Big Sean- Dark Sky Paradise ALBUM REVIEW

Today, I am bringing you a review of Big Sean's new album, Dark Sky Paradise. This is Big Sean's 3rd studio album, and I have had a pretty polarizing opinion on the guy so far. There will be times where I think this guy has great potential, whether it be from his good 2011 debut Finally Famous or a nice feature verse like on the songs Clique and All Me. Other times I feel Big Sean is unbearably corny and terrible, and these times have been recently. His last album, Hall of Fame, was awful. This album had almost no good qualities to it and it had me down on Big Sean. This new album, Dark Sky Paradise, looks promising, but will Big Sean really impress me?

With Kanye West executively producing this album and overlooking it, Dark Sky Paradise shines in its production and mood. The album flows incredibly well from track to track, and while every song brings something different, most of the beats follow a dark, solemn sound. This is the first album of Big Sean's that really has a true identity. Sean works with a variety of great producers on Dark Sky Paradies, including Kanye, DJ Mustard, Mike Will Made It, and DJ Dahi. The first song that stands out production wise is All Your Fault, produced by Kanye himself. He absolutely killed this song, adding some awesome female singing samples into the trap style drums. I Don't Fuck With You has two beats, one being a bouncy DJ Mustard groove and the other a soulful Kanye instrumental.The song Paradise has fat, loud horns dominating it, along with some hard drums. Possibly the most interesting and unique one here, though, is the Outro. This was an odd concoction of melodic soul samples and fast paced drum sounds. It sounded amazing, and was a happy ending to a pretty dark album. This album's production, other than some beats that sound similar to each other, is spectacular. The production of Dark Sky Paradise carries the album, and ultimately is what makes it so good.

I have expressed my disdain for Big Sean many times before, but I feel he steps up just enough on this album. Sure, he still throws out at least three incredibly corny lines on every song and has a pretty annoying voice. But on this album he shows off his best skill, which is flowing well over the beat. I think he fit this production perfectly, and he ended up sounding really good on most of the tracks. He opens up the song Blessings rapping very well over the atmospheric production, and he raps pretty fast there too. I was impressed by his technical skills not only on that song, but on many others here, like Dark Sky, Paradise, and Outro. It is clear at this point that he doesn't care much about his lyrics, and he seems to have two corny moments for every clever line he drops. On an album like this though, with such great production and sound, it does not stand out nearly as much as it used to for Sean. The other thing that really carries Dark Sky Paradise and makes it a lot better is the features. The song All Your Fault, a song pretty much dominated by Kanye West, is fantastic. It is catchy and fun, but also has a pretty dark vibe.surrounding it. With its incredibly infectious hook and solid Kanye verses, this is one of the best songs that has come out this year. As for the other features, they just elevated whatever song they were on. Drake continued his dominant run with a good verse on Blessings, and Lil Wayne took a mediocre song with Deep and saved it with some awesome bars. While hooks may be the album's weak point, with bad ones like Stay Down and I Know, there was one shining one, being Play No Games. This one was sung beautifully by Chris Brown, and it has been stuck in my head for a while. Overall, I can say I liked almost every track on Dark Sky Paradise. Even though Big Sean still isn't a great MC, he improved considerably with his skills on this album, and then the featured artists added a lot. They made the songs memorable, along with the stellar production. I am glad to say Big Sean put together not just a good album, but a surprisingly outstanding album.

DARK SKY PARADISE WRAP UP
+Big Sean improved slightly and became someone who doesn't bother me at all
+Production was extremely good being overlooked by Kanye West
+Catchy, fun, infectious tracks
+All Your Fault is a song of the year contender
+Fantastic features

Best: All Your Fault, Play No Games, Outro

Worst: I Know

Big Sean- Dark Sky Paradise
8.7/10

Ghostface Killah & BADBADNOTGOOD- Sour Soul ALBUM REVIEW

Today's review is on the new collaboration album from Ghostface Killah and BADBADNOTGOOD. This is a project I have been pumped about for a while. This collab came out of nowhere, but it is really promising and cool. BADBADNOTGOOD is basically a jazz trio who have been successful making jazz and rock remixes of popular hip hop beats, while the legendary Ghostface Killah from the Wu-Tang Clan is just always awesome. He has recently released some good albums, but the BBNG production here has me way more excited for Sour Soul than I was for those. How will this collab sound throughout a full album?

BADBADNOTGOOD handles all of the production on Sour Soul, and as I expected, it was pretty stellar. The beats on this album are pretty unorthodox for Ghostface, as BBNG is really a jazz group more than they are a hip hop group. While there weren't any bad instrumentals and all these beats were good on their own, they sounded very samey across the album. Aside from a few songs, Sour Soul didn't have much variety in its instrumentals. The whole album sounds pretty sinister, dark, and dry. Most of the beats on here, while bringing cool instruments and effects, follow this formula. There were only a few beats that stuck out, one of them being Gunshowers. This track was led by an awesome string tune, with synthesizers and steady drums pacing the beat. It was super smooth and sounded great. The instrumental song Stark's Reality was also a standout. I loved the sound of this, with the vibe being very dramatic. So, there were a few that I did like a lot, and I'm not saying the beats here were bad, because I think BBNG did a solid job. I just think there wasn't much variety, and the production ended up sounding a bit forgettable.

