This may be one of Roc’s most energetic yet and puts him foot down as one of Hip Hop’s most influential underground rap hitmen in the digital age.

He finds beauty and peace in allowing himself to experience his own emotions. It’s an honest, matter-of-fact account of the grey areas of his life and mind. On Circles, Mac shows the unexpected joy that can be found in the darkest of times.

Music To Be Murdered By is far from the star-studded, commercially sustainable album Recovery was, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On this album, despite its handful of flaws, Em shows strong signs of adapting to the times through modern musical choices and smarter songwriting.

It’s a Mantovani-style soundscape heard in a sensory deprivation salt tank. It’s just as home in a ‘head’s collection as it is in a New Age retreat or if you prefer, at Sunday Service.

The Circus is an overall creative win and a nice precursor for his next album. The EP’s lack of substance holds it back from matching some of his previous work, but in lieu of a bigger idea, it provides a cohesive, quick and enjoyable flow fest perfect for listeners looking for a relaxed set of songs to escape the craziness of everyday life.

Despite impressive features and banging singles, JACKBOYS seems too lean of a project to feel like a noteworthy introduction to Scott’s label and collective.

Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial is the type of debut every breakout artist strives for. The album flaunts commercial appeal with hints of immense potential when it becomes more thoughtful, gritty and shows off Roddy’s knack for songwriting.

This 25-song compilation renders itself as a gift to the die-hard X fans that are rightfully craving anything new from the late rapper – even if it’s simply lo-fi humming over baselines for a hot second.

Ultimately, 03 Greedo and Kenny Beats’ Netflix & Deal contains some exciting moments, but otherwise, the short-sighted project that relies too heavily on production and features instead of Greedo’s raw and unbridled ability to tell stories.

Although its admittedly a mixed bag, Tory’s latest successfully pays homage to ‘00s R&B while also delivering plenty of bedroom jams, club bangers, and pregame bops to keep his fans vibing.

As the culture is currently enamored with more rhythmic patterns than the meat on the bone, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib have undoubtedly proved they can compete without compromising their composition standards.

One Of The Best Yet makes a strong case that its chain and star logo is Hip Hop traditionalism’s version of the Union Jack flag to salute where credit is due to one of rap’s greatest MCs and duos yet.

It’s indeed Summer Walker’s authenticity she sells on Over It that feels right at home with ’90s R&B, and adjacent to contemporary druggy Atlanta-centric Hip-Hop. Summer Walker is unashamed, contemplative, and despite her debut album name, far from over.

As abrasive as it feels, it’s a lyrically rewarding payoff for listeners who choose to sift through the muddle and explore a high-brow exercise into poetry. Otherwise, old Odd Future fans and casual Hip-Hop listeners will be turned off by its off-putting and annoyingly grating aesthetics.

uknowhatimsayin¿ could and should be considered one of Danny’s strongest projects to date. Q-Tip’s musical guidance (including making it a simple 11-song tracklist) plays a major role, but a lot of redeeming qualities on this album are a testament to Danny’s artistry.

This album should have and could have been as epic as it seems Kanye’s dive into his faith has been. All in all, the project is a decent affair that falls short of its potential.

There is little here that challenges the listener — let alone Gucci himself. Your take away from it rests on how willing you are to listen to the ATL pillar cruise-control over particularly predictable soundscapes with lazy bars that make themselves malleable to mainstream playlists and simultaneously unworthy of multiple replays.

The project suffers a bit from hit-chasing evidenced from the bubbly Kevin Gates-assisted “POP” and catchy but baseless Nicki Minaj pairing dialed up on “iPHONE.” Unlike Baby on Baby, which sported “Suge,” it’s the hardcore “XXL” that serves as the album’s most complete record.

He can use his voice for rapping and singing, but he’s still getting the hang of using it to truly deliver a message.

Ghostface Killahs won’t shake up the current Hip Hop ecosystem but does offer a gritty detour down those commercial highways. But longtime fans could argue the project is his strongest since 2006’s Fishscale.

Ultimately, the album is challenging and uncompromising as it makeshifts a rallying cry for the disenfranchised Millennial Redditor; a manifesto for the misunderstood.

Because of QC’s careful curation of minimal features per track, the 36-song project feels more like Quality Control on shuffle than a compilation — which is a good thing but misses the mark on creating an album in the purest sense.

EarthGang are rapping and harmonizing the sights and sound that make up the musical hubs’ cultural and social-economical tapestry. This isn’t a new Outkast. This is a new Atlanta.

