of the verses would be classified as freestyle topics to me.

Mick's flow and technical ability are sharp though at times there were a few lines that didn't rhyme and his ambiguous content will be a case of either you love it or hate it.

The dope beats and Mick's artistry was enough to keep me entertained so I'm the former. Good project to chill and unwind to. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- The Light
Verse- Carefree verse 2
Feature- Johnny Venus
Track- Carefree


EMINEM- MUSIC TO BE MURDERED BY


The legendary Detroit MC unexpectedly dropped his 11th album titled Music To Be Murdered By on January 17th.

After 20 years in the game and millions of records sold, Em's legend/GOAT status has been solidified amongst hip hop purists... as well as a very specific demographic. In recent years though, he's been criticised by some for his 'lyrical miracle spiritual individual criminal, subliminal in your swimming pool' type verses (style over substance basically). Also for his recent material not quite measuring up to his earlier works. Commercially though, none of that stopped MTBMB from becoming his 10th number one album in a row. Critically speaking? Keep reading.  

Eminem comes out the gate addressing the disapproval he's received with a fire verse on Premonition ...

'They said I'm lyrically amazing, But I have nothing to say/ But then when I put out Revival and I had something to say/ They said that they hated the awake me

... Instead of us being credited for longevity/ And being able to keep it up for this long at this level, we/ Get told we'll never be, what we were/ Bitch, if I was as half as good as I was, I'm still twice as good as you'll ever be'

... on the following Unaccomodating however he reverts to his vintage marmite style. This shows that Eminem ain't gonna stop barring like Eminem anytime ever and to be fair he probably shouldn't.

Despite his 20-year long connections to the likes of Dr Dre and Mr Porter, Marshall Mathers (along with Nasir Jones) has often caught flak for his beat selection. While the beats on this aren't particularly amazing, they're not necessarily horrible either. I do commend the diversity of the MTBMB actually. While I expected to hear Eminem spit over traditional hip hop and them spooky slim-shady-type beats (you know what I'm talking about), I was somewhat impressed to hear him over Trap/R&B (them Bryson Tiller/6lack kinda beats) on the standout No Regrets and even dancehall on Farewell (take that Chet Hanks) which sampled No Games by Serani. Overall though there were a couple misses.

Bar for bar we all know Em is a beast with it and I'm sure he'll retire for good before he ever drops some nursery-rhyme level verses. Some punchlines were dope while some were silly but quite funny (for example 'How you doin? You Straight? No I'm bi'). All of the guest rappers impressed with their verses especially protege/longtime friend Royce as well as the rest of his former Slaughterhouse brethren (not Joe Budden though).

Standout moments on this 20-track offering include the super-speed syllabic slaughter on Godzilla where he rapped a PB of 11.3 syllables per second. Darkness was a brilliant story with multiple meanings and he also addresses people he's been having problems with. This possibly includes Lord Jamar and Joe Budden. 
  Other than that the content ranges from relationship problems, drug use, the typical slim shady horrorcore stuff (Stepdad is quite similar to the sickening Relapse track Insane) and there were some dope posse cuts too.

In 1999, Eminem was something different to what mainstream music had seen. In 2020, we all know what Em is about so now it's a case of take it or leave it. Though he may have tried to reach out to other audiences with the trap tracks, this is still strictly for his Stans. Funny how that classic which was critical of crazed fans are the same ones keeping him relevant. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- No Regrets
Verse- Premonition
Feature- Royce Da 5'9 (You Gon' Learn)
Track- Darkness


MAC MILLER- CIRCLES


Mac Miller achieved a lot in his short life. Despite having a hugely successful indie career (selling over 2 million records with Blue Side Park) and making the Forbes list at just 20, Mac Miller couldn't shake off his dependence on drugs and overdosed at just 26 years of age. Circles was the last album Mac was working on. It was released on January 17th to critical acclaim landing at No.3 on the Billboard Charts. 

Though a rapper, Circles is predominantly a non-hip hop album with Mac doing a lot more singing than spittin'. Because of this, I'm going to keep this review relatively brief.

Class A drug use, although illegal, is common and is stereo-typically consumed by those with money to blow. It's been this way for decades. While some use it for recreational purposes, others use it as a tool of escapism and based on the content of Circles, I assume music and drugs were Mac's way of achieving the latter.

A pattern I noticed on Circles, in my view, is the contrast of borderline-feelgood production with gloomy lyrics. For me, the beats allow this album to be an easier listen otherwise it may have been too depressing to listen to. The lyrics below are somewhat eerie given what ended up happening and makes me wonder if suicide was something he was contemplating...  

'Some people say they want to live forever
That's way too long, I'll just get through today' Complicated

'There's a whole lot more for me waitin' on the other side
I'm always wonderin' if it feel like summer'

TBF, it's not entirely doom and gloom with lines like this for some level of balance...

