2 CHΛINZ – “Pretty Girls 👍 TRΛP MUSIC” review

Just a little over a year after dropping the ColleGrove self-titled album with Lil Wayne, Playaz Circle member 2 Chainz is now delivering his 3rd full-length album. The opener “Saturday Night” sees Tity Boi talking about treating every day like it’s a Saturday & the production from Mike WiLL Made-It has these ominous piano keys as well as a KILLER electric guitar throughout. The next song “Riverdale Rd” talks discusses going from grams to Grammys & the beat is eerie, yet very abrasive. The track “Good Drank” with Gucci Mane originally appeared on 2 Chainz’ 3rd EP Hibachi for Lunch back from last October & it’s still as much of a spacey club banger as it was when it first came out then. The Quavo hook doesn’t really bother me at all either, especially with the hilarious Dr. Dre/André 3000 line that pops up near the end of it. The song “4 AM” talks about selling drugs at the titular time & while I do like the murky production that fits the vibe, I was disappointed that Travis Scott only did the hook & a couple adlibs on here. The track “Door Swangin'” goes in about hustlin’ & the atmospheric production isn’t too bad, either. The song “Realize” sees 2 Chainz talking about partying as well as Nicki Minaj dissing Remy Ma over a cloudy-ish beat & I gotta say, Nicki actually went in on this song. Oh, & the “fuck mumble rap” line that 2 Chainz spits at the end of his verse surprised me as well. The track “Poor Fool” has an ambitious tone lyrically & I really love the wind chimes throughout the beat. I’m also happy that Swae Lee only does the hook on this track & he definitely did a decent job at that here. The song “Big Amount” with Drake originally appeared on Tity Boi’s 9th mixtape Daniel Son; Necklace Don from last August & it still sounds as much of a chill braggadocious tune as it originally was then. However, the Drake verse is still average. The track “It’s a Vibe” with Ty$ as well as Trey Songz & Jhené Aiko is a sex banger that really does live up to the title. Especially with the funky guitar on here. The song “Rolls Royce Bitch” talks about believing in yourself & the really smooth guitar passages on here actually make it my 2nd favorite track on the entire album. The track “Sleep When U Die” samples “All I Need” by Lee Fields referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. The song “Trap Check” talks about cashing in checks & buying shit with the money over a sinister beat with some rattling hi-hats. The track “Blue Cheese” has a wavy beat, but the Migos feature is what REALLY kills the vibe for me on here & the 2 Chainz verse at the beginning does it little justice. The song “OG Kush Diet” talks about getting high since his friend passed as well as saying your favorite rapper has no talent (presumably another shot at mumble rap) & I absolutely love the beat change halfway through. The penultimate track “Bailan” is actually my favorite track on the entire album. Not just because of Pharrell’s relaxing production, but also how charismatic Tity Boi sounds on here too. The album then closes out with “Burglar Bars”, where it gets motivational to the listener over an instrumental that compliments the vibe perfectly! Even though I’ve never been a big fan of this guy, this new album of his took me by surprise. The production’s hard as Hell as one would expect, but what got me the most was how 2 Chainz was sounding a lot more interesting me over them this time around. If any of you are like me & didn’t care for his last 2 albums B.O.A.T.S. (Based On A T.R.U. Story) or it’s sequel Me Time all that much, then I HIGHLY recommend checking this new album out because it truly is like night & day

