HipHopDx Reviews
Black Sheep - From The Black Pool Of Genius
Even when he's the lone Sheep, Dres continues to shine. He can easily give fans traditional, quality pieces, which he does as the album starts.
Kelis - Flesh Tone
With the spotlight on her personal life slowly waning, she steps back into the public with what gave her fame to begin with, music. Signed to will.i.am's record label, the Black Eyed Peas influence on her latest, Flesh Tone, is apparent from the jump.
KRS-One & Just-Ice - The EP, Volume 1
Time doesn't seem to be stopping KRS One and Just-Ice from continuing their craft, as over two decades later the two Bronx lyrical gangsters are back with The Just-Ice and KRS One EP Volume 1.
Copywrite - T.H.E. High Exhaulted: 8th Anniversary Edition
The High Exaulted, an album first released in 2002 with Eastern Conference Records, is a fine example of the battle Rap ethos and this particular reissue is chock full of masculine attitude and Copy's laser-precise rhymes.
Marco Polo - The Stupendous Adventures Of Marco Polo!
With plans to release his second studio album Port Authority 2 later this year, Marco Polo has once again reinforced the notion that quality will always outweigh quantity. Though in his case, the two seemed to be perfectly intertwined.
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son Of Chico Dusty
Listeners can judge Big Boi without juxtaposing his album next to Andre 3000's. It's the audio equivalent of seeing Scottie thrive in the triangle offense while Jordan was chasing fly balls in the minors and realizing just how good Pip was on his own.
Tzarizm Presents... - The Heart & Brain Mbodiment
Tzarizm seems less interested in telling you his life story or making an overly thematic album that the listener feels almost more engaged - and from the simple-but-addictive beats to the working-man verses, this "mbodies" so much more.
Eternia & MoSS - At Last
In spite of her aggressive, in-your-grill delivery on potent cypher cuts, Eternia's tortured past and ability to connect through honest, visceral rhymes is At Last's truest legacy. She harnesses her femininity without ever pimping her sexuality.
The-Dream - Love King
The-Dream is a chameleon. His ability to adapt his voice, production and confidence to fit a track or topic is impressive. On "Yamaha" and "Nikki Part 2" he is able to channel Prince-esque instrumentation in a Pop-friendly way that artists like Van Hunt c
Cool Nutz - Incredible
It's strange to say it in the midst of an 18-year career, but Incredible is a nice introduction to many, to the emcee from the Nike state. Cool Nutz' best songs are vivid tales that deliver rock-solid honesty and introspective lyricism and showcase his i
The Roots - How I Got Over
Seemingly finding a 25th hour to record, How I Got Over proves that no matter how much time the septet spends on stages, they still feel what's happening in the lives of their audiences.
Z-Ro - Heroin
Like depression, Z-Ro rides his highs and digs deep into his lows, and the art that comes of it is honest and telling. It doesn't mean that the beginning of the album isn't without flaws, but it does mean that those flaws seem deliberate.
Vinnie Paz - Season Of The Assassin
Usual suspects like R.A. the Rugged Man, Ill Bill and prot
Crooked I - Hood Star
Over seven years since he too left Death Row, the label's new ownership releases Hood Star, a compilation of tracks from the nearly four albums that the Slaughterhouse emcee reportedly plugged away at, signed to the bad boys of Beverly Hills.
Eminem - Recovery
The current shift in Hip Hop's landscape finds listeners rewarding artists for experimentation, even when it occasionally goes awry by "Golden Era" standards. Em adapted with the times, and even during his musical missteps, he's pushing himself to experim
Lil Jon - Crunk Rock
As it stands, Crunk Rock sounds just like its recording process: disjointed. There's plenty of Crunk, but where's the Rock? The other major musical influences here are electronica and Techno - which is fine - but in order to pull that off, Jon will have t
Nappy Roots - The Pursuit To Nappyness
Over blasting horns, the rappers - all of whom are from Kentucky or Georgia, though they met at Western Kentucky University - take turns boasting about fame, masculinity, cars, and the like.
Ratatat - LP4
The Brooklyn duo, which has produced tracks for Kid Cudi and released two volumes of remixes featuring everybody from Notorious B.I.G. to Antipop Consortium to Young Buck, have for four albums now maintained the ability to craft very tasteful, very aesthe
Plies - Goon Affiliated
In his career, Plies has been able to mask his low level of lyrical chops with records that are easily digestible and catchy. However, where Plies fails on Goon Affiliated is his inability to distinguish simplistic from careless.
Drake - Thank Me Later
Like a heavily co-signed star from the top of the decade, 50 Cent, Drake proves that he can give you two sides of himself and his art: the mixtape and the album, and as Black Sheep say, the choice is yours.