'Yeah, why don't you wake up from your bad dreams?
When's the last time you took a little time for yourself?
There's no reason to be so down
Rather fly around like there's no ground' Hands

Whatever the beloved Pittsburgh artist was going through, at least it produced Circles which will no doubt serve as a beautiful parting gift for his fans and loved ones. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- I Can See
Verse- Blue World verse 2
Track- Hands

J HUS- BIG CONSPIRACY


Arguably the biggest UK rap star in the game, the king of Afroswing returned with his sophomore album Big Conspiracy in late Janauary. It was both a critical and commercial success landing at No.1 in the UK national charts and it currently has an impressive metacritic score of 87.

Big Conspiracy gets off to a strong start, kickin' off with the smooth title track and Helicopter. The mysterious vocalist icee tgm provided a sweet hook on each.

The first four tracks were pretty dope but I wasn't too sold on Play Play however and I found the excessive use of phallic similes somewhat cringey. The theme didn't stop there though as it continued on the following track, the aptly-titled Cucumber. Though the latter did make for a better listen.  

Unlike his debut Common Sense, J-Hus opts to work with artists outside of his genre including rising Jamaican star Koffee (Repeat), the 'African giant' Burna Boy (Play Play) and the platinum-selling RnB star Ella Mai (One And Only). Not gonna lie to you, besides Repeat (where Hus only done the chorus), I was quite indifferent to the other two tracks.   

Overall though the good definitely outweighed the not-as-good (I opted for that term as none of the tracks were BAD). 

Production is handled mostly by Jae5 (who produced every track on Hus's last album) and the beats are pretty fire overall. The East Londoner's versatility sees him display his talent on a variety of genres including hip hop, afroswing, dancehall, afrobeats and drill. The TSB-produced No Denying without doubt being the standout. If you're into something a bit calmer though you might prefer the title track.

In terms of bars, J has a good level of technical ability. Content-wise, he shows he can get beneath the surface when he's ready as displayed on tracks like Deeper Than Rap but he's well aware of his core audience thus he keeps it palatable to the mainstream. 


The selling points of Big Conspiracy are the upbeat radio-friendly vibes (generally), the catchy hooks, the sing-rap flow and the production. This enables him to say whatever (such as Fight For Your Right where he says 'I was a real nigga till I fucked my nigga's girl/ The only way to repay him is to give him the world/ And when I get my own wife, he can fuck her as well') over whatever and his fans will still dance to it paying little attention to how outlandish those bars were. 

J Hus's brief stint in prison and his infamous twitter rants haven't done anything to stifle his ability to make bangers. He knows what his fans want and I'm sure they'll be more than satisfied. I'll give this either a 7.5 or an 8.

FAVES
Beat- No Denying
Verse- Deeper Than Rap
Feature- icee tgm
Track- No Denying 

LIL WAYNE- FUNERAL



Rewind back to 15 years ago and the pint-sized, dread-headed, lean-sippin' workaholic from New Orleans was the hottest name in rap. Although the baton was later passed on to his YMCMB protege Drake (who still has it now), you could still argue that Weezy's 2005-2009 run was stronger. Given I was one of the few not on the bandwagon, I vividly remember feeling like 2pac due to the 'me against the world' debates I had during this period. 

OK now back to the present, things are a little different. Lil Wayne's output hasn't been as consistent. Reasons include but not limited to a highly-publicised feud with former mentor/father figure Birdman, drug-related health issues as well as his supposed retirement plans (possibly hinted by the title of this album). Also while his best-selling album Tha Carter 3 is viewed a classic (NOT BY ME!), the critical response to his following albums haven't been received with the same admiration. His previous album Tha Carter 5 has been viewed by some as his best work since Tha Carter 3 though the former's metacritic score of 72 is quite a way off the latter's 84. Still though, Lil Wayne's rep is enough for this to be his 5th number 1 album. My thoughts? Keep reading.

At 24 tracks, you already know how I feel about lengthy albums. I'm automatically going to presume this is going to be a quantity over quality project. This isn't entirely the case with Funeral however as the production is pretty damn dope. The majority of these beats are gassed and in my view would be a good album to have in the whip or to play at the gym. The ones that differ from the core sound include the RnB-flavoured Harden and Sights And Silencers which are amongst my favourites. The Adam-Levine featured Trust Nobody has more of a rock vibe to it while Bastard and Get Out My Head have a dark, gothic, eerie feel. 