Score: 3.5/5

JL – “D.I.B.K.I.S. (Do It Big, Keep It Strange)” review

After being affiliated with Strange Music for several years, Kansas City emcee JL finally signed with the independent hip hop powerhouse in 2015 & is now releasing his first album with them. The opener “Strange the World” has a killer rap rock beat & given the title of the track, JL does not disappoint. The next song “2 Up” with Strange founder Tech N9ne talks about being 2 brackets above everyone else & while I do enjoy verses as well as the heavy bass in the production, the execution of the hook could’ve been much better. The track “Own Thang” originally appeared on Tech’s last non-Collabos album The Storm back when it first came out back in December & it’s just as great as it was then from the stereotype topic to MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7’s hard hitting production. The song “Hate Nature” addresses all the haters out there & 7’s production fits JL’s aggressive delivery like a glove. The track “Out Da Hood” is basically about going from rags to riches over a hyphy beat & the guest verse from Nef the Pharaoh isn’t too bad either. The song “Saturday” with Tech as well as The Popper & Marlon Young is a club banger, but it just feels redundant to me. The track “Risky” talks about sex over a spacey beat & while he does it cleverly, the hook from Navé Monjo is just ok. The song “Catch a Wave” with Joey Cool talks about grinding & I absolutely love how it starts off with some ominous strings. The keyboards on here are pretty nice, too. The track “Password” is yet another club banger just like the previously mentioned “Saturday”, but this one goes WAY harder. Not just because of ¡MAYDAY!’s production, but JL changes his flow near the end of both verses very cohesively. The song “Technology” with Tech N9ne talks about sexual activity via technology (hence the title) & both of them do it very creatively. Especially with the reference to the classic Zapp track “Computer Love” right before Tech’s verse. The perfectly titled “Fuck Everything” is pretty much JL angrily going at every single thing from clubs to excuses & while one may complain about the excessive use of the word “fuck”, I personally think it’s an abrasive track. The track “Done to Me” vents about a breakup & I like how the guitar matches the sincere vibe that’s being given off. The song “Propaganda” sees JL getting conscious & there are some really cool DJ scratches going on in the background throughout the duration of the track. The penultimate track “Elevation” talks about being stressed then eventually making it & between the guest verses from Joey Cool along with Emilio Rojas & Krizz Kaliko, I felt that Krizz had the best flow of the 3 despite the mediocre PlayStation simile that pops in a little bit after his verse starts. The album then closes out with “This Time”, where JL’s passionately spitting about how thankful he is that his time isn’t up yet as well as how he feels right at home with Strange Music over a beat from 7 that has an fittingly ambitious vibe to it. There’s also a pre-order track to this thing called “Everywhere”, which pretty much brags about success & the production from The Dead Beatz is just THUNDEROUS! If you ask me, this could very well be JL’s best work yet. His lyricism & delivery are on point like it’s always been & the production is probably the hardest set of beats he’s ever had. I’ve always felt that this cat is very underappreciated & the fact that Tech N9ne is giving him proper exposure with this album makes me very happy for both parties, because this dude really is gonna be Strange’s next big artist

TLC – Self-titled review

Almost 15 years after the death of Left Eye as well as the release of their 4th album 3D, renown Atlanta, Georgia girl group TLC have decided to give their fans 1 last album. The fittingly-titled opener “No Introduction”, talks about how Left Eye’s still with them & that they’ve already paved the way, but the production is pretty nondescript. The next track “Way Back” talks about getting back with an ex & not only does the guest verse from WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg compliment TLC, but the beat SLAPS too! The song “It’s Sunny” talks about brighter days being here, but the club beat was just average. The track “Haters” addresses just that & while that’s fine, the modern production does not suit them at all. The song “Perfect Girls” has an acoustic vibe to it & lyrically, it seems like a sequel to “Unpretty”. We are then treated to a 1 minute interlude where Left Eye is posthumous talking over a funky instrumental. Sad thing is though: this is the only Left Eye appearance on the entire album. We then get back on track with the song “Start a Fire”, which is basically the other 2 remaining members of TLC saying that they’re hiding in men’s dreams. The instrumental starts off with an acoustic tone, but then it changes up into something more during the last minute or so. The track “American Gold” talks about no one being safe & always pulling through over a somber instrumental enhanced by some piano keys. The song “Scandalous” has a sexual tone in the lyrics over an futuristic sounding instrumental that actually doesn’t sound too bad, but I’d much rather listen to “Red Light Special”. The penultimate track “Aye Muthafucka” disgustingly goes in about being fed up with their man’s shit & the beat is somewhat catchy. Then the album fittingly closes out with “Joy Ride”, where they’re thanking us for supporting them over a funky guitar & some piano keys. Even though this was crowd-funded, I walked away from the final product thinking it was just ok. I mean I knew T-Boz & Chilli were gonna try to make it work without Left Eye & I’m fine with the songwriting on most of the tracks, but the production’s not up to snuff. I have a lot of respect for TLC but with a group of their caliber, I think they could’ve gone out with a bigger bang

