There's nothing to startle about the music or the lyrics and there's little that isn't coated with a whiff of having heard it all before.

With his debut album he's revealed himself as bare and buffoonish.

Lacking any cohesion, Kiss The Ring is a series of single tracks that hit or miss.

What makes 3 listenable in its darkest moments is the production, where P often struggles to sound comfortable.

Wild Ones is an unfilfilling [sic] and detached listen.

Love & Danger leaves a confusing stain on the veteran's legacy and does little to strengthen the cause of loyalists with a vested interest in his haphazard easily misunderstood art.

While there are some highlights on the album, they don't nearly make up for the glaring flaws throughout, the lack of noteworthy lyrics or the redundancy in topics, flows, hooks and beats.

B.o.B. has been adamant about his latest album being created organically, yet that doesn't justify the lack of cohesion or quality found on Strange Clouds.

At times tasteful and other times tasteless, Pluto demonstrates a bravado that knows no shame.

Pop Star Nicki is still going strong so her fans should have nothing to worry about, but those of us who started collecting with the original line should probably just find a new hobby-Mixtape Nicki has been discontinued.

The 17 tracks that precede Oldie are a hodgepodge of styles and line-ups; they're random in an ineffective way, with crew members seemingly shoe-horned together and the songs rolled out with little thought as to how the mixtape-slash-album plays as a whole.

Black Cocaine is still raw in the right ways.

With pitfalls and all, Wiley is still going strong as artists come and go.

Live From The Kitchen is just about the most predictable rap album you could ever listen to.

Aside from its two missteps, Snoop and Wiz's Mac + Devin Go To High School is a surprisingly enjoyable listen.

While the album doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, those with mainstream sensibilities that like metaphor-heavy rhymes with a strong dose of social commentary will be pleasantly surprised.

Violence Begets Violence may not draw too many new fans in, but it will serve to satisfy longtime supporters.

There is more to Black Rob than "Whoa," but there is nothing that quite lives up to it on Game Tested, Streets Approved.

On what is Lil Wayne's ninth studio album, there's very little of the spontaneity you would expect from someone whose calling card is non-written, unrehearsed, free-associative rhymes.

There are no surprises here, no growth shown, but the one thing worth crediting to Gucci and Waka is their consistency – the audience will know what to expect, and as long as that is all that they expect, their expectations will be fulfilled.

While convincingly spry, Cali Swag District are unable to outlive the resonance of success that they attained with "Teach Me How To Dougie" as this one-sided affair of party tunes and fairly expendable production rarely impresses.

More sexual than sensual, King Of Hearts fulfills the bare minimum of love, lust and heartbreak, all the while showcasing Young Goldie's affinity for the female body.

Man Bites Dog Records assembled a talented array of under-the-radar producers (sans Ayatollah) that crafted a cohesive sound for Vast Aire's unapologetic lyrical griminess. Nostalgic or otherwise, it works for right now.

Longtime fans will enjoy and support the album justly, but it will be understandably missed or ignored by many.

From a technical standpoint, they're still rough around the edges; a weakness that can be improved over time. More importantly, their hearts seem to be in the right place, which can't be said for many of Animal Farm's peers.

The headliners don't seem like they're really trying, so even when the other acts are, they're still smothered by their leaders' apathy.

Looking to make a convincing splash across the pond, Tempah offers up a hearty sample of talent and charisma with the aptly-titled debut album Disc-Overy.

Gunz N Butta has all the makings of a classic Dipset banger, but like many of Cam'ron's albums, suffers from a lack of both direction and editing.