Dec 28, 2019

Quite possibly atop the tree of short projects that were released last year. I haven't revisited in a while, but goodness me it was enjoyable. IYKYK and TGWP are the standout tracks for me.

8/10

 

Dec 28, 2019

Easily Pusha’s best solo project and the closest he’s ever come to his Clipse prime. Kanye proved that no matter how hard he falls off as a rapper, he’s still one of the best producers out. 8/10

 

Dec 27, 2019

@Sav Stanfield Maybe you can make a new poll for each year.

For example, you take the 5 or 10 most popular albums of 2010 and make a poll. You leave the poll up for like 2-3 days. Then you make a new poll for 2011 with the 5 /10 most popular albums. Rinse and repeat until 2020.

Then at the end you take the album with the most votes from each year and make a final poll..

Not sure how much work that would be but I think a system like that would make a lot of sense.

 

Apr 14, 2019

Barter 6 gets an 8.9/10 from 7 ratings

Next up…

RATING 31: Playboi Carti - Playboi Carti
Release Date: 14 April 2017
Label: AWGE/Interscope



Tracklist:

01. Location
02. Magnolia
03. Lookin ft. Lil Uzi Vert
04. Wokeuplikethis ft. Lil Uzi Vert
05. Let It Go
06. Half & Half
07. New Choppa ft. A$AP Rocky
08. Other s---
09. No. 9
10. Dothatshit!
11. Lame Niggaz
12. Yah Mean
13. Flex ft. Leven Kali
14. Kelly K
15. Had 2

Even though this mixtape only came out in 2017, I’ve always thought Carti deserved a spot on that infamous 2016 XXL Freshmen list, right alongside Uzi, Yachty, Kodak, Savage, etc. Sure, he hadn’t dropped a project yet but the success of massive singles like Fetti and Broke Boi and the subsequent waves they generated were in my opinion more than enough to promote Carti a year ahead of his eventual Class of 17.

Its been exactly 2 years now since Carti finally capitalised on the bubbling success of the aforementioned series of SoundCloud singles and loosies and burst into the public consciousness with his debut self-titled mixtape. Dropping on the same day as Kendrick Lamar’s highly acclaimed and massively popular d---. didn’t stop Carti from achieving a high level of market penetration. With lead single Magnolia (and co-signs from A$AP Rocky and Lil Uzi Vert), Carti introduced us to a whole new level of Chief Keef-inspired ad-lib heavy rap (glockyyyyy!) that saw a significant amount of success and sonic influence in the years to come. A previously unknown Pierre Bourne is behind the boards for most of the songs that appear here and he does an incredible job of blending that spacey, ethereal (no pun intended) Father/Awful Records sounds with his own signature buoyant trap-inspired touch.

Die Lit, released a year later is undoubtedly the bigger, better and glossier project but Playboi Carti certainly holds its own. 2 years later and it still sounds fresh, inspired and fun. I give it a 7/10.

@RateThisAlbum

 

Apr 8, 2019

10/10 blassic

 

Apr 2, 2019

easy 8. still stand by it that this is the best final album we coulda got from Dre. any iteration of Detox would've been dope, but Dre came off a lot more personal and sincere on this than he would've on some futuristic club s---.

 

Apr 2, 2019

i am a huge Dre stan so it will be hard for me to rate this
I will need to get a couple more listens, I didnt revisit it for a while

 

Mar 28, 2019

Madvillainy get a 10/10 from 7 ratings (the first perfect 10!)

Next up…

RATING 28: Anderson .Paak - Oxnard
Release Date: 16 November 2018
Label: Aftermath



Tracklist
01. The Chase ft. Khadja Bonet
02. Headlow ft. Norelle
03. Tints ft. Kendrick Lamar
04. Who R U?
05. 6 Summers
06. Smile/Petty
07. Mansa Musa ft. Dr. Dre, Cocoa Sarai
08. Brother’s Keeper ft. Pusha T
09. Anywhere ft. Snoop Dogg, The Last Artful, Dogr
10. Trippy ft. J. Cole
11. Cheers ft. Q-Tip
12. Sweet Chick ft. BJ The Chicago Kid
13. Left to Right

We praise Young Thug a lot for his widespread influence, but I think Kendrick Lamar deserves just as much recognition. Acts like J.I.D., Smino, Saba and Cheeky Andy himself owe a lot to Kendrick’s breakthrough into the spotlight. Anderson .Paak stands out from the others though; his raspy, 2-packs-a-day voice and James Brown-like intonation is a bubbling (pun intended) melting pot of different sounds and styles and genres that come together in a beautiful way (see Malibu and Yes Lawd!).

