Ali touches on every heavy topic under the sun but it's the more personal anecdotes, like flying home from Europe to attend his Dad's funeral or coming off tour to find his son neglected and injured that hit hardest and make Mourning in America worth copping.

GZA for his part conveys overarching ideas of war with self, the world at large, and pushing oneself artistically to the limit as a coping mechanism--expressing a coherent worldview through top flight craftsmanship.

Enjoyment of Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them will probably be directly correlated to the listener's ability to separate it from Below the Heavens. That in itself is a testament to the talent of the two artists involved, who have more than any flowers that come their way.

Like her fellow countrywomen, Is Your Love Big Enough? has a core of strong songwriting that helps La Havas elbow her way into a field packed with talented women drawing from the deep well of American soul.

Simply put, tMTMTMK is what music sounds like when it works.

It's a solid DOOM album to add to the catalog of previous releases.

Cope makes up for his mediocre (to some) but unique voice with strong, thoughtful songwriting.

Stereotype succeeds in melding styles seamlessly, and delivering enough synergy to help each one of the acts involved broaden its audience.

Kiwanuka crafts an opus so insular that it feels like a one-on-one conversation between he and you.

Rugby Thompson is by far the most cohesive piece of work Smoke DZA has put out and it's clear he has developed in to a serious player in the independent hip-hop scene.

Perhaps his greatest achievement here lies in the construction, an LP that balances the rappers with the beats into a seamless record.

The album is certainly worth a spin for any music enthusiast who wants to further expand their already-eclectic listening tastes.

He's found ways to make complexity entertaining and to harness pain in the names of maturity and laughter.

The music is powerful, but the moods and mental space Channel Orange occupies are often macabre.

All three parties are at the top of their game – Russell is in complete control of her formidable voice, Quantic is in the most verdant part of his career, and the Combo Barbaro? Well, they've been dope for years. The result is a triumph.

This time however they gave us a good album, something pleasant, different and raw to vibe on. Definitely give this a spin.

Ultimately, the collection plays like exactly what it is: a fun side project that re-affirms the core values of vintage hip-hop at a time when the genre too often seems to value everything but vintage fun.

While the project may not rack up repeat spins for most listeners, the sheer boldness will certainly hold attention whenever it does land in the deck.

The band is tight, the tunes are fine, and Ebo himself is on good form. But in general it simply lacks the power of his earlier material.

Love & Danger fits the mold per Keith's willingness to unleash a tweaked stream-of-consciousness upon his listeners, but his flow isn't nearly as succinct as on records past.

All things considered, Young Krizzle delivers.

Oh No is certainly a capable lyricist but the tracks on Ohnomite tend to work best when he lets his guest artist take the foreground.

With Cancer4Cure I was gratified on the first spin, but I'm sure it will take many more listens to fully understand El-P's brilliance on both the mic and the boards.

Mike and El-P may not have made a lot of sense on paper, but it's clear they have great chemistry and they have pushed each other to make some of the year's best music.

Here the stylistic plurality advances beyond likable ADHD-antics to the point where it no longer leaves the listening value unscathed.

Every utterance on the album is packed full of meaning. Listeners will surely be left gleaning new insights from this collection after every rotation.

It's a project more likely to fit comfortably into what will likely grow into a large and varied discography than deliver instant lightning in a bottle.

Ultimately, Folila fits right into that legacy, while managing to expand it just a little further.