Lukewarm contributions from Doja Cat, The KID LAROI, Roddy Ricch and others can’t help Post Malone get out of the quicksand. He continues to be pulled in an obvious direction of glitzy Hollywood stardom but instead, maintains a chokehold on comfortability.

The LP comes up short in delivering songs that standout amongst his peers. For the most part, Love Sick isn’t going to move the needle for Toliver. Those that were fans before will like this, while others that are apprehensive about him probably won’t start liking him now.

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

There is by no means dazzling wordplay, vivid storytelling or smash hits to be indulged through Amen but there are some strong beats courtesy of the man himself.

At the end of the day, Slime Language suffers from being predictable, which is the last thing you’d ever want or expect from a Young Thug-affiliated project. The lesser-known artists don’t make much of a mark, the more notorious features are the clear highlights, and the project, as a whole, offers nothing to compete with the highs of Beautiful Thugger Girls--let alone the hallucinatory string of releases from 2015.

Gunna’s still making songs that would fit on a Drip Season deluxe, but it’s juxtaposed with pain ballads you’d hear on a Lil Durk album. And though the instrumentals and somber delivery evoke the pain he’s clearly going through, he keeps the audience at a distance, making the album poignant, but also obligatory.

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

Cruel Summer is heavy and brash, and in that sense, it succeeds. G.O.O.D. Music's first outing successfully showcases the collective's talents, but it's ultimately an underachieving and uneven effort.

Overall R.E.D. is concise and beautifully simple, making it one of this year's smoothest R&B albums.

What hampers Montana the most on Jungle Rules are the album’s most compelling features--the actual features. While his ear for strong cameos remains a key ingredient to his success, it’s also taking away from his artistry. Montana can certainly make a song but guest stars shouldn’t be constantly stealing the shine from the headline act.

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.”

The album largely succeeds off the natural chemistry of its co-creators and the wide range of instrumentals that touch on several regional rap styles that both rappers learned to conquer during their decades-long careers.

Wild, yet well-delivered songs showcase Songz as a master of a now lyrically unrestrained mainstream R&B standard.

When an act features the level of execution that Major Lazer showcases on Apocalypse Soon, it makes the likely forthcoming full synergy of dance, Rap and pop not so much regrettable, but palatable and completely welcomed.

A solid, but ultimately forgettable record despite its impressive sales numbers, a come and go affair with moments of brilliance but not enough originality to stand out in the crowded field that Trippie helped tillage years ago.

Like his previous albums, They Got Amnesia is a simple collection of songs with slightly more consistent performance and significantly lower peaks.

As it stands, EVOL is nothing out of the ordinary from his past endeavors. With no measures in place preventing from Future releasing new full-length projects, this album could easily be surpassed in a month or two.

Mastermind simply lacks flair.

Casting such a wide net over the span of 20 songs ends up being a gift and a curse as the brighter moments risk getting dimmed out by extremely ambitious attempts that fall short. Running so long ensures filler and repetitive topic material, but overall Snoop makes a strong case against ageism as he fuses the adult contemporary and Gangsta Rap genres.

Instead of creating a new wave, A$AP Rocky has drowned himself in his own ambitions and lost his identity along the way.

While G I R L is too surface-level at times, it hits the target it’s aimed for.

Starboy won’t immortalize his legacy just yet but it will strengthen a once desolate Toronto kid’s placement in a musical sect he probably couldn’t even have ever dreamed of being in.

Loyal 2 Chainz supporters and casual fans may enjoy B.O.A.T.S. II: #MeTime as functional, turn up music. But listeners that don’t fall into either of those categories would do well picking up more uniform offerings from similar artists.

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.

Is it going to be the album of the year? No. But it’s a very high quality, and very enjoyable.

Although SET IT OFF is a teaser in the right direction, there isn’t enough substance to distinguish him as a solo artist, aside from the good graces he received with the Migos.

When Wale showcases his growth in being able to link his classic skillset with modern content, the album unequivocally succeeds. However, in attempting to placate current mainstream tastes, he falls short of the album being the unique and iconic success of the mixtape that truly launched his career to another level five years ago.

While it is impressive how much Albarn squeezes out of a piece of equipment that most would assume isn't up for the task, this is ultimately a tour-bus album--several songs are even named after the cities in which they were likely conceived.