Oxnard, his major label debut, is a little different. Executive produced by the legendary Dr. Dre, Oxnard sees Anderson Paak taking a more conventional approach to music making. There’s still a lot of old school rock/funk leaking through but there’s also an obvious intent to create a more hip hop-centric album, and it doesn’t really work as well as it could have. When Dre and Paak (And the incredible guest features) get everything right, there are some great results. But overall the album sounds a bit dulled, especially when comparing it to his 2 previous full-lengths. For every Tints or 6 Summers, there’s a groan-inducing Headlow or the confounding Left to Right (how this was the closer instead of Bubblin’ still baffles me). For maybe the first time, it seems like Dre’s input on this project was actually a bad idea and that Paak would have been better off without him. It seems Paak’s realised the same thing, recently admitting that Oxnard was not the best he can do, but that his new upcoming album Ventura will seek to remedy that. Here’s to hoping it does. I give Oxnard a 6/10.

@RateThisAlbum

 

Mar 26, 2019

incredible interview with DOOM himself

DOOM says he has four or five albums worth of unreleased material with Madvillain and a proper sequel to Madvillainy is still on the table

interview with Madlib

 

Mar 24, 2019

Blank Face LP get an 8.2/10 from 6 ratings

Next up…

RATING 27: MF DOOM & Madlib as Madvillain - Madvillainy
Release Date: 23 March 2004
Label: Stones Throw

Tracklist
01. The Illest Villains
02. Accordion
03. Meat Grinder
04. Bistro
05. Raid ft. MED a.k.a. Medaphor
06. America’s Most Blunted ft. Lord Qual
07. Sickfit (Instrumental)
08. Rainbows
09. Curls
10. Do Not Fire! (Instrumental)
11. Money Folder
12. Shadows of Tomorrow ft. Lord Qual
13. Operation Lifesaver a.k.a. Mint Test
14. Figaro
15. Hardcore Hustle ft. Wildchild
16. Strange Ways
17. Fancy Clown
18. Eye ft. Stacy Epps
19. Supervillain Theme (Instrumental)
20. All Caps
21. Great Dat
22. Rhinestone Cowboy

I was late to the DOOM train. Very late. Back in 2004 I was very much in my G Unit phase and a quick skim through highly regarded Doom album Madvillainy had me wondering why this weird masked dude was rapping about nerd comic book s--- over accordions instead of shooting people and rocking a diamond-encrusted spinning chain. Next was the backpacker/90s phase but Doom had disappeared by then. I always intended to check out his s--- but never got around to it. It was only in 2014, after hearing Piñata - Madlib’s incredible collaboration with Freddie Gibbs, that my interest in Doom was renewed and I finally sat down to listen to Madvillainy in full. And like many a Daniel Dumile fan before me, I was absolutely blown away.

15 years since its release date and it still sounds like its from the distant future - and that’s not only due to Doom’s otherworldly, non-sequitur laden streams of consciousness, but those insane dust-sprinkled, haphazard instrumentals that Madlib gives Metal Face as his playground. Earl Sweatshirt was famously inspired by this album, at one point referring to it as to his generation what Wu-Tang was to 80s babies. And he’s not far off. You can hear Doom in a lot of what Griselda/Beast Coast/Pro Era, etc does nowadays, and beyond.

Honestly, I think MM.. Food might be my favourite DOOM project of all. But Madvillainy will always hold a special place in the iTunes library. Its essentially flawless. I give it a 10/10.

@RateThisAlbum

 

Feb 26, 2019

hey I'm actually very selective with my 10s

 

Feb 20, 2019

God Level gets an 8.2 from 5 ratings.

Next up…

RATING 25: YNW Melly - I AM YOU
Release Date: 3 August 2018
Label: P2018



Tracklist:

01. I AM YOU
02. Virtual (Blue Balenciagas)
03. RISK TAKER
04. Freaky Girl
05. YNW Home Invasion
06. Mama Cry
07. Wine For Me
08. 4 Real
09. Drop Top
10. In The Morning
11. Free Tell
12. Had A Dream
13. Murder on My Mind
14. Mind on My Murder
15. Slang That Iron

Can you separate the music from the artist? YNW Melly might be one of the most profound cases of this question since Big Lurch turned cannibal.

What was previously a sad, yet fun listen has become an increasingly dark, twisted and disturbing pieces of music. There’s a big gap in time between the writing of this album and the later alleged murders of his 2 his YNW associates (for which he has now turned himself in), so the 2 are unlikely related. But listening to this after the news broke gives a lot of new insight into where Melly comes from.

Melly wears his influences on his sleeve but you’d be dead wrong to call him a Thugger/Uzi clone, he’s much more than that. Supremely talented, with a natural gift for both singing and rapping and an ability to shift from bright and colourful to downright sorrowful (and now, maybe a bit scary as well). I AM YOU is an excellent showcase of how multi-faceted his talents are. Every song is a new experience, put all together, an emotional roller coaster. The obvious standout is the back to back ‘Murder on My Mind’ and Mind on My Murder’, where Melly recounts the story of losing his friend at age 16 and then flips it around and tells the story from his friend’s perspective.

I don’t know how things will pan out with the murder case but its not looking good so far. But despite everything thats happened, there’s no taking away how good this album is. I give it an 8/10.

