Album Reviews -The Hip Hop Music

New Hip Hop Album Reviews

This Is Jim Jones

"I'm not really famous, but I bet all the famous people know me. I guess I moved past that," declares Jim Jones" as he exhales a ...more

Say G&E!

The Grouch and Eligh’s latest release, Say G&E! has all the ingredients for a mainstream breakthrough, with a venerable list of ...more

Fabriclive.45

After the resounding dullness of his Nike + Original Run mix of originally produced material, jet-setting turntablist extraordinaire ...more

Jigsaw

After a blink-and-you'll-miss it stint on IDJ, where she enjoyed the esteemed title of being the first non-American female artist ...more

Deeper Than Rap

It's been a tough year for Mr. Ricky Ross. First, his entire background as an incredibly wealthy drug dealer—as trotted out ...more

Don't Feed Da Animals

What can you do with an album that contains a thoroughly Auto-tuned diss track called "Shit on 'Em" consisting of one scatological ...more

The Last Kiss

Jadakiss is fond of, a propos of nothing, routinely referring to himself as "Top 5, dead or alive." This album, rumored to be his ...more

Asleep in the Bread Aisle

For those fortunate enough to be anointed the "next big thing," it can sometimes be a tough road—for every Nas, there's an AZ ...more

The Boss of All Bosses

After coming Back By Blockular Demand with his Boss Hogg Outlaws, the Boss Of All Bosses is back with a solo set sees the South ...more

Pray IV Reign

For Jim Jones, the road to success was one that ran straight through Harlem, but even on the rapper's major label debut ...more

Troubadour

"With respects to the rules of the game, they don't apply cuz I came this far," K'Naan announces on Troubadour's "If Rap Gets Jealous," ...more

Never Better

"I don't make records for shock value," underground hip-hop hero dälek says in the press release for his new album ...more

The Spirit of Apollo

"I don't make records for shock value," underground hip-hop hero dälek says in the press release for his new album ...more

Gutter Tactics

"I don't make records for shock value," underground hip-hop hero dälek says in the press release for his new album ...more

Da REAList

If there's one department Plies ain't lacking in, it's bravado. The Southern rapper has just issued his third platter, Da REAList, which ...more

Ghostdeini the Great

Since bursting on the scene with the Wu-Tang Clan in the '90s, Ghostface Killah has been one of the most readily recognizable voices ...more

iSouljaboytellem

Just when the neighborhood grade school kids stopped doing the Superman dance and "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" had finally faded...more

Bobby Evans Mix

L.A.-based hip-hop label Delicious Vinyl has enjoyed a renaissance and a reimagining in 2008. The centerpiece of their nostalgia trip was...more

Universal Mind Control

To paraphrase Jay-Z–he was all good two albums ago. Common, for good reason, is recognized as one of the best emcees of his ...more

Emeritus

Scarface could have retired years ago and he'd still be a legend, one of the best to ever do it, a king, an emperor, the Mullah of the...more

Phantom Gangsta Chronicles, Vol. 1

One quick glance at the title of Styles P's latest platter, Phantom: Gangster Chronicles Vol. One indicates that the New York-based ...more

Theater of the Mind

Oh, Ludacris. While all artists have their upside and their downside–Kanye has his breathtaking artistic ambition and his rampant...more

In the City

Kevin Rudolf doesn't play your daddy's rock n' roll. He doesn't play your older brother's rap rock either. Instead, on his debut In the City ...more

The Death of Adam

Seasoned producer 88 Keys makes his debut as an MC with a concept album built on the hilarious premise of a would-be nice guy's sexual ...more

The Album

As G.M. and Ford teeter on bankruptcy, a disaster that would surely plunge Detroit further into the abyss of unemployment ...more

The Renaissance

Jonathan Davis, a.k.a Q-Tip, has spent the past nine years in a kind of musical wilderness, beset by label issues and unable ...more

Absolute Greatness

For years, Willie the Kid has been a utility player in the Dirty South's hip-hop scene. He's even performed with members of Detroit's ...more

Landing Gear

Devin the Dude has made his reputation as a rapper's rapper—rather than, say, a million-selling rapper—by dipping repeatedly into a very ...more

Everything Is Borrowed

After storming into the music scene with his first two mind-bogglingly brilliant albums, The Streets (Mike Skinner) couldn't have been ...more

WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip

We know that Madlib likes to play. The rapper does so with his alter egos Quasimoto and Madvillian. His constant production work ...more

Slime & Reason

Esteemed British rapper Roots Manuva's latest hip-hop/dancehall experiment is party and come-down in one, with enough of a gray area ...more

Murs for President

Now that seasoned, underground hip-hop fixture, MURS, has broken into mainstream territory by signing with Warner Bros. Records ...more