As for Ghostface Killah, this guy is a legend in hip hop. He was awesome in Wu-Tang Clan, and continues to be with his consistent solo releases. On Sour Soul, he is back to his usual tricks, rapping with his high-pitched forceful delivery and spitting some great lines. The thing is, Ghostface only raps on eight of the twelve tracks, which is a massive disappointment. I was really excited mainly to hear him over this production, and I only get it on a handful of tracks. The ones he did rap on, though, only just alright for the most part. After the forgettable title track intro, Ghost brings out two straight bangers with Six Degrees and Gunshowers.The former is a dark, energetic fist pumping track that features an awesome feature from none other than Danny Brown. The latter is extremely smooth, with Ghost rapping effortlessly over the guitar beat. It features another Detroit MC, Elzhi, who I felt absolutely killed it, adding a new element to the song. Unfortunately, no other tracks match up to these two highlights. A lot of these were just boring to me, like Street Knowledge, Food, and Mind Playing Tricks. These solo Ghostface tracks were just forgettable, with no memorable qualities. The song Ray Gun, which featured the legendary MF DOOM, was also not great. I felt the song flowed in an odd way and DOOM just didn't do much of anything in his verse. Overall, this collab was a disappointment to me. It was very small, with Ghost only rapping several times. While Sour Soul did bring me two absolutely awesome tracks, everything else was a bit forgettable.

SOUR SOUL WRAP UP
+Cool vibes with dark production from BBNG
+Ghostface raps with usual energetic delivery
+Two great features from Danny Brown and Elzhi
-Not much variety with production
-A lot of forgettable, meh moments

Best: Six Degrees, Gunshowers, Food

Worst: Tone's Rap

Ghostface Killah & BADBADNOTGOOD- Sour Soul
6.4/10

Drake- If You're Reading This It's Too Late ALBUM REVIEW

Time for another very late album review. I promise I will eventually return to doing these reviews when the projects actually drop, but for now, expect some serious lateness. Today, over a month after its release, I am reviewing Drake's new album, titled If You're Reading This It's Too Late. Drake, arguably the most popular man in hip-hop right now, has had an interesting rap career thus far. Amidst countless amounts of controversy and hate, he has dropped some great music. His 2011 album Take Care was one of my top five favorite albums of that year, and his 2013 album Nothing Was The Same, while not amazing, was solid. IYRTITL is his new, surprise album and even though he is saying its a mixtape, he did put it on iTunes for a price, so it is essentially an album. How will Drake's new release be after consistently dropping good projects?

No matter how bad the rapping may be, Drake's albums have always had fantastic production. Constant Drake collaborators 40 and Boi-1da return on this album, bringing some great beats to the table. The production on this project is great, and I didn't hear any beats that were bad or hard to listen to. The first track, Legend, made use of some cool vocal samples and loud, high hat drums to give it an interesting contrast. The track Know Yourself also had this contrast, with banging drums to give it a real hard, hip-hop feel, but also high pitched synthesizers floating in the background to make it sound elegant. There were some tracks here like 6 God and Used To where the beats are fast, gritty, and loud, but also songs like Wednesday Night Interlude, Company, and Jungle where the beats are more traditional Drake: slow, melodic, and a real R&B feel. This project definitely has more variety than Drake's other albums, and I think this is his best production yet.

Like the production, Drake's rapping is extremely varied and interesting on this album. The first thing that jumped out to me was the style and flow Drake uses on most songs. Right from the intro, Drake combines singing and rapping, having moments where he will randomly break out into singing during a verse, or moments where he will rap a lot slower to make it sound more melodic. This is a bit of a mixed bag, but on most tracks where he does it, I like it. On Legend, he sing-raps pretty much the whole track, and I loved it. This is also present on 6 God, a track where the production is a lot more high-energy, but the sing-rap style still really works. Some other songs on this album are good simply because of how catchy they are. Know Yourself has an infectiously awesome hook and I think this was the most memorable song on the project. Energy, 10 Bands, 6 Man and Company also are great because of their great hooks. Company in particular was one of my favorite tracks on the album because of the way Travi$ Scott is utilized. This guy, one of my favorite rappers right now, brings a whole new dimension to the song, singing and rapping in a menacing, dark way. Speaking of features, there were very few on the project, but all of them were good. Used To with Lil Wayne was solid, and R&B talent PartyNextDoor gets his own track with Wednesday Night Interlude, which I thought was absolutely fantastic. He killed it. Finally, I thought Drake was killing it lyrically on this album, covering a wide range of topics. He came with a barrage of metaphors and wordplay on No Tellin, rapped to his mother on You & the 6, and fired disses to Tyga on the closer, 6pm in New York. Overall, IYRTITL may be Drake's second best work behind Take Care. This album was extremely varied, and Drake found a new style and swagger on it. There were only a few tracks I didn't like, and with the amazing production, you have an incredible project.

