Blu & Exile, Love (the) Ominous World
October 27, 2024
Blu’s third album of 2024 revolve around familiar concerns: fulfilling his hip-hop ambitions, and trying to find spiritual sustenance.
ALL: Reviews
Rise of a Killah: My Life in the Wu-Tang by Ghostface Killah
September 30, 2024
Not quite a full autobiography, Rise of a Killah compiles interviews with Ghostface Killah that tend to be impressionistic in details.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys
September 2, 2024
A Tale of Two Dirtys strains to show us that the much-missed Wu-Tang star was a compelling artist, not a holy fool.
Boldy James & Conductor Williams, Across the Tracks
July 4, 2024
On Across the Tracks, Boldy James illustrates a drug hustler’s lifestyle in colorful language, not thematic exposition or narrative tension.
Your Old Droog, Movie
June 23, 2024
Your Old Droog’s “Movie” isn’t quite a God-tier film, but it’s a solid excursion with quality production and “nutty bars.”
ShrapKnel & Controller 7, Nobody Planning to Leave
June 19, 2024
“Nobody Planning to Leave,” a collaboration between ShrapKnel and producer Controller 7 unfolds as a kind of fragmented tapestry.
MIKE, Burning Desire
November 9, 2023
While defined by minute-long nibbles and familiar tics, MIKE’s Burning Desire has its share of buttery beats and standout bars.
Shabazz Palaces, Robed in Rareness
November 8, 2023
On Robed in Rareness, the Seattle rapper and bandleader Shabazz Palaces weds electronic funk with younger prospects of varying experience.
Westside Gunn, And Then You Pray for Me
October 18, 2023
And Then You Pray for Me yields another hour of Griselda street heroics by toggling between “drumless” boom-bap and punch-drunk trap beats.
Jay Worthy x Roc Marciano, Nothing Bigger Than the Program
June 20, 2023
On Nothing Bigger Than the Program, Roc Marciano’s engaging production can’t save Jay Worthy’s unconvincing performance.
DJ Muggs x Madlib x Meyhem Lauren, Champagne for Breakfast
April 19, 2023
On his collab with DJ Muggs and Madlib, Meyhem Lauren flexes a decent po-faced style and a capacity to crack a few fly bars.
The Legacy of J Dilla
April 15, 2023
The Legacy of J Dilla covers oft-trod ground, but there’s a poignancy in watching friends and family memorialize a lionized producer.