Score: 3/5

JAY-Z – “4:44” review

Almost 4 years after the disappointingly mediocre Magna Carta…Holy Grail, renown Brooklyn rapper & businessman JAY-Z is finally delivering his 13th album & he has enlisted No I.D. to produce it in it’s entirety. The opener “Kill JAY-Z” talks about killing his ego over a soulful instrumental & it even addresses his Throne cohort Kanye West’s stage rants from last November. Despite calling him insane, he does assure Ye that he does feel bad for him. The next song “The Story of O.J.” sees JAY getting conscious over some piano keys & a sample of “4 Women” by Nina Simone. Matter of fact, Jigga actually makes a PERFECT reference to the original Nina Simone song during the hook. The track “Smile” talks about pushing through the pain & while I don’t care for the drums at all, the Stevie Wonder sample is nice & I love the background vocals too. Also, the outro from his mother Gloria (whom JAY publicly announces & supports for being a lesbian near the end of the first verse) was endearing. The song “Caught Their Eyes” talks about watching your surroundings over an instrumental with a tropical vibe to it & the Frank Ocean hook isn’t as great as his hook on “Oceans” was, I still liked it. The title track is a sincerely delivered apology to Jigga’s wife Beyoncé & the soul sample on here enhances the remorse that JAY is letting out. Despite the song “Family Feud” being said to be about the recent beef between older & younger hip hop artists, it could possibly refer more to his wife almost leaving him for cheating on her (especially with the line at the beginning of the 3rd verse about telling Becky to let him alone). Also, Beyoncé’s background vocals that can be heard throughout the entire track are just beautiful. The track “Bam” has a braggadocious tone to it lyrically & while I do enjoy the horns as well as the hook from Damian Marley, that one line Rae Sremmurd & Bobby Shmurda at the beginning of the 2nd verse is really corny. However, he does make an interesting reference to “30 Hours” off of Kanye’s latest album The Life of Pablo shortly after. Plus, there’s no denying that the IG pictures line during the first verse couldn’t be any more true The song “Moonlight” is a message to all the new rappers & I absolutely LOVE the “Fu-Gee-La” sample on here. The penultimate track “Marcy Me” is a dedication to the streets delivered over a soothing instrumental, but I thought the reference to “Unbelievable” by Biggie during the intro was just ok. Same goes with the outro from The-Dream. The album then closes out with “Legacy”, where his daughter Blue Ivy asks him what a will is & he responds by talking about his family’s workmanship over some jazzy horns. If any of you were disappointed with Magna Carta…Holy Grail as much as I was, then I can tell right now that this is A LOT better. No I.D.’s production is soul sample galore & lyrically, it could very well be his most personal effort yet. It’s pretty much the male equivalent to Beyoncé’s latest album Lemonade, except I’ll go as far to say that it’s better