IYRTITL WRAP UP
+Drake sings and raps with success, sometimes doing both at the same time
+Covers a variety of topics lyrically
+Great features
+Fantastic production

Best: Know Yourself, Wednesday Night Interlude, Company

Worst: Now and Forever

Drake- If You're Reading This It's Too Late
8.6/10

Lil Wayne- Sorry 4 The Wait 2 MIXTAPE REVIEW

Lil Wayne is easily one of my favorite rappers ever, but lately, he has been far from that. It is a very well known fact that Wayne has fallen off a lot in recent years, dropping a handful of lackluster projects and showing none of the creativeness that we all love him for. Wayne has been a bit better on recent features on singles, though, so I was excited for his new album, Tha Carter V. In a change of events, that album has been pushed back, and he dropped the Sorry for the Wait 2 mixtape. How will Wayne sound on this new collection of tracks?

On Sorry 4 the Wait 2, Lil Wayne does what he has done on many of his previous mixtapes: rapping over the most popular beats at the moment. You will recognize many of the instrumentals on this project, with Wayne rapping over hits like Hot Ni**a, Coco, You Guessed It, and Drunk in Love. Wayne also brings a new dimension to songs I enjoyed quite a bit originally, like Shit by Future and Dreams & Nightmares by Meek Mill. There are very few features on this tape, with the only ones being Mack Maine, 2 Chainz, and Drake. Speaking of Drake, I'll start with him because his feature was absolutely awesome. The track he was on, Used To, showcased the classic chemistry that he and Lil Wayne have. Drake came with serious aggression and sounded great over the hard hitting beat. Even with Wayne not rapping at his best, Drake made this a highlight of the tape. 2 Chainz was pretty boring, and I really feel like that guy's charm is wearing off. Mack Maine decided to spit over the Try Me beat, and he surprised me, coming through with solid flow and some nice lines.

As for Lil Wayne's performance, it was very encouraging. Wayne sounded very good on the first few tracks here, and it sounded like he was going back to his old style, which is not having a hook, and just rapping over a beat for a while. He did this on Coco, Shit, and Hot Ni**a, which were definitely three of my favorite tracks on the mixtape. He sounded really good on these tracks, using that signature creativity with his voice and providing awesome punchlines. My main problem with this mixtape, though, is its length. While the tracks I named were real highlights, there were many here that just take up space. It isn't anything Lil Wayne is doing wrong, but rather that the songs are just boring. Trap House, Seisun Blue, HollyWeezy, and You Guessed It were only a few of these kind of songs. There just wasn't anything memorable about them. Overall though, this mixtape was a joy to listen to. It was great to hear Lil Wayne get his swagger back a bit and I think he's sounding a lot better.

SORRY 4 THE WAIT WRAP UP
+Lil Wayne raps a lot better and more creatively
+Raps over some ear-grabbing beats
+Does some popular beats justice
-A lot of filler tracks
-Too long

Best: Shit, Used To, Hot Ni**a

Worst: Drunk in Love

Lil Wayne- Sorry 4 the Wait 2
7.0/10

Joey Bada$$- B4.DA.$$ ALBUM REVIEW

Joey Bada$$, a young Brooklyn MC who turned 20 on the release date of this album, has long been an underground favorite of mine. This kid raps with impressive technical ability, and he really excels when it comes to wordplay and lyrics. His debut mixtape, 1999, is one of my favorite projects, but it came out in 2012 and Joey has not made anything better since. Now, having gone all of 2014 without any music, Joey starts 2015 with his debut studio album, B4.DA.$$.

This album was a solid collection of tracks and a perfectly fine debut for Joey. He pretty much did what he does best here, which is taking you back to that 90's sound and giving a nostalgic vibe. Joey had enough variety on this album, though, to keep it interesting. Songs like Save the Children, Paper Trails, On & On, and Curry Chicken showed Joey's main forte the most. On these, the beats were relaxed, chill, and old-school. Joey rapped over these with ease and these songs all sounded very smooth. My favorite tracks B4.DA.$$, though, were the ones where Joey brings more energy. My favorite track by far here was Christ Conscious. Joey came off so hungry on this track, and the beat knocked with a lot of aggression. I want to hear Joey do tracks like this more often, because he sounds a lot better when he has this angry rasp to his voice. Another track I liked was Big Dusty, where Joey rapped extremely well. He had tons of punchlines, the hook sounded great, and this was the perfect beat for him made by Pro Era teammate Kirk Knight. I can't go without mentioning No. 99, another track that brought serious aggression and had some fun catchiness to it.

