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For 859 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 62% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 33% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Music review score: 73
Highest review score: 100 The Iceberg
Lowest review score: 15 Excuse My French
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 697 out of 859
  2. Mixed: 142 out of 859
  3. Negative: 20 out of 859
859 music reviews
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    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Lasers
    There is no doubt that the first half of the album is where the "money" is – a top-heavy reflection of pop-muscle tracks where Lupe is generally playing second fiddle to the beats/choruses. That would have fine if the Chicago native had been allowed to go all out and express himself on the other six tracks, more akin to "All Black Everything" so you may well find yourself stalling after "The Show Goes On."
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Powerballin'
    It's not that the album isn't good, it's that it pails in comparison to "Jackpot."
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    My Own Lane
    Kid Ink hasn't so much found his own lane, but taken the well-worn stretch of road that's littered with empty beer bottles and discarded condoms; a road frequented by beautiful video-models and catchy hooks. Despite this, My Own Lane is tasteful, smooth and if taken at face value, an enjoyable example of radio-friendly hip hop.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    So Much Fun
    You can’t examine Young Thug’s music too closely or think about it too carefully if you want to enjoy it, because the casual misogyny of throwing around “Pussy” as an insult reminds you he’s not exactly progressive. If you’re looking for bass to shake the concrete and singing so modulated as to nearly be R&B, tracks like “Jumped Out the Window” and “Boy Back” featuring NAV will definitely fit the bill.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Heart Blanche
    He still has a lot of talent, he just needs to reign in his creative impulses (along with a few others) to make a better album next time.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mansion Musik
    I can listen to “Mansion Musik” for 76 minutes and it’s fine as background music, but if I start paying attention to tracks like “WITCHCRAFT” the bars are so relentlessly negative it accidentally becomes a turnoff.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    goldilocks x
    In the end though it’s all just a little too polished, like a hip hop manicure after a rap spa day, one that leaves everything radiant and glossy but says nothing about what’s underneath.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Rebelution
    Rebelution will leave you shaken, but not stirred.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    I Decided.
    His technique has a strong propensity towards predictable stream-of-consciousness rhyming.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Wu-Massacre
    Unfortunately the haste to produce and release the album shows when listening; the thing is clearly rushed and even feels a tad opportunistic after the surprise critical resurgence of the Wu after the Raekwon-directed "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II."
    • 62 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Radioactive
    Radioactive is a mixed bag that has some outstanding tracks, while others fail from a lack of execution particularly in the production and hook department.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Barter 6
    It's cotton candy hip-hop that's enjoyable to consume but has no real substance.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Lost Tapes II
    He can clearly still spit elite bars, at more or less the same rate he could over twenty years ago. “The Lost Tapes 2” may be marketed as a sequel, but it’s a selection of largely forgettable album cuts that didn’t make Nas’ last few albums.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    SAVE ME [EP]
    The best thing about “Save Me” may be that it’s a very small bite to digest, clocking in at just barely over 20 minutes after the conclusion of “Love Thy Enemies.”
    • 53 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    In The City
    In the City offers good production, excellent melodies, and - of course - the same song, idea(s), and kinds of guest appearances many times over.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Love Story
    Much of Love Story is tepid, but there are moments where Yela nails the singing/rapping combination.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    10 Summers
    For the moment, we are treated to a promising if frustrating record that remarkably lacks a hit single itself.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Heaux Tales
    Sullivan herself is certainly an artist that doesn’t follow the rules, which is why it’s mildly disappointing to hear her sound like Post Malone or Juice WRLD on tracks. For a woman with as much power and agency as she clearly has, she let too much of this release be shaped by what other people sound like in terms of the production of her vocals and her instrumentals.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Human
    Rag'n'Bone Man needs to think more thoroughly about what exact story he wants to tell. Until then, Human is a heartwarming, mature pop album. Maybe it's been a wise decision to tone down the artist's hip-hop and rap background for now. But just the same, it could also have played a credible role.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Featuring Ty Dolla $ign
    He’s a fine producer, a middling singer, and a very forgettable lyricist. The album’s title banks on his name being the sole draw, but if it has been titled “Featuring Kanye West, Quavo, Kid Cudi, Young Thug, Big Sean and Future” it would be a whole lot more accurate.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Back to Reality
    At 10 songs and nearly an hour long the "Back to Reality" album packs a lot of bang for the buck, and if you're in the mood to go retro this is the perfect album to fire up when you put on your Michael Jackson glove, fire up the Coleco, play Donkey Kong 'til your hands get sore then go party at Studio 54.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Return of Mr. Zone 6
    The Return of Mr. Zone 6 is the best and worst of Gucci Mane in almost equal measure, though it's enough of the best to pull up to an acceptable level.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    NoYork!