Score: 4/5

Vince Staples – “Big Fish Theory” review

Almost 10 months after the release of his Prima Donna EP, Cutthroat Boyz member & Odd Future affiliate Vince Staples is now finally delivering his sophomore full-length album. The album opens up with “Crabs in a Bucket”, where Vince is talking about how he hasn’t let go a lot of problems he’s had as well as comparing the black man to Jesus over a atmospheric & trippy instrumental. Especially with the vocal samples. The next track “Big Fish” sees Vince reflecting on how far he’s come in the rap game over a hyphy beat & the Juicy J hook is fitting as well. The “Alyssa Interlude” has a clip from an Amy Winehouse interview for the first half, but then we hear a verse with Vince reminiscing about a girl who’s most likely died & then it finishes with a perfect Temptations sample. The song “Love Can Be…” with Kilo Kish talks about how Kilo’s done with her ex along with the hoes that want a taste of Vince’s fame over an instrumental that’s PERFECT for the clubs. I also like Vince’s homage to both Alright & For Free? by Kendrick Lamar at the beginning & the end of the final verse respectively. The track “745” has some thunderous yet funky bass throughout & he’s talking about picking up his girl at 7:45 in his BMW 745 along with how love’s really hard for him because all the pretty women he’s gotten with his whole life have lied to him. Also, the Adam & Eve metaphor for all the snakes out there during the bridge hit me. After wondering if people in New York would even know if he existed if he were to be murdered today during the 1 minute “Ramona Park’s Yankee Stadium” interlude, we then get into the next song Yeah Right”. On this song, Vince is asking a bunch of questions & talking about what pretty woman want over a distorted yet abrasive instrumental & the guest verse from Kendrick Lamar doesn’t disappoint either. The track “Homage” talks about how no one can hold him back now that he’s a successful rapper over a high-tempo techno beat. The song “SAMO” talks about how nothing has changed & the production is very eerie. The track “Party People” asks how can Vince enjoy the party when all he see is death & destruction as well as him talking about needing good vibes over a beat that once again is perfect for the clubs. The penultimate track “BagBak” pretty much tells the phonies to back off of him because they don’t know him over a hard hitting hip house beat. The closer “Rain Come Down” talks about some gangsta shit was well as metaphorically comparing a stripper to Etta James over a gritty UK Garage-influenced beat. Even though this album is only 36 minutes long, this could very well be better than his debut Summertime ’06. His takes on love are just as nihilistic as he’s always been (especially with the line on “Yeah Right” about a pretty woman slitting her wrist) & the electronic dance music influenced production brings a fitting atmosphere to the lyrics. To anyone who still hates Vince or even refuses to give him a chance because he said the 90’s were overrated a few months after his debut album came out: I don’t think you can deny that this is his most experimental work yet

Score: 4.5/5

Big Boi – “Boomiverse” review

Almost 5 years after his last album Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors, OutKast member Big Boi is finally returning with his 3rd full-length album (4th if you count Speakerboxxx). The album opens up with “Da Next Day”, where he’s talking about how “it’s time to stir the pot” over a futuristic sounding yet symphonic beat from Organized Noize. The next track “Kill Jill” with Killer Mike sees Mike hitting on a woman as well as Big Boi talking about his comeback referencing former 3-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion & WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes over decent trap beat with a cool vocal sample & the Jeezy hook enhances the energy of the track. Also, I find Big Boi’s flow on here to be WAY better than Mike’s. The song “Mic Jack” is a club track with an old school electrofunk beat from DJ Khalil, but the Adam Levine hook is so-so. The track “In the South” talks about Southern ghetto life & while I do appreciate the Pimp C hook, I was a bit disappointed to hear that Gucci Mane reused the opening verse from “Lil Dudes” off his The Return of Mr. Perfect mixtape for the opening verse for this. The song “Order of Operations” talks about “grinding & stacking” over a spacey beat from Scott Storch. Honestly, it makes me really happy to hear that Scott still has it in him. The track “All Night” talks about kicking it with some chick over some old-timey sounding piano keys & the acoustic guitar strings during the last minute are nice too, but I thought the execution of the hook was just atrocious. The song “Get Wit It” has a beat that I can imagine hearing E-40 rapping over & I actually think the guest verse from WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg was harder than Big Boi’s verse. The track “Overthunk” talks about overthinking over a beat sounds somewhat Atari-ish & the Eric Bellinger hook isn’t too bad either. The song “Chocolate” is a club banger with a hip house beat & it actually comes off as pretty infectious. The song “Made Men” with Killer Mike & Kurupt talks about how their styles can’t be cloned as well as how you need to save yourself instead of your homies over a beat that sounds inspired by a retro game, but the uncredited 2nd verse from recording engineer Renegade El Rey was just meh. The penultimate track “Freakanomics” redundantly talks about sex, but the only good thing about the beat is the saxophone that pops in both at the beginning & at the end. The album then finishes with “Follow Deez”, where Big Boi gets with Curren$y & Killer Mike to deliver some hard southern G shit over a menacing beat from Mannie Fresh. Even though I wouldn’t say this isn’t any better or worse than previous album, it’s still a solid effort & worth checking out in my opinion. Some the song topics could’ve been better on a few tracks & I personally would’ve trimmed a couple features, but Big Boi’s underappreciated skills are certainly still there & the production SLAPS!