Phonte and Pooh have released the best Little Brother album since 2005’s The Minstrel Show. In doing so, they’ve reaffirmed why LB means something special to so many people and proven the improbable is still possible.

Besides a few questionable features, there’s nothing offensive or particularly bad about Hollywood’s Bleeding. It’s just Malone playing it safe and betting on the likelihood that the streaming algorithms will reward him once again.

Thugger has performed vocally like this before on Jeffrey, lyrically like this on Slime Season and emotionally like this on Beautiful Thugger Girls but not consistently have they all converged together like this, forging the ultimate Young Thug Voltron. Plus, this top-notch performance has been spread across such perfectly paced beats. Quite literally, the production on this album is just a blast.

Common has been delivering solid material for three decades, but this album can be chalked up as a mediocre comeback, not for lyrical ability. Rather, it’s for the lack of soul “by the pound” in the album’s soundscapes. It just doesn’t hold as much weight in his discography.

Although those untargeted croons and messy arrangements don’t allow ! to be a perfect album nor Trippie’s best work, the album is definitely worth a stream for listeners already sold on today’s genre-bending landscape.

In a time where her late age peers getting major release priorities get more experimental, introspective or attempt to follow trends, Iconology works as a reminder of Missy’s DNA not only in the recent explosion of female rappers but pop music in general.

While Iridescence proved that the group could survive Vann’s abrupt departure, Ginger exposes their creative limitations. Although their winning streak may be over, Ginger has enough good ideas to suggest that with a bit more editing, Brockhampton can potentially reclaim their footing.

The 16-track potent lyrical adventure is peppered with countless poetic musings masquerading as seamless Hip Hop tracks, easily solidifying Rapsody’s musical legacy.

As his name indicates, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire is profane and unashamed. ... Left to his own devices, and free from the constraints of a major label, his eponymous album announces his arrival, once and for all — and warts and all.

He’s established a solid, consistent repertoire, one he should be proud of on its own merits if nothing else.

Port Of Miami is just better than Port Of Miami 2. ... This album is solid, not spectacular. ... This album’s in the middle. It’s something that shouldn’t be regarded as offensive to ears or must listen. It’s satisfactory. It’s great if you need another fix of Ross. It’s completely fine to skip if you don’t.

His knack for personal lyricism over melodramatic production makes his latest album, The Search, an impactful listening experience and validation for the aforementioned comparison.

Encapsulates everything a Gen Z rapper should be aiming for; young gun energy mixed with traditional skill.

Nobody expected Azalea to come back super talented and with an entirely new shtick. Nonetheless, In My Defense could have been a tad bit more introspective or at the very least, fun.

From out the gate, it comes as no surprise that the strongest material on the 18-track audio excursion is centered around Cole.

K.R.I.T. IZ HERE is neither a career-defining album nor a complete flop. Instead of building off the creative momentum of 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time, K.R.I.T. is on auto-pilot. But thankfully, he’s still effortlessly exciting.

The fact that it’s 22 songs only highlights how disorganized the project is. There are some tracks that I actually like scattered throughout, but none that really compare to the best from his previous projects. His two mixtapes were also similarly eclectic, but these collaborations feel less exciting and more calculated. ... The Big Day will go down as one of the biggest disappointments in rap in recent memory, in no small part because Coloring Book was so great.

Overall, it works and is another jewel in her crown — one that she, overall, can be proud to call hers.

Gems are few and far between on The Lost Tapes 2. Nasir Jones mostly sounds uninspired and distracted throughout the 16 tracks, which begs the question: why even release these previously hidden records to begin with?

While there are plenty of people who are able to seamlessly blend their preferred musical genre with Hip Hop (Machine Gun Kelly, Travis Barker, Billy Ray Cyrus), Ed Sheeran isn’t one of them. And because he spent the whole album trying too hard, it falls flat, overall.

On the surface, it’s an overwhelmingly average album, and if you were to strip away all the unnecessary intermissions and segue ways, it’d probably venture into plus territory. As it is, however, it’s a futuristic skyscraper of an album that lacks the foundation to keep from collapsing, and the more you buy into his staggering concept, the more likely you are to come away disappointed.

Listeners will find themselves going back to the top of the tracklist and letting the album roll through the variety of worldly sounding tracks. A true GoldLink summer vacation. A true summer diaspora.

SAVE ME, opposed to previous collaborative EPs such as 2016’s Purple Reign with Metro Boomin, feels incomplete for it’s lacking the divine energy felt from previous Future projects.