Even though I absolutely loved the energetic songs here, there were some tracks on B4.DA.$$ that I enjoyed for very different reasons. The main example: Escape 120. This song was very unlike anything I have ever heard Joey do, and it was pretty abstract for him. Oddly enough, this song had a very Outkast-y vibe going for it, which is a good thing. It was very chill, and had an interesting beat. Raury, the guest MC on the track, had a pretty weird, but entertaining verse that I liked a lot. I loved the song On & On as well. This song had it all: a fun beat, solid rapping from Joey, and very catchy, well done hook. There weren't any flaws with this song, and it sounded really good. Joey had a fantastic personal track too, with OCB. He touched on his past here, his upbringing, and how being an only child made him the way he is today. While I liked a majority of the tracks here, this album runs into the usual Joey Bada$$ problem: replay value. These songs are good, but there isn't really anything that compels me to play them over and over again, with the exception of Christ Conscious. B4.DA.$$ isn't an album I'll have in constant rotation, but I enjoyed it for what it was and it was a very solid debut for Joey's young career.

B4.DA.$$ WRAP UP
+Joey sounds great rapping, his technical skill is always there
+Classic, nostalgic instrumentals
+Very, very smooth
+Variety
-Some really boring tracks
-Not a lot of replay value

Best: Big Dusty, Christ Conscious, Escape 120

Worst: Hazeus View

Joey Bada$$- B4.DA.$$
7.6/10

2014 Quick Reviews

Hey everyone, today I'll be doing something a little different. I'm starting off 2015 by looking back at 2014. I'm gonna post some reviews of the albums I missed out on reviewing during my hiatus in the end of last year. There are also a couple albums here that may have dropped over the summer, but I didn't get around to listening to until later on. These won't be super, in-depth reviews, but they will still have a good amount of information and details. Let's get into it.

Killer Mike & El-P- Run the Jewels 2

Simply put, this album was killer, and everyone knew it was going to be. This is one of the best rap duos to come along in a while. What many people didn't expect, though, is why this album was so good. While the first RTJ made top ten lists thanks to its sheer energy and banging beats, this one was a little different. This album featured some deep lyrical content being brought to the table from Killer Mike and El-P. There was storytelling and politics in the lyrics  on tracks like Early and Crown. This was definitely a nice addition and showed the evolution of this duo. My favorite tracks on this, though, were the head-banging blows of energy, like Oh My Darling Don't Cry and Blockbuster Night Pt. 1.

Killer Mike was just ridiculous as usual, cementing his place as one of the most well-rounded, likable, and passionate rappers in all of hip hop. El-P was his usual crafty self, coming up with some crazy lines and flowing very well over his own production. Speaking of his production, it was pretty incredible. It really varied, and matched well to what they were rapping about. Example: Love Again, the lone dirty, sexual track on the album. The beat here is amazing, slowed-down and seductive. El-P is an absolute genius and every beat on RTJ2 is perfect.

Overall this was unsurprisingly one of the best projects of 2014. Killer Mike and El-P came at you from all angles, being funny, political, and just mean. This project excelled on all levels and you can only hope this duo keeps coming back together for more albums.

Best: Oh My Darling Don't Cry, Blockbuster Night Pt. 1, Close Your Eyes

Worst: All My Life

9.3/10 **#4 best album of 2014 **

Logic- Under Pressure

I was moderately excited for Logic's debut album, Under Pressure, but the final product disappointed me a bit. I have always known that this guy can spit, and he showed it on this project. Logic has some insane technical skill, rapping at all different speeds and with a multitude of different flows. He created some solid tracks on this album just off of his spitting ability, combined with his lyricism. This album is basically Logic telling his life story about growing up around tough circumstances and getting to where he is today. He showed tons of ambition on this album, but I don't think the final project came together all that well.

Logic definitely put together some good songs as he tells his story on Under Pressure. The song Gang Related was fantastic, combining a very eerie, almost scary instrumental with Logic's tales of growing up around gang violence. Growing Pains III was also pretty good, where Logic talked about how tough  his childhood was with his messed up family. These songs were great, but a majority of Under Pressure was kind of forgettable. Many of the songs were way too long and got pretty boring. Logic came off a bit corny on a few of these tracks and much of Under Pressure sounded a lot like he was reaching way too far for  a Kendrick Lamar kind of sound. Sure, Logic is a really good MC, a solid storyteller, and can make songs, but on this album he didn't show much of it.

Best: Gang Related, Growing Pains III, Bounce

Worst: Never Enough

6.7/10

Future- Monster

As a huge fan of this artist, it should come off as no surprise that I loved this mixtape. Future came through earlier this year with a solid studio album in Honest, where he experimented with some different beats and sounds. This paid off and the album was really good, but on Monster, he returned to classic Future. The beats on here were trap influenced, Future's voice was booming, and the album was fun all the way through. The only flaw here was that there were some really forgettable tracks on the mixtape, but the highs on Monster were really, really high.