Score: 3.5/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “SATURATION” review

BROCKHAMPTON is a San Marcos, Texas based hip hop collective & this is their breakout full-length debut. The tape opens up with the song “HEAT”, where we get 4 aggressive verses about things such as robbing your crib along with depression & the ominous instrumental from Romil Hemnani actually reminds me of Odd Future. The 2nd track “GOLD” is a braggadocious tune & Q3’s production on here sounds a lot more mellow than it did on the opener. The song “STAR” making tons of pop culture references including the A24 Films coming-of-age drama Moonlight over a menacing tuba from Jabari Manwa & out of all of them, my personal favorite was the one near the end of the first verse where Dom McLennon’s talking about the collective “going ’04 Pistons on ’em”. The track “BOYS” talks about feeling like southern hip hop’s answer to 1 Direction & the vocal effects that happen during the hook actually took me a minute to fully appreciate. Also while I presume that a lot of people will automatically dismiss Dom’s verse on here because it has auto-tune on it, the auto-tune on it, it actually doesn’t bother me at all. The song “2PAC” is a 1-minute Ameer Vaan solo track & he pretty much talks about his internal conflicts over a smooth piano from Kiko Merley that enhances the emotion of the track. The track “FAKE” talks about hitting them up on their phones over a spacey instrumental & while it was interesting to hear that the voices on all 3 verses are all high-pitched, I feel like Dom didn’t have to throw Auto-Tune on top of his. The song “BANK” sees Dom & Ameer respectively talking about not slippin’ anymore & reminiscing about selling weed until moving to California over an instrumental that starts off with a tropical vibe, but then transitions into a more murky beat during Ameer’s short verse. The track “TRIP” talks about being who you want, but all 3 verses are so heavily Auto-Tuned that it sounds too robotic for me. The song “SWIM” discusses love & I absolutely love how it starts off with just an acoustic guitar, but then they throw in some drums & a couple blaring synths. The verses are auto-tuned again but here, they’re not throwing an excessive amount on it like they did on the previously mentioned track. The track “BUMP” energetically goes in about ridin’ down to Mexico & drug dealing over a beat that mostly sounds dubstep-influenced, but briefly transitions into a sole guitar passage every single time the hook from the collective’s de facto leader Kevin Abstract hook comes around. The lyrical content on the song “CASH” is self-explanatory & Kevin’s extremely short verse sounds buried in the mix, but the next 3 verses sound way more passionately delivered & I like the guitar licks throughout the song. The song “MILK” talks about self-improvement & the instrumental has this really cool psychedelic vibe to it. The penultimate track “FACE” talks about how upset they are now that their significant others have left & the somber-tuned instrumental fits perfectly with the tone of the track. The closer “WASTE” is a 2 & a half minute bearface. solo track where he’s singing about losing his way albeit being alright over some killer electric guitars & his voice to me is reminiscent to Frank Ocean’s. This thing has gotten A LOT of hype since it dropped a few days ago & it actually does live up to it. The content is on point, both the passion & energy are there, it sounds more creative & well put together than their previous mixtape All-American Trash did, the auto-tune only gets to me at certain points, & it’ll all make make you anticipate seeing what they’re gonna do next

