While not explicitly a concept or homage album, Endlessly captures a retro American sound reminiscent of sock hops and drive-ins so subtly, that the album could have been called Effortlessly.

Overall Killer Mike and Pl3dge is focused, hard hitting, a little pissed off at the way things are, and overall a breath of fresh air.

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.

The Lonely Island continues to remind us that taking life too seriously isn't nearly as fun as putting bags over our heads during fellatio or shitting our pants during bank robberies.

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.

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

Overall, this is a pretty interesting effort that is very genre-bending in its approach.

Monkeytown is a must for fans of techno, electro, and/or pop.

It's all about the beats here. And they don't disappoint, nor do they let up, for the duration of the album.

It's got guest collabs that make sense without being overbearing, a few genre defying styles that go from almost dancey to instrospection and back but it never loses track.

Overall Breakfast effectively blends alternative and hip-hop elements into an eclectic montage of fresh lyricism and bursting musical backdrops.

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.

It's functional, escapist, I-hate-my-job-and-live-for-my-weekends, music.

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.

Overall Together/Apart is a very good record, and a few minor missteps from being a great one.

In the end, the high points here are more than compelling enough to warrant repeated spins, and the weak spots are simply forgettable, not unlistenable.

Though it may not be the knock out aural masterpiece one would expect from the likes of a Flying Lotus production, The Golden Age of Apocalypse excels by harnessing the spirits of Pastorious, Sun-Ra, and other left-of-center demigods, dazzling us with FlyLo and Bruner's unique brand of collaborative eccentric genius.

Overall, the album displays an artist in total command of his style and vision, which only makes sense considering how long and accomplished Dennis Coffey's career has been.

It's a challenging, complex and sometimes brilliant album from an extremely talented artist who doesn't place limits on himself, though at times you may wish he had thrown a few small ones in there.

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.

While the material on Second Chance is quite straight forward and not very new, the album works, because it's a comfortable move forward for an artist who is trying to make up for lost time. The album is a defining second chance.

This album may not appeal to some (especially those heads looking strictly for lyricism and weighty content). However, fans of both grime and dubstep will undoubtedly enjoy this offering, and most notably: Wiley's evolution.

While casual listeners may be left scratching their heads a time too often for their liking, connoisseurs of pure MCing will find plenty to admire in Beans' craftsmanship, and long time fans of the Consortium will likely add this project to their collections with no regrets.

Their conversational deliveries and every man personas, cultivated in the often self-effacing world of blog rap sometimes feel small atop sparse, up tempo production clearly inspired by the late '80s when larger than life mic controllers brought the color to often minimalist canvases.

Crafty lyricism exemplifies this release by the guys from Portland, with the infectious zeal for hip-hop that's as instantly apparent and possessive of endurance as true as that of another famous Oregonian, runner Steve Prefontaine.

Between the obvious hits and the Halcion fuzz however lays an interesting sound.

There is no visible rust on Game Tested, Streets Approved, Rob's first album in six years.

Though the album hits all the right notes, the muted horns, understated strings and whispery vocalist with major funk potential leaves you nostalgic for something more.