With production wizards such as Mustard, Hit-Boy, Cubeatz and more on deck, the production checks all the boxes as steroidal bass and encompassing synths permeate the project for modest results.

ZUU is filled with entertaining records, but their relatively short runtimes often leave one yearning for more. This brevity is just minor quibble though when presented with rewind-worthy efforts such as “Ricky,” a creation named after Curry’s father.

Earworms aside, some songs are merely second-rate homages. ... 7 does show some promising directions for the meme maestro.

Overall, for a debut album, Ari Lennox shows a lot of promise as a contemporary musical child of past neo-soul pioneers (whether they claim the title or not). With minimal effort, Ari impressively delivers the kind of R&B that has been missing (and missed), from the genre.

Filled to the brim with ideas even when it sometime sounds as if he’s creatively a little too all over the place. Thankfully, even when he fails, listeners should be fascinated by even those attempts.

Not only are the song structures disappointingly formulaic but the samples picked for the project rank as some of the laziest in recent Hip Hop Years.

No sole record matches the adept level of musicianship exemplified in her breakout hit “Big Ole Freak,” but Fever’s dedication to eschewing pop-leaning material wins big with the everyday people, strippers and strip club aficionados.

Across the album, there’s a looming question--what makes any of these canned Confessions even remotely Dangerous? If Logic wants to be above commercial Hip Hop, he will have to try a lot harder than this. Scratch that, maybe he should stop trying this hard.

On IGOR, Tyler showcases a more polished iteration of the hazy pop he’s been perfecting for years. Though some might be disappointed that he’s becoming more of a singer than a rapper, this is the kind of project that should encourage more artists to disavow labels and relish in taking risks.

There are without doubt a few tracks on this album that could make it to your favorite ScHoolboy playlist but said “few” don’t outweigh the remaining dozen that fall flat on their blank face.

Instead of replicating last year’s hit mixtape, Nasty is clearly set on experimenting and expanding her sound. Even though it shows that she’s a risk taker, Anger Management is unfortunately half-baked.

At times Abstract is advancing the alternative Hip-Hop genre, while in other moments he’s relishing in an indie-pop fantasy. Generally, he’s at his best when he’s building off his previous Hip Hop success.

The production on Guns is most appealing when he relents and allows for more free-flowing instrumentals.

Rich The Kid has done a fine enough job with his second album, and he’s successfully set the stage for a career that could be long, fruitful, and ultimately well-respected.

It’s the perfect type of album to have playing in the background at your local Foot Locker and as long as it’s getting streamed somewhere, somehow by someone, NAV will likely be happy.

It’s a tumultuous journey of trials, tribulations and everything in between, which is something Lizzo is able to illustrate quite well. Whether you’re here for it or not, Lizzo has arrived.

Not only is Homecoming an artistically-sound triumph, it’s a cultural touchstone and, quite possibly, the live album of a generation.

Free Spirit isn’t an outright failure. For it to be a failure, Khalid would have to at least take a few risks.

.Paak’s newest project is less cinematic and epic than its companion piece but it’s just as ambitious, texturely rich, and bustling with pleasant surprises.

Czarface Meets Ghostface is far from a “bad” rap album despite having a seemingly uninspired rap trio. From a bar-for-bar standpoint, the rhymes on here are better than a lot of today’s modern offerings but it’s missing the menacing attitude which is often times half the battle.

Genre-blending albums (no matter how commonplace they might be these days) are not easy to pull off and for that, Juice WRLD should be given credit. From the seemingly sincere lyrics to the equally candid delivery, Juice truly goes with his gut in whichever way (rap, sing, hum, sob).

While Chainz’s level of authenticity remains intact throughout the album’s duration, the commercial ambitions of its third quarter give way to a lapse of quality.

While When I Get Home is a valiant effort and (thankfully) distinctive to mainstream music’s consistently homogenized landscape, it could’ve benefited from less freeform and a little more stability.

This album is a big win for Gunna, an even bigger win for executive producers Wheezy and Turbo but a championship win for contemporary rap as a whole that should be appreciated by all.

The 27-year-old Offset digs deep into his Atlanta Hip Hop lineage, crafting an album that’s equal parts rare in this climate (seeing it follows an unfolding narrative) and refreshing, given its telling content.

Other than polished vocals and drastically better mixing, Lil Pump sounds the exact same as he did when he dropped Lil Pump; zooted on Xans, lean, and without a care in the world. The rapping is simple, the concepts are easy to grasp as he pretty much gets straight to the point on all 16 tracks (said point being the drugs and money he bathes in excessively).

