Several aspects of the sonic structure on otherwise well-made beats and well-laid vocals sound blurred and mashed together. It is not a pretty listen by any means unless the listener is willing to bear the pain of a weak recording process.

He tends to repeat himself and his punchlines lack punch--but Seen It All is an album you can listen to start to finish and not hate yourself for buying it.

The metallic fingerprint of Auto-Tune is all over My Everything, even the vocal trills that start off the album.

At times Sovereign exceeds at being entertaining and at other times her simplistic lyrics, heavy accent and electronic beats prove to be too much to grasp.

Putting the lyrics aside for the moment I’m willing to say there’s something here. The production goes from spartan and airy to distorted and noisy in a way that makes it feel like industrial trap rap, and his accent plays with your expectations of what the flow should be like. ... Ultimately I must still give a “meh” to the overall presentation, because like many of his U.S. counterparts, Yung Lean’s music relies more on style than substance.

It's surprisingly deep, well produced and definitely worth your time. It is by no means exceptional.

Songs like “Wishing Well” carry on the things that made him popular — a catchy melody and hook, AutoTuned lyrics, tales of depression and drug use. All of Juice WRLD’s trademarks can be found here.

“Twelve Carat Toothache” doesn’t reveal a new facet of Austin Post, it just shines an even brighter light on the jewels that he drops.

This is a decent mixtape that you'll happily spin for up to a fortnight, I reckon. But it's a hook. It's a sample to get you addicted.

Free Weezy Album is on the whole decidedly mixed. Weezy still has his swagger, and with a little more effort he could add some substance to go along with it.

The album is fun for that amount of time but doesn’t chart a new course for women in rap or rappers as a whole. Not every album needs to or should. “Fever” is our Trina for 2019. She won’t change the world but she will get you to talk about sex, baby.

For better or worse the album also achieves a certain bland uniformity at times by staying so true to the trap aesthetic and having Metro Boomin produce so much of the music. It's not ill-conceived, it's just that it all winds up becoming a bit monotonous if you don't randomize it and/or mix in some songs by other artists.

Regrettably though Soil 2 is a little more uneven than the last installment.

The biggest missed opportunity lies in Nas’ inability to reach beyond the ambitious presentation found in everything surrounding the lyrics. He’s entertaining in spurts, but much like his “godly” contemporary Jay-Z, one has to wonder if what he says ever really matters on “King’s Disease” any more.

There's immense lyrical potential, manifesting itself in lines like "Emotional luggage, nothin' of it, I don't check bags / I just carry on, leave that bullshit in the past," or "Master the flow, Alaska-cold / silent foot, assassin approach / high when I stroll / not even leavin' footprints in the snow," but it never quite carries over to the entire song. From that point of view this sequel is more of an afterthought to "Pilot Talk" than an afterburner.

It's wholly derivative, self-pitying emo rap that owes everything in its essence to Drake, Weezy, Cudi, and Kanye. That said, Glover is an incredibly compelling and talented rapper.

As for today's singing rappers, Vert fits in comfortably next to the likes of Fetty Wap and French Montana, and I have little qualms with calling him a better writer than the latter. The production is a little bit more of a mixed bag.

If You're Reading This It's Too Late isn't that good.... There are definitely some songs that have commercial potential that I don't hate, and though I'd rather hear Drake rapping than singing, "Jungle" seems like the kind of track that with a few choice edits could get radio play.

Wu-Block isn't a necessity, not for the Wu, not for the Block, not for hip-hop, not for the fans. And yet while it may be nothing more than a stopgap for all involved, it makes sense, not in theory but de facto.

The beat/choruses are impressive enough, and whilst it's doubtful you'll be bumping Finally Famous a year from now, it's an album with merits that avoids the curse of the opening tweet, and sets Big Sean up pretty nicely for the next phase.

To be honest, this just doesn't really feel like a Game album--there's a distinct lack of drama, of real hyperbole, of genuine excitement. It tends to come across as a resume.

POC is a step above his worst material and a far cry from his glory days.

The watery wave of “Payback”, the reverberating bass of “Traffic”, the head nodding flow of “Dead Presidents”, it all works. The lyrics? They sort of work. 03 sings his way through songs like the latter track, and while he’s mostly just flossing, he occasionally takes the time to call out peers who have let him down by not being as G as he.

Pitbull's rapping machismo enhances his songs, but for better or worse there are times on Planet Pit where he seems caught up in the limelight instead of shining in it. This is likely to be his most successful album to date regardless.

There's nothing to really get mad at, but there's not much to get excited about either. Scott is just "aight."

He can croon and autotune his way through some songs that are easy to ride to while faking it though--he ATL Jacob laced “Rocket Ship,” the Jacob and Jambo co-produced “Stick to the Models,” and the mellow radio friendly “Tricks On Me” from Nineteen85. Future has plenty of swagger and personality, knows all the right producers to take his style and make it sparkle, and has little problem serving his fan base exactly what they want.

Juice wants to get in touch with his feelings but then drowns them in a gallon of syrup.

His artistic ambition still lags behind profit objective and pursuit of happiness, but he also manages to be the kind of wordsmith that doesn’t have to spell everything out for you. But when he does, he gives a fairly balanced overview of the subject, see his thoughts on taxes in “Sam”. There’s still a cunning street edge to Chainz twelve years after “Supply & Demand”.