As far as bars go, he has his moments I suppose. On Trust Nobody he briefly shows some vulnerability and introspection but it's mostly braggin' and superficial talk (I'm from the hood/ I'm tough/my guys are tough/ I got mad hoes and even more dough etc). I thought he went hard on tracks like Piano Trap, the title track and Darkside but then he had some bars that were mad silly

'Titty-fuck your baby mama
She breastfeed your child while I do it, I'm stupid' Mama Mia

Well... Least he's honest. You'd think I'd have more to say about an album with so many tracks but to be real I don't. The previous two paragraphs pretty much summarised it. It's a real pick-up-and-go offering.

This is a decent release and not as bad as I anticipated but the length is a bit much for me. His fans might love it but there's only so much Lil Wayne I can take in one go. The gassed production is the main pull of this album and is enough of a reason for me to give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Mahogany
Verse- Piano Trap verse 2 
Feature- Lil Twist
Track- Harden


A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE- ARTIST 2.0



A Boogie, real name Artist definitely lives up to his government name... giving that's what he is for a living. 'A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie' however? I've found several pics of him not wearing a hoodie... Anyways forget that, the NY rapper dropped his third album Artist 2.0 on Valentine's Day landing at No.2 on the billboard charts. 

Despite being born in the borough that birthed hip-hop, Boogie (much like Compton's Roddy Ricch) made a name for himself opting for the new-age trap sound instead of the 'boom bap' beats associated with NY. This album is 20 tracks long and you already know what I'm gonna say about that. Anyways keep reading.

I see why this album was released on Valentine's Day given most of the content is about relationships. Not so much romance however as numerous songs (including the opener Thug Love) are about failing or failed relationships.  Aside from that, you have the typical superficial content. The closer Streets Don't Love You being one of the only tracks that is about something different. If you're not into trap, getting to track 20 might be a task.

The production was strictly trap. Many of which had an RnB flava to it. The first 2 tracks being pretty good. The following 3 tracks (as well as Hit Em Up, DTB 4 Life, Another Day Gone) had a heavy-guitar influence with Hit Em Up having a wild west-trap feel to it. The beats for me ranged from average to good. Stain, Thug Love, Streets Don't Love You and Calm Down being the standouts. 

The BX sing-rapper boasts

I’m that nigga, no cappin', I’m a goat
All these niggas flow jackin' and I know. Stain

I'm not the biggest trap fan to know if this is true but I doubt it is. 

Like most new-age trap artists (Young Thug, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch etc) and even afroswing artists like J-Hus and MoStack, A Boogie has a sing-rap style which he confirms as seen on lyrics below

They call me a singer, I'm rapping with melodies,
nigga, like, na-na-na, na-na (Na). Hit Em Up

I mean they all have the same kinda sound in my view so I don't know...

A Boogie recruited the A-List of this turn-up sub-genre from Young Thug to Gunna to Roddy Ricch to DaBaby. TBH, I feel the guests were important as they helped to make Artist 2.0 more listenable. Lil Uzi Vert stole the show on both of his features.

After a while Artist 2.0 becomes kinda tedious.. I wouldn't say A Boogie can't rap but his verses are nothing special and nothing really stood out for me except maybe the closer. Also quite a few tracks had longer choruses than verses. Being the hip-hop head I am, there's only so much new-age trap I can take.

If you're gonna make an album with the same sound and content, I don't think it should go over 12 tracks as this was the point where I started to get a bit fed up. I would say out of the 20 maybe 7 for me had some level of replay value. The rest is either take-it-or-leave-it or a straight skip. A trap fan might feel this, an A Boogie fan might feel this but a dude like me? I have to give this a 6.

FAVES
Beat- Stain
Verse- Streets Don't Love You
Feature- Da Baby
Track- Stain 

ROYCE DA 5'9- THE ALLEGORY



In my view the best lyricist in the game right now, the Detroit veteran Royce Da 5'9 dropped his 8th LP The Allegory on February 21st. Since Layers in 2016, Royce has been consistent with his output dropping a solo project every 2 years. He's been even more reliable with his artistry as his top-tier level of lyricism has been maintained since the late 90s... perhaps even improved.

At 22 tracks, The Allegory adds itself to the list of lengthy projects in the last couple of months. I don't know why there's been so many but given Royce is no joke on the mic, I'm hoping for the best. Keep reading.

Closing off a gripping verse/spoken word on the opener Mr. Grace (where he speaks on the structure and corruption of society), Royce explains the meaning of the album title (also explained on Ice Cream interlude). As shown below, you can guess what Royce might be alluding to...

'I guess it's from the back of the back to back to sittin' with my back to the shadows
With actors standin' behind me with puppets controlling nothing but shapes
But that shapes our fate
This is the Allegory of the cave theory by Plato'

Not surprising for any hip-hop head, the bars are straight fire from start to finish. The content focuses predominantly on the black experience in America and on nickle nine showing the world why he's a ten on the mic. You're spoilt for choice when it comes to dope verses but some of the standout bars were the shots he threw at former labelmate Yelawolf, Donald Trump and fashion brand Gucci to name a few...