The standout track, and one of my favorite songs of the whole year, was the title track, Monster. This is one of Future's best songs that he has made, and I see it as classic Future. The song Throw Away was split into two parts, and Future did a great job telling the story across the whole track. The song After That was a complete banger with a really catchy chorus and decent verse from Lil Wayne. I think Future showed a lot of emotion on this mixtape, and it showed the most on the 6 minute closer, Codeine Crazy. Future showed a lot of passion on this track, and the song seemed like a big reflection on his past decisions, making it a pretty mature and serious track to end the project. This mixtape was an awesome collection of bangers from Future, and it is great that he continues to give his fans what they want.

Best: Monster, After That, Codeine Crazy

Worst: Radical

8.0/10

Fabolous- The Young OG Project

Fabolous dropped a new studio album out of nowhere, and to make things even more weird, it came out right on Christmas Day. This was a bold move from Fab, someone who hasn't really been on my radar in at least a few years. But let me tell you, this, along with YG's My Krazy Life, may be one of my biggest surprise albums of 2014. This album was nothing more than a collection of songs with no theme to it, but these songs were just well executed, had great production, and were awesome. Fabolous showed himself as what he's always been, but what I didn't think he still was: a captivating MC with ridiculous wordplay, and solid rhyme schemes. He really killed it on these tracks, and he may have cemented himself as an all-time great with this album.

Right from the start of the album, Fabolous was making a statement. The first four tracks on Young OG are all fantastic songs. The opener, Lituation, had a great beat, and Fabolous put together a nice hook with good verses, Things only got better on We Good, which featured Rich Homie Quan. RHQ made a cool, melodic chorus for this track to go with more good verses from Fab. Then came another solid track with All Good, one that featured some Biggie samples for an old-school sound. The album hit its absolute climax with You Made Me. This outstanding track featured Fab working with singer Tish Hyman for a catchy hook, then he used some of his signature wordplay for the great verses. After a drop in quality in the next few songs, the album picked it up for the last two tracks. Cinnamon Apple featured Fabolous telling a story of a girl he loved in middle school, and he really sucks you into the story here, with the song also featuring a stellar beat. The album-closing title track was pretty epic, and a fitting ending to an awesome project from a veteran MC.

Best: We Good, You Made Me, Cinnamon Apple

Worst: She Wildin

8.4/10

Prhyme-Prhyme 

Prhyme. A collaboration between Detroit MC Royce da 5'9 and legendary producer DJ Premier. Yes, this project was every bit as awesome as it sounds. There isn't much to say about this project, honestly. It is only 9 songs long, and it is full of old-school rap that many can appreciate. However, this production was pretty surprising, with DJ Premier using some more unorthodox sounds rather than his usual New York boom-bap beats. This was no problem for Royce, though, who was an absolute beast on this. He was his usual cocky, hilarious self and he sounded great.

The real story of this project was definitely the features. I did not expect this to have such awesome features, with many of my favorite rappers coming up for verses on these songs. This starts with the song Dat Sound Good, which featured Ab-Soul and Mac Miller. The highlight was Soulo, who spit one of the best verses I've heard from him in a while. Common spit a great sounding verse on the song Wishin, which was also my favorite track thanks to its sudden beat changes. Killer Mike  and Schoolboy Q were their usual aggressive selves on Underground Kings, but one rapper came out on top of all these features on Phryme. It was Jay Electronica on the song To Me, To You. This verse was pretty relaxed, with Jay Elec dropping serious knowledge throughout. Phryme's project was a joy, as it was some classic sounding hip hop with amazing MC's spitting like crazy over awesome beats.

Best: Dat Sound Good, Wishin, To Me To You

Worst: Courtesy

8.7/10

Domo Genesis- Under the Influence 2

This was a mixtape that I was excited for all year, mostly because Domo Genesis slays every guest verse he has. He had awesome features on albums like Pinata, Lord Steppington, Doris and more.This Odd Future member has shown considerable improvement for a couple years now, but unfortunately I just didn't hear it on Under the Influence 2. This mixtape sounded a bit sloppy overall, and Domo just didn't seem to be taking it as seriously as he takes his guest verses, much to my disappointment. The tape featured numerous pointless skits and interludes, when all I wanted was for Domo to spit.

When Domo did rap on this tape, he sounded pretty solid. Not as good as I've heard him the past, but still solid. The first song that stuck out to me here was Most Subtle Flex Ever. Over a mellow, fun beat, Domo flowed really well and sounded extremely smooth. He made some crazy beat decisions here, rapping over Pusha T's Alone in Vegas and Drake's Wu-Tang Forever. He sounded alright over these, but I like hearing Domo over different kinds of instrumentals. The track 24 Hour Spitness was pretty good, and Hodgy Beats came through with a really good guest verse. The track with Mac Miller was also nice, but it was too short. Overall this tape was a disappointment for me, as it featured a rapidly improving MC who I feel can make an excellent project. Under the Influence 2 just didn't have enough firepower or consistency to be very good.

