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.

His technique has a strong propensity towards predictable stream-of-consciousness rhyming.

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.

None of these songs are terrible, but with the exception of Mr. West none of them are a creative force to be reckoned with on Mr. Graham's level.

Your patience will be especially tested during the closing trio of songs that could have been better had they been a couple minutes shorter and/or delivered with more zest musically.

Rick Ross' Rather You Than Me is fun to listen to.

The result is simply not up to par.

With Chill, dummy, P.O.S. manages a difficult balancing act between alternative music and hip-hop, the personal and the political, and being impassioned without being self-righteous. It's a strong album that is a welcome return from the Minnesota rapper.

On his new self-titled album Future loses sight of qualities that made his last run at the top a memorable one.

Offset has developed into a charismatic storyteller who holds your attention when he keep the stories on wax rather than behind bars.

For those who like a swell show of technical strength, a spin of this album will occupy your listen to and from the workplace quite well. For those seeking something more meaningful to go along with their skill showcase, however, don't feel bad about taking a pass on this one.

In a year of political and social upheaval in 2016 he reached deep down to make a very personal statement from beginning to end on Black America Again and it shows in every word he wrote.

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.

Here's an album of beautiful R&B songs, and she's chosen to intersperse them with messages of black empowerment.

It's funny and soulful, and will help keep the blues at bay.

In its best moments, Made in the Manor transcends time--and even place--and attains universal meaning.

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.

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

Throwback to the Future is a solid album that is a nice change of pace from what I normally listen to.

Atrocity Exhibition is a party rap album, a drug rap album, an emo rap album, and a post-punk album all rolled into one.

It's not her best album, as there are clearly concessions on display but it doesn't let her anthology down and she is now free of her label.

While most of the album is concerned with asserting that YG is still a G despite his fame, it closes with a trio of protest songs.

The end result sure looks promising from the moment you hit play, with over an hour of music and 18 tracks to look forward to, the kind of full length project all those [Kickstarter] backers have demanded.

Influenced by many but perhaps literally fathered by none, ScHoolboy Q remains an intriguing enigma whose ambitions presently know less limits than Percy Miller.

It's hard at times to be a fan of this genre, because it can be overly formulaic and offer little hope for the future, but despite the dark trappings there's still some musically redeeming fun to be had.

If you can get past some of the dumb lines and the often blunt nature of Big Sean's approach to seduction, there's enough solid, modern R&B here to satisfy those craving something a bit more direct than Drake, but it could have been so much more.

If you're not expecting an hour of profound wisdom from start to finish this is an ideal late summer mixtape to ride around to.

The Mountain Will Fall is DJ Shadow's best album in over a decade, largely because it is his most consistent since "The Private Press."