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Archive for the ‘ALBUM REVIEWS’ Category

“Hold That” - Review Of Termanology’s Time Machine: Hood Politics VI

Termanology had one of the most ferocious breakouts of last year. His debut album, Politics As Usual, boasted an impressive list of guest MC’s and was supported by some of Hip-Hop’s greatest beatmakers. Revving up the flux capacitor, his most recent project, Time Machine, has Term kicking in your...
September 25th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“Bunz” - Review Of New Boyz’ Skinny Jeanz And A Mic

No matter how good a job you’ve done of avoiding the traditional outlets of commerical Hip-Hop (radio & television,) it’s nigh impossible you’ve managed to miss out on the ubiquitous “You’re a Jerk,” by teen group the New Boyz. As always a summer single has birthed an early fall LP as...
September 25th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL, MUSIC, VIDEO | Read More

“Sew It Up” - Review Of Really Doe’s First Impressions

Rappers conscious of their initial impact to potential fans are already a step ahead. If you’re G.O.O.D. Music affiliate Really Doe, you should have a few football fields worth of advantage. Making his premiere adjacent to megastars Kanye West & Nas, the newly-minted MC helped proclaim to...
September 23rd, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“Enter Galactic” - Review Of KiD CuDi’s Man On The Moon: The End Of Day

As we showed you before on Joe Budden’s Padded Room review, we aren’t just throwing Cigs at a dart board when we come up with these ratings. Our gang of scribes has divergent views on what makes good Hip-Hop and the love him /hate him nature of KiD CuDi gave us the perfect opportunity to...
September 17th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“Clean Up Crew” - Review Of KRS-One & Buckshot’s Survival Skills

Music is a young man’s game and a lingering question remains for Hip-Hop. What will happen to legends as they grow old? If KRS-One and Buckshot have anything to say, rap’s senior circuit will keep pumping out albums when they’re being spoon-fed warm peas in the local old folks home. Survival Skills,...
September 16th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“Paragraphs Of Love” - Review Of Ghostface Killah’s Ghostdini: The Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City

We should have all seen an album of this nature coming from Ghostface. While Brother Starks has had his feet planted firmly in the Shaolin slums with legendary street tales, his catalogue has always featured a smattering of songs displaying the triumphs and tragedies of attempts to conquer the fairer...
September 15th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“The Calm” - Review Of Drake’s So Far Gone EP

In retrospect, it is fairly easy to pinpoint hints that an artist was destined to be a high-level player. When it comes to the brief yet blossoming career of one Aubrey Drake Graham, the appeal couldn’t be any more recognizable. Possessing the flow of an MC with R&B sensibilities, the talents...
September 14th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“On To The Next One” - Review Of Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3

For over a decade Jay-Z has been at the epicenter of Hip-Hop’s ever changing landscape. Through a combination of auspicious events and astute maneuvers, he set the pace for the genre on a mainstream level with air of affluence. Which in turn allowed him to set and break trends at will with even...
September 11th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“Gihad” - Review Of Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II

As any chef worth his stuff will sum up: you can’t rush fine cooking. Granted, most recipes don’t require 14 years of preparatory time, but Raekwon obviously wanted to make sure he had the sequel to his all-time classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… done just right. 14 years is a few lifetimes in Hip-Hop,...
September 9th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“Bang Bang” - Review Of Beanie Sigel’s The Broad Street Bully

Last time we heard from Beanie Sigel, he was guzzling shots of Patron with Diddy and posturing in three-piece suits on penthouse rooftops. Not out of the ordinary for the presentation of a rapper, but a far cry from the gulliest voice of Philly since John Street. While the former Roc-A-Fella soldiers...
August 28th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“Hood Song” - Review Of Dorrough’s Dorrough Music

It’s funny how some folks don’t grade an album by the artist’s delivery, wordplay, intensity or the caliber of the guest shots but instead on its ability to knock in the ride. Dorrough, the former Prairie View A&M University student, takes a page from Southerners like Gucci Mane, Jeezy and...
August 24th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, AUDIO, GENERAL, LOOSIES, MUSIC | Read More

“Good Enough” - Review Of Joe Budden’s Escape Route

For better or worse, Joe Budden remains one of Hip-Hop’s most intriguing entities. The struggles with his former label Def Jam, and his incredibly personal music have defined him and subsequently secured a devout following. Recently, his image has taken a different turn with the emergence of his...
August 18th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“U Don’t Want It” - Review Of Hell Rell’s Hell Up In The Bronx

What’s better than two Hell Rell albums in 2009? Three Hell Rell albums in 2009.
August 12th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More

“Lyrical Murderers” - Review Of Slaughterhouse’s Self-Titled Album

Funny how a golden opportunity can be formed out of standard business practices. When industry outcasts Royce Da 5′9, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I joined Joe Budden for a posse cut off his Halfway House album, no one could have foreseen that the ensuing months would birth Hip-Hop’s most prominent...
August 11th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL, Videos | Read More

“Listen Carefully” - Review Of Trife Diesel’s Better Late Than Never

Nostalgia is often a double-edged sword. Between romanticizing the past and a disdain for the status quo, it’s easy to reminisce on days past. Unfortunately, reality and nostalgia don’t always see eye to eye. Thankfully, most fans of Hip-Hop can fall back on music from the 1990’s as a crutch...
August 5th, 2009 | ALBUM REVIEWS, GENERAL | Read More