The Honorable Shyne
November 21, 2024
The Honorable Shyne may not exactly convince us of Shyne’s musical importance, but it unfurls his improbable story with aplomb.
ALL: First Impressions
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.
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.
Kings from Queens: The Run DMC Story
February 18, 2024
Kings from Queens: The Run DMC Story gives testimony about a history that most fans of a certain age will know by heart.
May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story
February 11, 2024
May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story substitutes lengthy, single-camera interviews for a compelling, dynamic film.
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.