Best: Doms in Vegas, Most Subtle Flex Ever, 15 Bars

Worst: X

6.8/10

J. Cole- 2014 Forest Hills Drive

I've never been a huge J Cole fan, and I've honestly never seen all the hype about him. I thought his album Born Sinner was alright, and he has some good tracks, but I'm not sold on him. This is what I felt before I heard 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Now, my opinion has completely changed. This album is excellent. I really can't praise Cole enough for this album. I loved everything that he did here. No single, no features, and no mainstream sound. He hit the nail on the head. 2014 Forest Hills Drive revolves around a theme of J Cole's personal life. How he grew up, the area he is from, and how it made him into the man he is today.

J Cole showed himself as an incredible lyricist on this album. To help him tell the story of his adolescence, he told a series of short stories, starting with the track Wet Dreamz. This song was a detailed narrative of a love he had when he was a teenager. He lies to her, saying he is a virgin, only to find out when he gets in bed with her that she is also a virgin. On '03 Adolescence, he talks about friendships in high school, and wanting to be like that thug who sells drugs, when really its the drug dealer who wants to be like Cole. This album isn't all stories, though, as this album also features some genuine catchiness and banging beats, specifically on Tale of 2 Citiez. This track was a complete banger with a dark and menacing beat. The song GOMD was the most experimental, with some weird, chopped up vocal samples as the beat. Lastly, Cole shows so much variety here, from dissing Eminem and Macklemore on Fire Squad, singing a heartfelt ballad on St. Tropez, and stressing to love what you have on Love Yourz. J Cole blew me away on this album and made me a fan.

Best: Wet Dreamz, Tale of 2 Citiez, GOMD

Worst: Hello

9.0/10 *#7 Best Album of 2014*

Rick Ross- Hood Billionaire

I was actually a pretty huge fan of Rick Ross's album that dropped in March, Mastermind. The album featured great production and some really catchy and replayable songs from Ross. I really can't say the same about Hood Billionaire, his second album of 2014. Rick Ross returned to all the things I don't like about him on this album. The rhyme schemes were simple as can be, and the beats did not feature as much variety as what was on Mastermind. There just wasn't anything about this album that stood out. It was horribly generic.

When a track on Hood Billionaire really appealed to me, it would be because of the features or the instrumental, never because of Rick Ross. He really disappointed me on this album, as I heard some solid rapping from him on Mastermind. None of the solo tracks from Ross here were any good, but I enjoyed a few of the collaborations. Nickel Rock, a track with Boozie Badazz, was pretty enjoyable, as it used a fast tempo and energy-filled rapping from Boozie that I really enjoyed. On the other end of the spectrum, I loved the song Quintessential because of how relaxed it was. Snoop Dogg's hook on this song was probably the best part of the album. Overall, this album was subpar at best, and I think Rick Ross may have used up all his good bars on Mastermind.

Best: Nickel Rock, Quintessential, Brimstone

Worst: Neighborhood Drug Dealer

5.5/10

ASAP Ferg- Ferg Forever

My hype for this project was really really high, and for good reason: ASAP Ferg is absolutely awesome. His 2013 studio album Trap Lord was pretty impossible to dislike, and this guy makes energetic rap music that is undeniably fun and catchy, while also being very unique. This definitely does not change on Ferg Forever, a mixtape that shows Ferg sounding even crazier than ever. His weirder side comes out on many songs here, but it just wouldn't be Ferg without being absolutely bizarre.

This tape just features a multitude of higlights. The second song here, Jungle, showed off Ferg's skills perfectly, with a banging instrumental for him to rap on. Ferg's flow was great and his collaborator on the song, Marty Baller, had a fantastic verse as well. Other songs on Ferg Forever show off his amazing ability to craft a catchy hook. This Side, Dope Walk, and Real Thing all stayed in my head for weeks because of their catchiness. The song Bonaroo showed Ferg doing something a little different, telling a detailed story of a memorable live performance. He did this over a smooth beat done by Big KRIT, and this track ended up being one of my favorites. Lastly, I must shine a light on Let It Go Part 2, the craziest song on the tape. Here Ferg crafts a masterful sequel to the song off Trap Lord, with a little help from MIA. This track actually features a sample of Let it Go from the movie Frozen. Only Ferg. This tape was wild, and a whole lot of fun to listen to.

Best: Jungle, Bonaroo, Let it Go Part 2

Worst: Jolly

8.4/10


Clipping- CLPPNG

This album from experimental West Coast group Clipping received a lot of hype upon its release in June, but I neglected to give it my attention until about a month ago. I was pretty satisfied with what I heard on CLPPNG. This tape was pretty experimental in its beat choices and sound, but I was glad to hear it keeping with the standard subject matter that I am used to hearing. This album ended up sounding a lot more accessible than I expected.