    York is an interesting and often times bizarre album.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ye
    ye is an average album with some good songs, some bad songs, and some songs that will clearly be spun millions of times. The problem is that "average" has never been good enough for Kanye West nor should it be.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    No Love Lost
    No Love Lost is too inconsistent to leave a lasting impression, and falls short of greatness.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Everything Is Boring & Everyone Is a F--king Liar
    There are some other strong tracks on this album, including Santigold's guest spot on "Car Song," and "Energy," which sounds like a lost Talking Heads song. There are also several that are either forgettable or downright bad.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Sorry for Party Rocking
    Where a lack of rhymes fail them, the hip-rock-electronica music carries them forward into music that's passable even when it's not profound. So long as you get it, LMFAO may not change the world, but it's a fun way to kill time. Just don't drink like they do or you'll kill brain cells too.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    DRILLMATIC Heart vs. Mind
    This two-hour epic may not be his best work, but it’s his most Game album yet.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Demonstration
    The stakes were so high, the pressure was on and what makes him interesting was ironed out in favour of low risk, high percentage choruses. Couple that with a mixed bag of lyrics from the rapper himself, and you get a curiously crafted mess that contains a few great songs that you'll end up loving, and lot of numbers that just weren't bold enough or executed with confidence.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mysterious Phonk: The Chronicles of Spaceghostpurrp
    The inspiring message that is clearly part of the appeal is still buried under too much empty rap rhetoric.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ludaversal
    The problem Ludacris faces is that both sides of him are great to listen to but it inevitably restricts him from making the cohesive magnum opus his career deserves.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Culture Shock
    They offer a positive, upbeat take on hip-hop with heavy doses of melody. While it didn't totally win me over, there are enough bright points, and it is done with enough skill and passion that I recommend it to anyone nostalgic for the days of b-boys and beatboxes.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Fetty Wap
    The whole of the self-titled Fetty Wap album is remarkably inoffensive and uninspired.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Without Warning
    The "Issa Album" was a full course meal while "Without Warning" ends up being more of a snack.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Year Of The Dog... Again
    He sounds positively dated.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The King & I
    The danger though is that The King & I turns into a new version of the "Duets" album, simply rebranded as a Faith Evans album featuring snippets of her late husband. This is exacerbated on the second half of the album by one rap all-star cameo after another.
    • 48 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Monkey Business
    You'll keep looking for songs with more depth than "Ba Bump," only to find that they're basically all at that level.
    • 69 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    VIEWS
    Drake's Views is him lying on a therapist's couch whining for large chunks of time and the album drags as a result. Yet, if you took the best dozen tracks, you'd have a perfectly enjoyable, listenable LP.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Keys to the Kuffs
    It's a decent but underwhelming album, and one that inspires apathy more than adoration or disgust.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Authentic
    Despite his years away acting, LL hasn't really lost his touch rapping. What he has lost is a sense of focus and direction.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Uncle Charlie
    A third of the songs are about hooking up with ladies, a third are heartfelt ballads to lovers, and a third are break-up songs. It's the lifecycle of a relationship, over and over. I'm not convinced by it, but it's working for him.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    100 Percent Publishing
    The problem for Wiley on 100% Publishing is that things just vary too wildly from song to song.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Gemini
    While the beats are mostly good, it feels like Macklemore missed out on an opportunity to really set his solo career apart from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Everything Is Borrowed
    Like the core message of Everything Is Borrowed, this album will, unfortunately, come and go soon enough, little trace left behind.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Ghettoville
    Unfortunately, the rhythm of the album is constantly interrupted by cacophonous dirges which makes it feel unsettled.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    DS2
    If you can get into the fantasy and ignore the reality then DS2 might be good escapist music for a little while.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Neva Left
    Neva Left is unfortunately, yet predictably, another mixed bag. The good tracks are effectively updates to proven formulas, which when matched to more imposing beats, show Snoop hasn't lost his touch.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Magna Carta Holy Grail
    There is very little humour and some of the production is flat out boring.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    USA (United State Of Atlanta)
    It's no secret the Twins get gully. Fortunately for listeners, it's very contagious. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of lyrical content.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Reincarnated
    As it stands, the album has some decent songs but doesn't hold together as an album.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Music To Be Murdered By
    He clearly cares about his output, but “Music To Be Murdered By” is, unfortunately, another mixed bag of tricks, propped up by lyrical acrobatics and underwhelming production.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Wolfpack Party
    If you can focus more on the beats and not so much on the words the overall experience improves, but even then it still tends to be monotonous.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight)
    Unfortunately the drama turns out to be more interesting than the album itself, with Yayo offering little lyrically, Banks seemingly phoning in his performances, and 50 trying to hold the whole thing together on the strength of his star power alone
    • 58 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Blue Slide Park
    Ultimately I have two complaints about Blue Slide Park which in the grand scheme of things may be minor.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    G I R L
    So long as you don't expect Shakespeare and don't presume this to be a rap album, you won't be mad. It's pure pop done the way Pharrell does it.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Weekend at Burnie's
    The problem here is that not only is no progress made, Weekend at Burnie's might just be an artistic regress.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    You're Dead!