Score: 4.5/5

SZA – “CTRL” review

After a series of countless delays following the release of her fantastic Z EP back in 2014, Top Dawg Entertainment’s 1st lady SZA is finally releasing her full-length debut. The album kicks off with the track “Supermodel”, where basically SZA telling her ex that she cheated on him on Valentine’s Day to understandably get back at him for going out to Vegas that day & the instrumental has a wavy guitar along with some bass & some organic drums. The next song “Love Galore” with Travis Scott seems to follow that opening track up, as it talks about her ex wanting to get back with her when she doesn’t over some wailing synths. The track “Doves in the Wind” is a dedication to pussy with a spacey instrumental & the guest verse from Kendrick Lamar fits into the song perfectly. The song “Drew Barrymore” reflects on a low self-esteem version of SZA herself & not only does the instrumental on here enhance the emotion of the song, but it’s also infectiously catchy. Especially with the strings near the end of the track. The track “Prom” is pretty much SZA promising herself to get better as she gets older & the instrumental will make you wanna throw a party. The song “The Weekend” talks about being this guy’s side chick during the weekends (hence the title) & while I love the spacey synths at the beginning along with how the smooth keys throughout, the cliché snares just sound meh to me. The track “Go Gina” talks about this guy bringing her out of her character when he’s around her & the production from Ging primarily has these winking chimes & some drums throughout most of it, but the tension building strings during the last 20 seconds of it are beautiful. The song “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” is pretty much SZA telling this guy that she loves her & even though I appreciate, the trappy production on this track sounds so painfully generic. The track “Broken Clocks” talks about how SZA’s moved on from her ex for the better, despite him still talking about her & while I do enjoy the trophy vocal sample on here, the hi-hats are just average for me. The song “Anything” sees SZA asking her ex if he knows she’s alive & the instrumental on here has this fantastically galactic tone to it. The short but sweet “Wavy” sees SZA singing about how bad as Hell she is as well as looking for a way out over a dreamy instrumental & while James Fauntleroy’s voice does sound muffled during his hook, I still enjoyed it. The song “Normal Girl” is pretty self-explanatory, as it talks about wanting to live the life of a normal girl over a spacey instrumental. The penultimate track “Pretty Little Birds” with Isaiah Rashad is basically the 2 talking about wanting to be together for the rest of their lives & the instrumental is very smooth. Especially with the jazzy trumpets that pop in right before Zaywop’s verse. The album then closes out with the track “20 Something”, where SZA is passionately hoping that she doesn’t lose all of her friends & doesn’t die while she’s in her 20s over nothing but an acoustic guitar that enhances the beauty of this closer. When it seemed like TDE was never gonna release this album, it was well worth the 3 year wait. The production is luscious for the most part, it’s well-written & SZA’s vocals sound both very focused & passionate. If you enjoyed SZA’s early mixtapes & Z as much as I did, then I don’t see why you wouldn’t like this. She’s been one of my favorite R&B singers of this current generation & walking away from this seeing her improving herself just makes me really happy