The rapper here, Daveed Diggs, is ridiculous. This guy flows better than any rapper I have heard in a while, which is really impressive considering the kind of beats he goes over. On the album intro, he introduces everyone to his skills by rapping incredibly fast and well over a pretty weird instrumental. The second song, Body and Blood, showed this group's ability to craft an entire song. The song had an interesting topic, a dirty, grimy industrial beat, and an awesome hook. I loved it. The good hooks were kept up on songs like Work Work, Summertime, and Dominoes. The song Story 2 showed Diggs' very solid storytelling ability as well. This guy showed himself as an incredible MC on this album, even if some of the beats like Get Up annoyed me with how odd and challenging they sounded. This album was pretty good overall and I look forward to what this group does next.

Best: Body and Blood, Summertime, Story 2

Worst: Get Up

7.6/10

Cozz- Cozz & Effect

This is a project that I had no idea even happened, found out about on the internet,  and ended up enjoying quite a bit. The only thing I knew about this guy was that he was signed to J. Cole's label, and I can really see why. Cozz showed himself on this album as an energetic, fun MC who can seriously hold his own on a song.

Right from the first track on this project, Dreams, Cozz was blowing me away. He came out on this song with serious aggressiveness, and I thought his punchlines were absolutely on point. The hard, punchy drums sounded awesome against Cozz's raw, loud delivery. The second track, I'm Tha Man brought this as well. There are multiple songs here where the highlight is the instrumental fused with Cozz's delivery, like Murda and Lsn. Finally, the last song, the Knock the Hustle remix with J. Cole, was absolutely fantastic, with a killer J. Cole verse.

Best: Dreams, Murda, Knock the Hustle Remix

Worst: Western Ave Slaves

8.0/10


Big K.R.I.T.- Cadillactica

I don't think it comes as any surprise that Cadillactica by Big KRIT is really, really good. This guy is as consistent as anyone in rap with his projects. All of the mixtapes and albums that he has dropped have been solid, and he continues his strong brand of Southern hip-hop on Cadillactica. There isn't much new to say about KRIT on this new album, as he just brings his usual variety, catchiness, lyricism, and great rapping ability.

KRIT sets the narrative of the album on the first track, Kreation, and the one that follows it, Life. These tracks just sound powerful and meaningful, but things get turnt up on the third song, My Sub Pt. 3. Easily my favorite song on this album, this track booms along with strong bass and a killer beat drop midway through the song. It is absolutely awesome and KRIT sounds great rapping on it. Big KRIT gets more lyrical on tracks here like King of the South and Third Eye, while brining to catchy pop tunes with songs like Soul Food, Pay Attention, and Do You Love Me. All these songs are good, and it is remarkable that one artist can bring so much variety on an album.

Best: My Sub Pt. 3, Soul Food, Do You Love Me

Worst: Mind Control

8.3/10

TOP 10 HIP HOP ALBUMS OF 2014

Yes, I know there have not been any reviews on this site in a while, but what better way to return than with the best albums of 2014? These are, in my opinion, the best albums to come out this past year. This list is not based solely on the scores the albums recieved, but more based on replay value and how much I enjoyed the album overall.

The Honorable Mentions

The Underachievers- Cellar Door

I was seriously waiting for this East Coast duo to impress me with a project, as I definitely heard the potential on some tracks. I'm glad it happened on their debut studio album. This thing is really nice, showcasing Issa Dash and AK trading bars over some booming, forward thinking production. AK in particular blew me away here. His constant onslaught of fast paced verses really kept me interested during this project. As a whole this was a really solid album from The Underachievers, its fulfilling to see them come through with something good.

Favorite Song: Luminesence


Mick Jenkins- The Water[s]

Mick Jenkins, previously unheard of, blew up this year with the success of The Water[s], and with good reason. This album pretty much has everything that solidifies someone in today's rap game. Mick came through with an original sound and interesting theme to his project. I loved the entire vibe of the mixtape and hearing some cool and relaxed sonic quality for the whole thing made me happy. I'm excited for what Mick does next, because this project proved the guy had got some really cool ideas going on, and he sure is skilled at making them sound fresh.

Favorite Song: The Waters

Future- Honest



After landing on my mid year list, Future's Honest stays on thanks to its sheer awesomeness and replay value. These songs really just bang, and I think the production on this album is what drove it. Future's singing and rapping were on point as well, and he shows that he is pretty versatile on this album.

Favorite Song: Move that Dope

Cormega- Mega Philosophy



If you are looking for an MC that takes lyricism very seriously, Cormega is for you. The 44 year old rapper spits nothing but hard truth on this new album of his. He spends the project speaking his mind on various things going on in hip hop, while also connecting it to his personal  life and childhood on some tracks. The vintage production from Large Professor helped make this album great as well.

Favorite Song: Industry


Sean Leon- Narcissus, the Drowning of Ego



This project came out of nowhere for me, but I am so thrilled that I found it. This guy has a very abstract and weird style, but it works in his favor for this album. Sean Leon raps about a variety of topics here. The highlight here, though, was the production. This sinister, haunting, extremely dark production may be the best on any album this year.

Favorite Song: Vanity

The Top 10

10. Vince Staples- Hell Can Wait

Vince Staples had a huge year, finally making the leap from little known Odd Future affiliate to a respected West Coast street talker. This debut EP of his shows off all his strengths, such as lyricism and mic presence. Some of the beats on this project also blew me away.