'In reaction to slithers from lizards mouth
Yelawolf this is your first and your last pass
I ain't gon' put it on blast, your punk ass know what this about
You think it's 'bout being loud or tryna be hostile
'Til you get found face down on the ground outside of Kid Rock house
Though you a vulture pundit, I hope you get sober from this
Men lie, women lie, so do numbers' Overcomer 

'I hate that your Commander In Chief is more demander and thief
And it seems like this boy just can't be impeached
I can't be under the thumb of one who seems to be attracted to his own daughter' Rhinestone Doo Rag

'Only Gucci we acknowledge around this way is Radric Davis
Only thing fly around this way, hollow tips, I dodge that shit
Gave my nigga three to five for marijuana and legalized that shit' My People Free 

Even though we're only a few months into 2020, I expect The Allegory to have the guestlist of the year. To name a few, every member of Griselda featured seperately as does former partner-in-rhyme Kxng Crooked and T.I. There were no weak features and the skit by Eminem (where he doesn't rap but does touch on the topic of race and music) is sure to provide food for thought. Some of the standouts for me was the fairly obscure Cyhi The Prince on Black Savage and Ashley Sorrell (who features thrice) on My People Free. 

A significant component of The Allegory are the skits. All of which in my view made for good thought-provoking listens. Aside from the impressive Eminem contribution, there's the polarizing anti-vaccination/pan-African Black People In America.

To varying levels (producer or co-producer), Royce is responsible for the album's entire production. Although Royce is abundant in dope lyrics, this album is lacking when it comes to dope beats. 

If you asked me to name some dope beats from a Royce album I could. 

Rock City? Boom. 
Layers? The title track. 
Book Of Ryan? Cocaine and Boblo Boat. 

The Allegory? ... 
I mean the soulful melodic loop and beat switches on Overcomer were pretty dope, I Play Forever was kinda tough and Rhinestone Doo Rag was nice and smooth. The beats aren't wack but overall they're not as good in comparison to his past albums. I feel this LP needed someone like Mr Porter or DJ Premier (both are regular collaborators) to drop some heat on the beats. 

I would have given this a way higher score if it wasn't for the production. Super-lyricists need to remember that the fans need dope lyrics AND dope beats. Good project regardless. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- Rhinestone Doo Rag
Verse- Mr Grace/FUBU
Feature- Benny The Butcher/Ashley Sorrell (My People Free)
Track- Overcomer 

LIL BABY- MY TURN



Somewhat ironic but Lil Baby happens to be one of the biggest guys in the trap game right now. The Jamie Foxx doppelganger dropped his sophomore My Turn in late February. Landing at the top of the billboard charts. 

Several artists have been dropping albums with 20+ tracks recently and guess what? Yeah you already know so I ain't gotta say it. Anyways keep reading.

The content is pretty much what I would expect from any other trap rapper. Nothing wrong with that either to be fair. So you can expect the drip talk, the playa talk and some hood talk. It is what it is. As far as technical ability goes, he's a better rapper than I expected. He's obviously no Royce Da 5'9 but he can put words together and does use a fair amount of multi-syllabic rhyming with the odd lightweight simile. Were there any tunes where he went a little deeper with the content? I guess you could say Can't Explain where he talks about his troubled past. Sum 2 Prove as well as Chase The Sun were quite introspective as well. Let's be real though, trap ain't never been known for bars. It's known for music to turn up to.

Bringing us on to the production. Just like the title of the album's closer, the beats were most definitely solid. Many of the heavyweights of trap such as Gunna, mentor Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert and Future made an appearance as well as Lil Wayne. 

Generally the beats were gassed. There were a few like Chase The Sun, Same Thing and Solid that contrast with the overall feel of the album but there's plenty to turn up to... maybe even too much? The sound is consistent and the beats were quite dope. At 20 tracks though, this could either be exactly what Lil Baby fans want or it could be a little tedious and repetitive. I've made it known that I'm not the biggest trap fan in the world so for me, it's the latter.
   
'They don't treat me like no rapper 'cause my vibe like I'm in the streets
I'm one of the top five, it ain't too many guys as real as me' Same Thing

Even though I'm no trap enthusiast, My Turn topped the billboard charts and he's holding his own with all of the big names in trap so I guess he has every right to feel that he's amongst the top 5 (in trap, not hip hop overall). Me personally, I think My Turn was a good offering. I would go as far as saying that every tune was good in it's own right but it was just a little too long for me. These 20-track albums have to stop IMO. I'll give this a 7.  

FAVES
Beat- Gang Signs
Verse- Sum 2 Prove verse 2
Feature- Lil Uzi Vert
Track- Sum 2 Prove

Anyways, that's January and February done. The reviews for March and April is coming soon.

Peace Out!