| 4.0 excellent |
| Ab-Soul Control System |
| Action Bronson and Party Supplies Blue Chips |
| Action Bronson and Party Supplies Blue Chips 2 |
| Aesop Rock Labor Days |
| Aesop Rock The Impossible Kid |
| Aesop Rock Spirit World Field Guide |
| BADBADNOTGOOD BBNG2 |
| Bartees Strange Live Forever |
| Benny The Butcher The Plugs I Met |
| Black Country, New Road For the first time |
| Boards of Canada Geogaddi |
| Bruiser Wolf Dope Game Stupid |
| Captain Murphy Duality |
| Car Seat Headrest Teens of Denial |
| Cassandra Jenkins An Overview on Phenomenal Nature |
| Chance the Rapper Coloring Book |
| Currensy, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist Fetti |
| Darkside Spiral |
| Death Grips The Money Store |
| Death Grips The Powers That B |
| Death Grips Bottomless Pit |
| DJ Healer Nothing 2 Loose |
| DJ Koze Amygdala |
| Earl Sweatshirt Some Rap Songs |
| Flying Lotus You're Dead! |
| Flying Lotus Flamagra |
| LA beat scene legend Steven Ellison, otherwise known as Flying Lotus, is back at again with his sixth studio album. This is somewhat of a departure from the his past works, mainly in that it lacks a certain conciseness and directness that most of his previous projects have seemed to nail. Clocking in at 75 minutes, it?s somewhat easy to see why. This thing goes in many different directions, and can seem a bit cluttered at first glance. It is an album centered around the sporadic concept of fire after all. With that being said, the sound design and arrangement on most individual tracks on here is nothing short of masterful - ultimately offering a track listing fused with what could best be described as funk fueled electronic jazz-hop. This is perhaps the warmest and most human project that Ellison has released, while still maintaining the otherworldly sound he is most known for. Considering the lengthy feature list sprawled across the 27 tracks, this comes as no surprise (David Lynch even makes a genuinely haunting appearance). This is not the best Flying Lotus album, but it still has some damn good moments.79/100 |
| Four Tet Rounds |
| Four Tet Parallel |
| Freddie Gibbs and Madlib Bandana |
| George Clanton 100% Electronica |
| Gia Margaret Mia Gargaret |
| Gil Scott-Heron and Makaya McCraven We're New Again - A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven |
| Helado Negro Private Energy |
| Helado Negro Far In |
| Holodrum Holodrum |
| Ka A Martyr's Reward |
| Kamasi Washington Harmony of Difference |
| Kamasi Washington Heaven and Earth |
| Keiji Haino and Sumac Even for Just the Briefest Moment |
| Kelly Lee Owens Inner Song |
| Kendrick Lamar Section.80 |
| Kendrick Lamar DAMN. |
| Kids See Ghosts Kids See Ghosts |
| King Geedorah Take Me to Your Leader |
| King Krule The OOZ |
| Lil Ugly Mane Volcanic Bird Enemy and the Voiced Concern |
| Little Brother May The Lord Watch |
| Little Simz Grey Area |
| On this project, Simz covers a variety of topics ranging from gun violence (see ?wound?) to mental health (see ?therapy?) to being a woman in the rap industry (see ?boss? and ?venom?). The instrumentals show a mixture of classic hip-hop and grime influences and prove to be effective templates for each vocal performance. On that topic, it?s the vocal performances across this thing that are truly the main point of attraction. Simz manages to be both explosive and technically impressive throughout, rarely giving off even a hint of lyrical stumble. There?s nothing to complain about here, aside from perhaps a lack of any grand over-arching theme. What the album lacks in ambition, however, it more than makes up for in precision. GREY Area is a considerable testament to the potency and directness of hip-hop when done properly. It?s also most likely Simz? best work to date. 84/100 |
| Little Simz Sometimes I Might Be Introvert |
| Lupe Fiasco DROGAS Wave |
To be honest I saw this album and damn near rolled my eyes at the thought of listening to
24 Lupe Fiasco tracks in the year 2018. To be honest a second time, this thing is not
bad at all - in fact, it's pretty damn good. The 100 minute run time is a bit burdensome
in my personal opinion, but it is ultimately worth it to hear some of Lupe's best work in
quite awhile. I strongly recommend a listen if you are even slightly curious. 81/100. |
| Malibu Ken Malibu Ken |
| MF DOOM Born Like This |
| Milo Budding Ornithologists Are Weary Of Tired Analogie |
Milo is back after two notable side projects with his fourth LP and third full
length project of the year. In his own words, this is a rhythm and poetry album, and he
delivers on that sound in all the ways one might expect a silver tongued underground
emcee to. Laced with some of his most esoteric lyrics, this might not be the album to
turn a new listener into a die hard fan of the art rap powerhouse, but he sounds less
concerned than ever in doing so. Flowing freely over lo-fi and off-kilter piano
instrumentals, Milo tends to wander deep into cryptic abysses of wordiness that can sound
almost aimless at times, yet it is in this wandering that some of his best moments come
to the surface. Certainly worth a listen. 78/100. |
| Nala Sinephro Space 1.8 |
| Noname Telefone |
| Open Mike Eagle Dark Comedy |
| Open Mike Eagle A Special Episode Of |
| Open Mike Eagle Brick Body Kids Still Daydream |
| OutKast Stankonia |
| OutKast Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik |
| Pusha T King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude |
| R.A.P. Ferreira bob's son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the garden level |
| Roc Marciano Mt. Marci |
| Rosalia El Mal Querer |
| Show Me The Body Body War |
| Silk Sonic An Evening with Silk Sonic |
| Skee Mask Pool |
| Smino Blkswn |
| SOUL GLO Diaspora Problems |
| Spanish Love Songs Schmaltz |
| Stove God Cooks Reasonable Drought |
| Sweet Trip Velocity : Design : Comfort |
| The Bins Happiness Complete |
| The Twilight Sad It Won/t Be Like This All the Time |
| The Weather Station Ignorance |
| Turnstile Glow On |
| Two People First Body |
| Young Thug Barter 6 |
| Young Thug JEFFERY |