9. Ugly Frank- Bobby Hill



Last year, the mixtape of Washington rap trio ILLFIGHTYOU landed on my best of the year list. In 2014, it is group member Ugly Frank who takes the spot. This debut mixtape was just awesome. Ugly Frank's wild, violent, unpredictable rapping style is a perfect fit over Khris P's production, which makes use of some really wacky sound effects.

Favorite Song: Frank Truise

8. Future- Monster

This Halloween release truly delivered what everyone always wants out of a Future project: bangers, bangers, and even more bangers. Future is quickly asserting himself as the first rapper to look for if thats what you're craving. The thing about Monster that makes it crack the top 10 is not only the consistently high energy, but also the quality of Future's more serious and emotional tracks. After not quite hitting the mark on those on Honest earlier in the year, he delivers some sadder songs that are a lot more well made on Monster. On Monster, Future did what he is best at but also flexed some of his new versatility. 

7. Schoolboy Q- Oxymoron



Schoolboy Q's much-anticipated debut album Oxymoron, did not disappoint for me. I felt Schoolboy showed tons of skill on this project. He was able to make radio hit songs, and then have songs where he throws it back to his childhood. He also wraps the whole album around a theme of him trying to get over his drug addiction while also being a good father. Add some stellar production, and I felt this was a great album.

Favorite Song: Break da Bank

6.  J. Cole- 2014 Forest Hills Drive



Sneaking into this list at the end of the year was J. Cole's 2014 Forest Hills Drive. J. Cole finally made me a fan with this album. I felt on this album that Cole improved on all fronts. The album is a personal narrative of his life journey to the amazing place he is at now. I loved the stories Cole told on this album, and he did it all with no features. This album honestly deserves all the success and acclaim it has had so far.

Favorite Song: G.O.M.D.

5. Travis Scott- Days Before Rodeo



If you were to just throw away lyrical content completely and rate albums on how well they bump and their production, Days Before Rodeo would easily be the album of the year. This album has fantastic, forward-thinking trap production and sounded incredible. These songs were unique and experimental but made my head bop every time. Travis Scott might not be the best rapper, but he flowed  pretty well at times, and I must give him props for matching the booming production.

Favorite Song: Skyfall

4. YG- My Krazy Life



As with many people, this was my surprise, breakout album of 2014. When I downloaded My Krazy Life, I did not expect anything more then mediocre rapping over some boring trap production. I was in complete shock when this album ended, as the 2nd best album of 2014 was actually made by YG. This album tells a complete story of teenage YG getting into trouble in Compton, robbing houses, going to jail, and eventually wrapping the whole story around his relationship with his mother. It is a fantastic narrative, and is only made better by some awesome, banging production from DJ Mustard. Oh, and features by some guys named Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar. I am thrilled that YG dropped such an amazing album, and we've officially got another West Coast artist to keep an eye on.

Favorite Song: BPT

3. Run the Jewels- RTJ2



Killer Mike and El-P returned in 2014 with a Run the Jewels sequel that only improved on everything the first one did well. While their first piece of music may have just been a collection of fun songs, the sequel was an actual, cohesive album. Some songs here were awesome, high energy bangers, and El-P's production sounded more high-energy and explosive. Killer Mike's aggressiveness is there as always, but the duo was also able to tell stories and make some political statements on this album. They really killed it with this sequel, and I understand this album being #1 on many lists.

Favorite Song: Blockbuster Night Part 1

2. Isaiah Rashad- Cilvia Demo



New TDE signee Isaiah Rashad should really be applauded for dropping an album in January and having it stay on the list for the whole year. This project could not have done a better job of introducing Isaiah to the world. This album's contrast is ultimately what makes it so good. The laid-back, relaxing, atmospheric beats mixed with Rashad's aggressive, choppy, unorthodox flow. He also shows that he is an extremely versatile artist on this project, as he is even seen spending entire tracks singing. This guy is poised to break out in upcoming years, and I am ready for more excellent projects like Cilvia Demo.

Favorite Song: Soliloquy


1. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib- Pinata



As cliche as it sounds, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib were truly a match made in heaven. Gibbs sounds better over Madlib's beats than on any other beat I have ever heard him on, and I was blown away by how focused and determined he sounded on Pinata. I always knew this guy could rap, but he placed himself right with the best MC's in hip hop right now with his performance on Pinata. He told stories of love and rejection, threw shots at Young Jeezy, and described his gangsta lifestyle all on one album. Madlib, meanwhile, came as no surprise. This legendary producer laid down some mind-blowing production for Gibbs to do his thing. The features were on point too, from Earl Sweatshirt to Ab-Soul to Raekwon. There is not one bad song on this whole album, and there is nothing I'd change. Pinata was a monument for Freddie Gibbs' career, and Madlib was a god behind the boards. That's why it is the album of the year.

Favorite Song: Thuggin