Score: 4/5

Kool G Rap – “Return of the Don” review

With the 6 year anniversary of his last album Riches, Royalty, Respect passing by just a few days before it’s release, former Juice Crew member Kool G Rap is finally returning with his 5th full-length album & he has enlisted MoSS to produce it in it’s entirety. The album opens up with the title track, where G Rap reminds us why he’s one of the illest lyricists ever over a grimy ass beat. However, my only issue with this track is that it was way too short. The next track “Mack Lean” has a really smooth flute sample throughout & while I do love how G Rap flows over it, I think AG da Coroner’s verse compliments G Rap’s better than Fred the Godson’s did. Mainly because of how husky his voice is. The following song “Criminal Outfit” with N.O.R.E. sees the 2 talking about raising the slums up & throwing a chick named Sharon inside an Uber over a really cool piano sample but just like with the title track, I feel like the song is way too short. The song “Wise Guys” has a fantastic scratch hook from Statik Selektah along with a soul sample throughout & even though Freeway’s verse is nice, Lil’ Fame’s fits into the track a lot more perfectly. The track “Out for That Life” is a braggadocious song with some somberly tension building horns & it was only right for him to get a verse from Raekwon on here. The track “Time’s Up” has a nice organ sample & the rhyme schemes are just bananas from start to finish. Not just that, but it actually sounds finished in contrast to the title track. The song “Capitol Hill” with Cormega & Sheek Louch sees the 3 delivering vivid street bars & the beat on here sounds purely evil. The song “Running” with Saigon & Termanology talks about following protocol no matter how long they’ve been around & I love how uplifting the instrumental is. The song “World’s Mine” may have a decent hook, but G Rap’s verse in the middle of the song along with the guest verses from KXNG CROOKED & Willie the Kid at the beginning & the end respectively make up for it. Especially with how you can hear the passionate emotion in KXNG CROOKED’s voice throughout the duration of his verse. The penultimate track “Popped Off” with Ransom & the late Sean Price has some aggressive verses & the instrumental fits them like a glove, but’s really the verses from G Rap & Sean that make the track so hardcore. The album then closes out with the appropriately titled “Rest In Peace”, where Kool G Rap’s talking about feeling like the black Axl Rose & how the strong never fade over a bass guitar with a little bit of an electric guitar too. Also can’t forget that while Shady Records’ most recent signees Hall ‘N Nash are trading bars back & forth with each other during the last minute of the song, you can just tell that their verse together was heavily influenced by G Rap & I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. To me, the appropriately titled Return of the Don is a much needed & near perfect one. Yeah I wish that some of the songs could’ve been stretched out a little bit longer & there’s a lot of features too, but I believe most of the guest verses served their purpose. On top of that, Kool G Rap’s pen game is as strong as ever & MoSS’ production is WAY more rugged & hard hitting than the production on Riches, Royalty, Respect was. Despite the small flaws, I think this is a serious contender for Album of the Year

Score: 4.5/5

LINKIN PARK – “1 More Light” review

Given that LINKIN PARK’s last album The Hunting Party was a return to form for them, at first I was pretty excited going into their 7th full-length album over here. However with each & every single that was released for it, I started to worry about it. Despite this, I still gave it a shot with an open mind. The opening track “Nobody Can Save Me” sees Chester Bennington singing about fighting your inner demons, but the dubstep instrumental sounds absolutely God awful.

The next track “Good Goodbye” is the only song on the entire album to feature a rap verse from Mike Shinoda & while his verse along with the guest verses from Pusha T & Stormzy about a failed relationship are just ok, the instrumental on here is pretty generic. The song “Talking to Myself” is told from the perspective of Chester’s wife Talinda, but the only good thing about the production is the guitars during the beginning & the hook.

The song “Battle Symphony” talks about picking yourself up when you’re down, but it just comes off as really sappy. The song “Invisible” is the one of the only 2 songs on the entire album where Mike is on lead vocals & while he may be sending a heartfelt message to his children, the production just ruins it. The Chester/Kiiara duet “Heavy” addresses holding onto one’s sanity & the instrumental enhances it’s status as THE worst song on the album. Especially how it starts off with a quiet tone, but then we get a crescendo during the hook to make it sound dramatic.

The song “Sorry for Now” sees Mike apologizing to his kids for being gone over a wavy instrumental, but I would much rather listen to “Where’d You Go?” from his Fort Minor side-project. The song “Halfway Right” talks about Chester’s drug addiction & the cliché snares throughout most of the track made me genuinely angry. The penultimate track is the title track, where Chester is singing about death over a settle instrumental that lacks any form of progression. Then we have the final song “Sharp Edges”, where Chester is reminiscing about his youth over an acoustic guitar & it’s actually ok.

I can honestly say that this is EASILY the worst album that LINKIN PARK has ever done & it’s not simply because of the fact that they ditched their metal/rock sound to go pop on here: it’s because the production is sickeningly sweet & it makes almost every track sound corny. I have no problem with artists experimenting with sounds & the band did come through with a couple ok songs, but they just failed miserably at this outside of that. I’m sorry but as much as I really respect these guys, I don’t see myself coming back to this garbage ever again

Score: 0.5/5