Tronic shows marked improvement in Black Milk as the total package; he doesn't excel by sacrificing his rhymes for the sake of the music, or vice versa.

It is the right combination of introspective and funky. It makes these long, endless days and weeks much more manageable. If you need something both banging and relaxing, Shabazz Palaces got you covered.

“E.L.E. 2” may be bloated and overloaded with A-list star features, but it works. Somehow managing to cater toward two generations of listener; you could have this playing on a CD in your car for weeks, skipping some tracks and then discovering new favourites down the line; yet there’s enough excellent individual moments here to populate a digital playlist too.

From the 'Intro' to the 'Outro' there's very little to not like about UGK 4 Life other than the fact it can never be done again, and any music videos released off this album won't feature Pimp doin' his thang.

It may be that the only constant on Chemical Warfare IS Alchemist's beats, but that's enough to make it work--and like the futuristic battle it implies the album is filled with hits you'll never see coming.

Big Fish Theory sees Staples evolve as a rapper and an artist, and prove himself as a singular talent in hip-hop.

Trying to cherry-pick highlights from "DAMN." is an exercise in futility: practically every track is superb, more a matter of taste than anything else. It's simpler to isolate the one bum note: "God" sounds like an Akon joint from the mid-Noughties.

The album succeeds in granting an audio interpretation to something that's showcased more prominently in a cinematic medium.

For the most part, the sound palette on “God Don’t Make Mistakes” is painted as dark and grimy which suits Conway’s visceral crime details. Though he isn’t from New York City, he’s got the grit to match it. Many of the tracks show off his penchant for detailed street life depictions with polysyllabic rhymes delivered in a veteran’s flow.

The irony of releasing three beautiful albums it that even a great album like "RTJ3" can still wind up being ranked third in descending order. As good as it is nothing here can top "Crown," "Angel Duster" or "Early" for me. By no means is this in any way a negative. It's like saying you're going to listen to your third favorite Ice Cube or third favorite Michael Jackson album--you're still going to wind up listening to some brillaint s#$t over and over again no matter what.

However challenging or confusing his rhymes can be, the songs still work with their combination of banging beats, rich lyricism, and twisted humor.

Tame and Del are like-minded rappers who have been heading in the same direction for years musically without having crossed paths. Now that they've finally linked their styles together in tandem, it's a blessing to all of their old fans and soon to be new ones.

Rapsody succeeds in crafting a love-letter to the oft-overlooked, oft-denigrated minority that is the Black female.

This is as essential as any other producer/emcee collaboration this year ("Pinata", "Run the Jewels 2") and proves that Premier (with the assistance of Adrian Younge) can still craft great albums with his well-worn formula.

“Call Me If You Get Lost” is undoubtedly a strong showing by Tyler, The Creator, to say the very least. Despite this album’s fantastic structuring and delivery, however, something that is always to be expected with this artist is that what he creates next will undoubtedly be even better.

This album succeeds in its goals despite the heartbreaking passing of Phife Dawg while it was being recorded, and even though I had accepted "The Love Movement" as their last chapter all those years ago, this is a much more fitting end.

The good news is that he’s very easy to pay attention to. It’s hard to miss a word that he says. Either because of the incredibly short length, or his great attention to detail, or the Kenny Beats production (or all of the above) “Vince Staples” is a must listen. He was wiser than his years at 22, now he’s wiser than his peers too.

There’s a timeless quality to the way Keith Elam and Christopher Martin brought out the best in each other, and even posthumously on “One of the Best Yet” you can still hear that love of making hip-hop in every track.

King Push's Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude is a damn good record, but it is not flawless.

Neither artist disappoints on the LP and Quik continues to progress and go beyond the boundaries of traditional west coast hip-hop. Although I'm not sure if fans will ride down Crenshaw bumping a few of the songs on the album, I salute Quik and Kurupt for trying something new.

Let Them Eat Chaos is another fantastic album by an incredible talent.

One can't fairly make the claim that "Pt. II" picks up right where the original left off, but this is the best Raekwon we've heard lyrically and musically in a long time, and barring a late entry this should be the best Wu-Tang related album of 2009.

It's an excellent album if you're in on the joke.

The order of the songs in the end seems carefully chosen, not unlike a play or movie where the emotional resonance from each piece is meant to build you up, bring you down, and build anticipation through each movement towards the climactic ending.

Aside from these few niggles, this is easily Nas’ best record since 2012’s “Life is Good” and let’s be honest, a pleasant surprise.

If this is the Wu-Tang of the 2010's, we need more albums like it.

While it may be a little on the long side, the quality never lets up and you'd have a hard time deciding which tracks, if any, should have been left on the cutting room floor.

Lizzo is kinky and playful too, but the most sexy thing of all is her unlimited confidence in herself. She thinks big, dreams big, and achieves it all on this album.