The best boundary-pushers use parts of their own style to traverse new musical territory. While tracks like “Sooner” are a success, UGLY doesn’t manage to complete the journey.

He’s returned with a slightly updated, less flawed version of 2012’s Pluto.

With the exception of “Me & My Bitch” (a tale of two way infidelity) wedged in between a festive midsection, the Pushaz Ink crew has pieced together a well sequenced and cohesive package with My Krazy Life, but this aspect and his street credibility aren’t enough to win over naysayers expecting an overall greater performance.

The Book of David isn't Quik's finest effort; an album reportedly done in quick fashion, doesn't truly live up to Quik standards. However, it still holds its own in the current field.

While similar in feel to it's predecessor, Pilot Talk, this follow-up is much less commercial in approach. The backdrop, though sometimes redundant, is more intimate, substituting any real peaks of audio genius for a solid, cohesive chilled-out-smoke-and-float ambiance.

Like most projects that get recorded without the guise of a meticulous A&R, Without Warning’s billing never exceeds the expectations of any artist--rapper or producer--let alone offer a glimpse of what allows these individuals to rank amongst 2017 Hip Hop’s most popular figures.

No Pressure is far too busy and easily distracted. ... When Logic just kicks back and shows off his skills, without trying to prove himself to anyone, No Pressure feels true to its title.

Two Eleven, while a well-crafted and produced album, falls short by comeback standards.

A frustrating project that falls short of its composer’s talent.

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

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.

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.

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.

Overall, it feels like Last Train to Paris will be an album more tailored to the Pop scene, rather than the Hip Hop audience.

Dillatronic highlights the producer’s grand vision, but in the end, we’re left with pieces of what could’ve been.

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

Libra Scale lacks the sparkle found in Ne-Yo's previous work. Much like "Champagne Life," there is still plenty to celebrate. Toast it up.

Ultimately, fans looking for a solid but not necessarily classic addition to the Infamous Mobb Deep catalogue, should be satisfied with 13.

When his conscious aligns with his songwriting We Didn’t Talk excels. He needs only seek himself and lead by example rather than trip over cliches.

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.

As its own EP, The Re-Up would help provide balance to the pop chart aspirations from last year. But as a tack-on for Roman Reloaded, it plays like a band-aid over a shotgun wound.

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.

An indistinct retread of his past work that falters further under self importance and desire for ambition that falls flat.

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.

His rapping capabilities are clearly present and his newfound singing abilities hints at some more engaging possibilities down the road. But in order to translate those skills to his listeners, he’ll need to stray from the path already traveled, quit trying to prove himself and blaze his own trail rather than trying to please every rapper dead or alive he clearly wants to become.

Despite some solid songwriting about addiction and mortality, Macklemore’s comeback album still experiences the same struggles with corniness and over-sincerity that torpedoed him from a household name to an afterthought, leading to a mixed bag that’s more admirable than actualized.

Gutter Rainbows is a fairly easy spin, and can go into the listener's steady rotation in a pinch. That being said, this feels a bit like a subdued version of Eardrum.

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.