    You're Dead loses momentum after "Never Catch Me." Much of the later two-thirds of the album is more atmospheric, reminiscent of 2012's more contemplative "When the Quiet Comes."
    • 72 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    TWENTY88 [EP]
    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.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Greatest Story Ever Told
    Rather than staying true to political and social roots that got him signed in the first place, David Banner has chosen to mimic what's popular.
    • 58 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Freedom
    Freedom will be a disappointment, and a predictable one at that.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Close to Home
    There’s so much that could be done with a Northern UK emcee to celebrate a part of England that has numerous industrial cities with interesting stories, but Aitch’s message doesn’t register as well as it should thanks to production akin to a box-ticking exercise.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Dark Sky Paradise
    It is an LP with one hit single, some solid album cuts and the rest is genuinely quite forgettable.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Seeing Sounds
    You see, the first 5 songs set the album up to be a pure party album - which actually would have worked a lot better, with the last track being a comedown moment. But then, delusions of adequacy spring up and the LP ends up shooting off in different tangents, where musically it is solid (if entirely unchallenging), but lyrically/conceptually it do nothing for you.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    The Pinkprint
    The Pinkprint is let down by some basic conceptual flaws, lackadaisical decision-making and even placing too much faith in bonus tracks to appease the masses
    • 70 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    These Days...
    We got what feels like a very quickly thrown together product that lacks the depth and introspection of his previous projects.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Cruel Summer
    The biggest fault of Cruel Summer may be that it lacks a unifying voice or vision.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Rise Up
    Weed rap is fine, but if Hill is looking to subvert the dominant paradigm, they should probably find a harder drug.
    • 60 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
    A missed opportunity to progress.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    I Am Not a Human Being II
    I Am Not a Human Being II flashes moments of brilliance, but it's far from his best work.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Full Speed
    The problem with Full Speed is that Kid Ink is often lost within his own album, as the listener anticipates the next song that's defined by its guest feature.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Animal Ambition: An Untamed Desire to Win
    Despite being billed as his fifth album, it's nowhere near the level of his strong, yet largely overrated debut "Get Rich or Die Tryin'".
    • 59 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    !
    He’s not quite a great artist. He simply exists, but to those who want more of what XXXTENTACION offered without having to buy 50 posthumous releases, he’ll do.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Triple F Life: Friends, Fans and Family
    There are enough songs with worthwhile beats and guests to hold this album together to some degree, and depending on whether or not you like Flocka's lyrical style will be the degree.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    The Hard Way
    While it may churn out a few hits, The Hard Way ultimately is a letdown.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    808s & Heartbreak
    Simply in musical and vocal terms, it feels too limited, mainly due to him over-thinking things.