The full-length fully introduces the world into a troubled young man with a brilliant mind whose musings are starkly engaging.

On The WZRD, he spends most his time refining his formula or simply being lazy. Either way, it’s clear that Future is way too comfortable.

As a debut album, X 100PRE succeeds at establishing Bunny’s ambition. With its bangers and sonic diversity, this release suggests that the Latin trap artist possesses the potential to shape mainstream music for years to come.

At 15 songs and 51 minutes long, it’s an enjoyable listen with good pacing, filled with the right amount of vulnerability, heartache, menace, and savagery.

The beats Metro cooked up for this one were top notch throughout, adding some refreshing sounds to the current trap landscape. With retirement in the rearview mirror and a 21 Savage album on the horizon, Not All Heroes Wear Capes solidifies the return of one of this era’s most trusted producers.

Even with all the underwhelming guest performances and filler, Evil Genius demonstrates that Gucci Mane hasn’t completely lost it. That being said, it’s definitely time for him to disrupt the formula.

Overall, the 16-track project is mostly cohesive aside from the few disposable tracks that clutter its message and, at times, elementary lyrics.

The 14-track album keeps all the commended technical framework of The Never Story but elevates the delivery and songwriting to a point where he sounds completely like his own man with his own plan.

Some Rap Songs is reminiscent to Earl’s late friend Mac Miller’s final album Swimming. Both bring the listener through the process of overcoming trauma and healing but ultimately, choose to leave the story unfinished.

Although songs like “BEBE” kindly pay tribute to 6ix9ine’s Puerto Rican roots, his rapping quickly proves to be tolerable in tiny, almost microscopic doses, while the album closer “DUMMY” is like a carbon copy of the homogenized sound currently infiltrating mainstream rap.

Each of the tracks contain replay value, but the standouts besides the aforementioned are the blues-tinged “New Thangs,” “No Window Tints,” and the punchy funk-heavy snares and easy listening jazz keyboards on “Buddy & Sincere.”

On Eden, a follow up to this year’s Ephorize, CupcakKe refines her lyricism, diversifies her subject matter, and proves why she shouldn’t be dismissed.

While Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 2 puts the cap on Peep’s short-lived career, it leaves behind clear evidence of his once-limitless potential.

It may not be as beautifully consistent as Malibu, but during those glorious pinnacles when Oxnard is firing on all cylinders, it’s undeniably some of the best music of 2018.

Ultimately, Staples has added another colorful chapter to his chameleon-like catalog and reinforced his intention to keep evolving no matter what trends are dictating the current wave.

With its brevity and risk-taking, The Last Rocket succeeds at illustrating Takeoff’s talents. Though there’s no outright banger and some filler, this solo album serves as a glimmer of hope for the longevity of Hip Hop’s current favorite trio.

The subtle wave of acoustics, sparse pianism and occasional bass bump work as an apt complement to Ella’s oration. The production also displays the underappreciated diversity of Mustard’s bottomless bag of beats.

With Pieces of a Man, Jenkins is surely having his own Frank Ocean-esque moment--he’s expressing himself on his own terms with poignant lyricism and nuance.

By Quality Control’s standards, Nuthin’ 2 Prove is a brisk listen-through as it clocks in at just over 45 minutes, but it certainly feels as bloated as recent projects from Migos and Quavo’s solo album.

Suncity (named after his former El Paso stomping grounds) goes the distance in capturing slow-moving society, accented with inviting sunbeams, especially on the first-person acoustic number “Saturday Nights.”

Quavo shows consistency on this album through trap-a-long choruses and fresh sounds but there are definitely some misses that will likely never be streamed again.

Tip’s latest sets an example for matured vets who still like to get their hands dirty. Dime Trap is dually nostalgic and relevant, and cements T.I. amongst rap’s all-time elite.

Overall, Bobby has bars for days--and days--and as a consistent top to bottom play, YSIV has vibrant energy.

While she’s making a valiant effort to mimic a lot of the mainstream rap currently infiltrating the airwaves, it’s going to be challenging for people to not immediately dismiss her as an unwelcome gimmick. That’s not to say the 15-year-old doesn’t have an arsenal of slick jabs ready to go. Much like her fiery personality, Bhad Bhabie’s song lyrics exude healthy doses of attitude toward anyone who tries to stand in her way.

It’s clear that DROGAS Wave has enough value to be memorable but is less than the sum of its parts.

Noname overwhelmingly succeeds in telling her coming-of-age story where she removes all emotional layers to explore everything from comical socio-political ideology to sexuality minus self-serving preachiness.