@RateThisAlbum

 

Feb 10, 2019

Tremendous album. Production throughout this mammoth album slaps so hard. Greedo's knack for melodies and hooks is second to none and the features here all add to the frantic feel of the record. He's a man on a mission, and it's an utter shame he's locked away for so long but I think he could be free within the next five years? Either way it's #FreeGreedo until that day comes. Work ethic on a hundred thousand trillion tho coz I swear I read he has a dozen or so albums already recorded (@Big Cuntry pls confirm)

He cannot fall off

8 Woah Kenny's/10

 

Feb 10, 2019

The WIZRD gets an 8.6/10 from 9 ratings

Next up…

RATING 24: 03 Greedo - God Level
Release Date: 27 June 2018
Label: Alamo Records



Tracklist

01. Blower ft. AD
02. Finally
03. Fall Off
04. Basehead
05. Prayer for My Lost
06. Buckhead ft. KEY!, Lil Quill, ManMan Savage, Runway Richy & Yung Mal
07. In My Feelings
08. Praying To God
09. Back 2 Jail
10. Gun Bucc
11. Floating
12. Diabiase
13. Conscience
14. Fortnite (Remix) ft. Rich the Kid
15. Static
16. Street Life
17. 100 100 100
18. Good Grape
19. Onna Way to the Paper ft. Young T.O.
20. High Off Me ft. Yung Bans
21. Cutlass
22. Different Flavours
23. Mr. Clean
24. Tiffany Magnolia
25. Mr. OT
26. No Disrespect ft. ManMan Savage
27. Never Bend (Remix) ft. Lil Uzi Vert

My introduction to 03 Greedo was on his very unpolished sounding 2017 mixtape First Night Out, but I only really took notice when he dropped his first project of 2018 - The Wolf of Grape Street (which was brilliant). God Level, his final album before he started a 20 year prison sentence, is much more expansive. Greedo has a natural gift for melody and innovation and he explores these variations over the course of these 27 tracks, sounding like a man on a mission to balance the despair of his upcoming prison sentence with gun buccs and different flavored hoes. God Level. He’s backed by an array of instrumentals (a large chunk courtesy of Kenny Beats) from sugary sweet to murky slaps and everything in between and pretty much everything works. There’s a lot to digest on this album and it took me a while to appreciate it. But a few closer listens reveal an immersive story, full of incredibly vivid tales of life on Grape Street. I give it an 8/10. #FREEGREEDO #FREEDRAKEO

@RateThisAlbum

 

Feb 4, 2019

10/10

 

Feb 2, 2019

yeah like said before in here, future didn't stray away from what he has been doing but he came at it a new way. man was rapping different on this s---. 11/10.

 

Feb 1, 2019

Luv Is Rage gets an 8.2/10 from 8 ratings

Next up…

RATING 23: Future - The WIZRD
Release Date: 18 January 2019
Label: Epic / Freebandz



Tracklist:

01. Never Stop
02. Jumping on a Jet
03. Rocket Ship
04. Temptation
05. Crushed Up
06. F&N
07. Call the Coroner
08. Talk s--- Like A Preacher
09. Promise U That
10. Stick to the Models
11. Overdose
12. Krazy But True
13. Servin Killa Kam
14. Baptiize
15. Unicorn Purple ft. Young Thug & Gunna
16. Goin Dummi
17. First Off ft. Travis Scott
18. Faceshot
19. Ain’t Coming Back
20. Tricks on Me

There’s still a few more requests we’re gonna get through but I wanted to slide this one in real quick. Future’s 7th studio album is a f---ing masterpiece. I’m really surprised at the lukewarm critical and fan reception it’s been getting online. It didn’t face any commercial obstacles though, debuting at number 1, and in the process equalling a 30-year old Elton John record and surpassing a Drake record (most no. 1’s on Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Chart this decade). I liked and appreciated a lot of FUTURE and HNDRXX but neither of those albums stuck with me in the same way Monster of 56 Nights or DS2 did. Even though BM2 2 was one of my favourite projects of 2018, I had a nagging feeling that it had mostly been recorded a few years prior, especially considering how disappointing that Juice WRLD collab album was. I was just starting to think Future’s run was over. Boy was I wrong.

Future hasn’t sounded this raw, this hungry in years. He sticks to what he knows best, sure, but he does it in a way that pushes the boundaries, sounding renewed, energised. Its the perfect closing act to follow up FUTURE and HNDRXX, perfectly navigating the line between the two, never getting lost. He’s bouncing off ATL Jacob and Wheezy’s instrumentals just as well as he glided over Metro and Zaytoven’s back in 2015. I’m balling my eyes out from the moment Never Stop hits the speakers. The singles are classic Future slaps (if a little generic). Faceshot is a pure adrenaline shot. Krazy But True has me cackling with glee every time i hear it. Unicorn Purp might be my favourite Future/Thugger collaboration so far. Call the Coroner sends chills down my spine. Stick to the Models is just pure Hndxx hedonism. “Told my b---- to find us a b---- we can f--- on together tomorrow.” Every song hits and doesn’t overstay its welcome. This is exactly what I wanted. And more. I’ve listened to the whole thing about 20 times and I still can’t stop. I give it a 9/10.

@RateThisAlbum