Back by Blockular Demand

Free of his commitments with Interscope Records, rapper Slim Thug turned his attention back to his South Texas crew, Boss Hogg ...more

One Block Radius

The West Coast rises again on One Block Radius's self-titled debut. The Los Angeles trio blends Sublime's poppy ska-infused reggae ...more

Not 4 Sale

Scarborough, Ontario's Kardinal Offishall might finally be cracking his way into the American mainstream, but he certainly hasn't ...more

The Quilt

Drunk texting and Daryl Hall may seem like strange bedfellows, but somehow, Gym Class Heroes seamlessly cram them both into ...more

Exit 13

Originally due out two years ago, LL Cool J finally delivers his last album under the Def Jam umbrella, Exit 13. An appropriate ...more

Raw Footage

Suburban America may know Ice Cube as the ruff-but-lovable star of family-friendly films such as Are We There Yet?, Are We Done ...more

Pro Tools

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's the GZA’s motto with his latest release, Pro Tools. Sticking with the formula that has served him ...more

LAX

One way, albeit an unusual one, to look at the new album from L.A. rapper The Game (which may or may not be his last, depending on ...more

Only On the Left Side

In 2008, Daz Dillinger epitomizes West Coast hip-hop. The Long Beach, California rapper was a part of the famed, mid-90s Death Row ...more

Innovative Life Anthology

There is no Hip Hop Genome Project. No scientists in lab coats examining the contents of mix tapes; no geneticists ...more

The Million Dollar Backpack

Though the Detroit native known as Skillz hasn't quite hit the jackpot since his ill-fated debut From Where??? had the misfortune of ...more

The Humdinger

Nappy Roots hearken back to a time in southern rap when lyricism was king, ruling over plodding beats and guttural ...more

Shwayze

Malibu meets the Sunset Strip on Shwayze's self-titled debut. Shwayze is quite possibly the most chill artist to emerge from either. ...more

Last 2 Walk

The last couple of years have been a roller coaster for Memphis, Tennessee's triple 6 crew, to say the least. After taking home ...more

Jeanius

The tracks from Jean Grae's new album have been trading on the Internet in similar versions since 2004, and it's been unclear ...more

The 3rd World

Immortal Technique, the artist behind one of the most epic blends of storytelling and hip-hop lyricism ever in a song ("Dance With the ...more

Killer

My first thought, when I saw the cover mocking Michael Jackson's Thriller album was, "Who in their right mind is going to pay ...more

Untitled

New York City rapper Nas had a snappier, more in-your-face title in mind for his latest effort. He wanted to call it N*****...more

Digi Snacks

Digi Snacks' first single, "You Can't Stop Me Now," sums up the whole record. On the third installment of his "Bobby Digital" trilogy...more

Greatest Story Ever Told

Anticipation was high for David Banner's fifth studio album. His blend of political commentary and razor-sharp wit has made him...more

T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight

On T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight), G-Unit come out with knives drawn, guns blazing and rhymes sharpened. On the title track, 50 Cent...more

Definition of Real

The Dirty South is surely an inspiration for the ultra-cock,y yet super confident Plies and his latest thuggy and controversial platter...more

Seeing Sounds

As The Neptunes, production duo Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo have worked with everyone from Britney Spears to Busta Rhymes...more

Bake Sale

What it is, what it is, come check the noise. It’s the new black version of the Beastie Boys." Truer words have never been spoken...more

VYP: Voice of the Young People

The first widespread impression Lil Mama made, with her debut single, "Lip Gloss," was that of a bratty teenager with awareness and...more

Shine

All talent aside, there’s a thread of novelty woven into the quilt of blue-eyed soul currently blanketing the UK. And while it might not...more

Brooklyn's Don Diva

Brooklyn's Don Diva certainly has spunk to spare. The diva in question is Miss Foxy Brown. She's been saddled with controversy...more

Rising Down

On their tenth studio album, Rising Down, The Roots keep it funky, but they still get a little weird in the process. The legendary ...more

Fight With Tools

To define Denver, CO's Flobots as a hip-hop group would be an almost criminal generalization. Sure, emcees Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit utilize the same ...more

Maths and English

After a three-year delay, the kinetic East London grime MC Dizzee Rascal defies expectations with Maths + English, delivering a pop-influenced, ...more

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

Minneapolis's Atmosphere, fronted by Slug (a.k.a. Sean Daley) and producer Ant, aren't afraid of a little live instrumentation on the group's ...more

Del's career hasn't proved to be the most fulfilling. Not because he makes bad records, or because he's become irrelevant. It's quite the opposite. Anyone who heard the futuristices and delivery...more

Killer Mike

I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind, Vol. 2

"This is not your typical rap album, this is a soundtrack to your success," rapper Killer Mike boldly states on the first track of his newest release ...more