    • 53 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Universal Mind Control
    [comon] managed to record a whole ten scenes, I mean tracks, over the course of the year, and at least three of them are listenable.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    JACKBOYS [EP]
    Very little is going on lyrically above but Smoke’s energy is priceless. That same energy is only marginally filtered through these swift-moving tracks. The entire album is more of an elongated intro to the Cactus Jack brand.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Welcome Back
    It's good to know Ma$e hasn't lost his knack for perverting classics by other artists.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Still Summer in the Projects
    03 Greedo’s lack of depth and highly AutoTuned delivery along with Mustard’s highly listenable production are a Icee for a hot summer day — something cool and refreshing that quickly melts and is easily forgotten.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Battle Of The Sexes
    The beats are solid enough, if not as universally banging as circa Luda '01. The album flows well, has some replay value and tries a few little tricks here and there.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Everybody Looking
    While the beats are relatively mediocre and not at all unusual for this brand of hip hop, they do a decent job matching the dark picture Gucci paints. Unfortunately, that picture is more of a rough sketch as Gucci steers more toward unrefined flows and bland, mechanically arching vocals rather than a more thought out approach.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Anything but Words
    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.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Jungle Rules
    Even though there's little to nothing of intellectual nourishment for the majority of "Jungle Rules," there are slick songs like the Beat Billionaire produced Young Thug feature "Black Out" that you can literally do just that to.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    The New Classic
    There's simply not enough substance and individuality for me to call this a good rap album. But at the intersection of rap and pop it doesn't embarrass either side.
    • 74 Metascore
    • 55 Critic Score
    Demidevil [Mixtape]
    It feels like the audio version of Madonna releasing a coffee table art book of her sexual exploits, and I’m not in any way judging you if you get off on that, but it’s just not my thing.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Machines That Make Civilization Fun
    The end result is an album that is as unsuccessful as it is daring.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Future
    On his new self-titled album Future loses sight of qualities that made his last run at the top a memorable one.
    • 81 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Islah
    Overall this album has some definite stand out tracks: "Not the Only One," "2 Phones," "La Familia" and "Time For That." The rest of the project is not bad, it's just generally underwhelming.
    • 66 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Richer Than I Ever Been
    Overall, aside from some promising lines and one, maybe two standout tracks, “Richer Than I Ever Been” is an album that predictably falls short. It simply features too many weak beats backing up bars that often do more to bore than they do to convey a sense of skill or originality.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    King of Hearts
    I fully respect his artistic and creative choices and his right to be his own man and not be defined by his years as a seminal underground rapper. I respect his choices, but I still pine for a Camu Tao we don't hear on this album and that we won't hear ever again. In the end I feel that his potential still went untapped.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Translation
    Relentlessly preachy music can be just as obnoxious as the relentlessly vapid, but even pop music can offer more substance than this. If this album was a soda, it would be light and bubbly, yet its sugar free nature would make you crave a Mexican soda in a glass bottle instead.
    • 84 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Invasion of Privacy
    Amusing, yes. Revolutionary? Not quite so much. ... Right now she's doing what sells and it's "Bodak Yellow" all day until her 15 minutes fades away.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    HONESTLY, NEVERMIND
    Drake breaks no new ground here, and retreads the same tales of love and regret so many times that the songs bleed together. If you just want background music for making love, this is your album. If you want to have your imagination captured by fantastic tales or be taken on an emotional roller coaster, don’t bother. There are no highs or lows here. We’re on medium the whole time.
    • 68 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Trigga
    Until Trey adds another layer to his songs, whether it be humor, empathy or any emotion other than a caveman-like approach to sex; Trigga remains a hollow, if tempting prospect for men that may well woo your woman, but is unlikely to keep your attention after.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    B.O.A.T.S. II: #METIME
    Lyrically, let us not sugar coat the situation and pretend that he's some sort of Pulitzer prize winner in waiting. But in conjunction with the upgraded music, 2 Chainz has definitely put more work into his punchlines and it is most welcome.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Who You Are
    Quite honestly, Ke$ha is just more fun to listen to, even though Jessie J may ultimately have more career longevity. It's a decent enough album for the teenage dance set though.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Numbers
    The Odd Future fam needs better quality control to stay relevant in 2013 and beyond.
    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Hotel California
    Hotel California fails to deliver on any of the hype it had leading up to its release.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    +
    Ed Sheeran is an impressive talent, but his juvenile lyrics and lightweight sensibility make him a tough sell to any one old enough to drink.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 50 Critic Score
    Rolling Papers
    Most people will want Wiz to succeed, as he does successfully come across as likeable personality, and even Rick Ross has displayed a genuine hunger to improve, so anything is possible. But this album is, put simply, one that won't make much of an impression, good or bad. And that's the worst kind.
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