Although it doesn’t pan out on every track, the cohesive work allows the listener to feel that they’ve plunged into the depths of Mick’s mind and come out with a soaked sense of clarity.

Regardless of whether or not the album will spawn a generation of imitators like his previous releases, Compton is a proper capstone to Dre’s legendary career.

A coherent, consistent album--both thematically and sonically--that captures where hip-hop’s resident astronaut is residing these days.

In stark contrast to less talented producers who enlist MCs for name recognition alone, Statik’s posse cuts are the product of thoughtful placement.

Overall, Music For My Friends is another solid offering from Skyzoo that hip-hop purists will appreciate.

All the way through, Dreams Worth More Than Money feels fresh and, more importantly, refreshing.

It is, simply, one of the best rap debuts of the year.

Major Without A Deal is another step forward for Troy Ave, but it’s also another win for the birthplace of hip-hop.

The realest, most honest rap album in recent memory.

For all its dabbling in the black arts, Surf does have a few missteps, but they are ephemeral at best.

. On At.Long.Last.A$AP., he takes a creative risk and lets the fans reap the rewards.

“I Miss Mikey” speaks not only to Murs’ own deceased homies, but acts as an inspirational call to ignore fears of mortality in the face of death and leave a lasting mark. With Have A Nice Life, an album that will not only impress longtime admirers but newcomers as well, Murs should have no problem with that task.

Overall, Bush is a fun and enjoyable listen from start to finish with the album’s retro imagery brought to life by Snoop Dogg and his slick persona.

He’s fully aware of who exactly he wants to be in hip-hop: a proud, raw, unapologetically Southern MC, something the game’s been missing. He really touches the country audience with the project, a genre hip-hop rarely reaches.

Cherry Bomb is his greatest achievement thus far, solidifying his place in the game, with or without the conspicuously absent Odd Future crew.

While Ludacris’ name may miss several Best Rapper Alive lists, he never fails to deliver on each album. If Ludaversal is a reminder that he hasn’t fallen off lyrically, the game should pay attention.

The Album About Nothing has an infectious, feel-good vibe with an undeniable cohesiveness.

Nothing is forced in his rhymes; his lyricism is so dense and acrobatic that his freestyle vibe is all the more impressive.

Aside from a few problematic miscues, the majority of Mr. Wonderful can be maneuvered without the skip button in tow.

Fashawn’s lyrical assaults are just as potent as his moving commentary and his core fans would like to hear more.

“One Man” in particular, which deals with the loss of his grandmother and his acceptance of her passing, really underlines what the entire work is about: dealing with the ups and downs in life and figuring out the best way to accept them and move forward. With Dark Sky Paradise, Big Sean has finally found that balan

For all his subtle lyrical techniques, the Drake experience at full throttle is only achieved with the aid of his criminally underrated usual suspects; Noah “40” Shebib, PartyNextDoor and Boi-1da dominate the instrumental duties.

Overall, Full Speed is probably Kid Ink’s best project to date. He sounds focused and he executes by pleasing his core fans with quality radio and club-friendly music.

Sonically separated by the four different seasons, Lupe has arguably released his most thematically layered and engaging album to date.

B4.Da.$$ should be seen as a huge step forward and a platform for Joey to progress even further.

PRhyme is the perfect alternative for listeners who are tired of juvenile lyriscim, mud sippers and unintelligible hooks.

J. Cole is righfully satisfied with the end product, as will the fans.

The growth is unmistakable, with each song and new project, fans see his raw talent getting more finely tuned and concentrated. Hell Can Wait is the next step in the maturation process of Staples as a MC.

Even without much mainstream appeal, K.R.I.T.’S relatability keeps it accessible, and ultimately, Cadillactica proves to be something the game barely knew it needed. Consider the gauntlet thrown.

Overall, Stalley’s debut album is highly entertaining with a sound that is very refreshing in today’s rap scene.

If their first album acted as the duo’s thesis statement, the two MCs laying out the blueprint to what they wanted to accomplish, then this second is a laser-focused execution of that idea, of never letting up and never sugar-coating their sound to fit into any particular lane. There won’t be another album that comes out this year that sounds anything like this one.

Under Pressure feels like a roadmap to the influences he states on the album--OutKast, A Tribe Called Quest, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Quentin Tarantino films.

Despite the album’s loaded guest list, T.I. manages to squeeze in enough room to allow himself to shine and tells us why after nearly 15 years deep; he’s still a top-tier artist in the game.

The genius of Flying Lotus, which has been invariably present throughout his preceding releases, but most especially on You’re Dead!, is that he has an incredible ability to both illustrate and extract exceptional amounts of emotion, without saying much at all.

X certainly proves that Chris Brown’s talent will forever shine through over whatever troubles come his way.

Seen It All: The Autobiography is a solid offering, and shows growth of Tha Snowman who is 10 years deep in the rap game.

Featuring Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, and TeeFlii caps off an impressive debut album for a producer who plans to be around for a while.

What makes this album so great is Statik’s ability to coagulate the old with the new.

Cellar Door comes off as a bit of an endurance test as result. That’s a knock against it, but a small [one] for what’s a brisk and enjoyable listen.

Directors of Photography shows that three artists that have achieved individual success can come together once again to create something substantial despite years of inactivity.

On By Any Means, he comes off worthy of the acclaim, spitting vivid street stories that range from gut-wrenching to endearing all while demonstrating a serious knack for songwriting.

Ab’s creative leaps are sometimes jarring at the onset, such as “Closure” featuring Jhené Aiko, a track that will be deeply unsettling to the National Association of Backpacker Excellence among others.

Artistically, it’s a new and deeply concentrated side of the veteran MC we haven’t seen and, as a result, it comes off as one of his best albums yet.

The album is a welcomed return for 50, who sounds like his hiatus didn’t affect his ability to create his signature street records.

The Roots have not only proven once again that they are one of hip-hop’s most consistent acts, but also one of the genre’s most important.

Atmosphere has never been afraid to bare everything, strip things down to their most honest form, and grow with their listeners. Southsiders is the next step in that lineage, and one that falls directly in line with their previous work.

P.T.S.D. takes listeners on a worthwhile journey from confusion and loneliness to bitterness and triumph.

He could have benefited from having the album broken up into seven-track EPs and released over the course of two-three months, but we’re forced to aimlessly sift our own way through D.Z.A. Lucky for us, there’s enough gold in there to go around.

The Infamous Mobb Deep is a must-have in a true Mobb Deep fan’s collection. Crafting such a quality hip-hop album, two decades after your magnum opus, is a remarkable feat.

He may still be too lyrical for some, but for many his Gravitas will be a welcome change from hip-hop’s current norm.

Madlib and Freddie Gibbs are both total pros who knew exactly what they wanted out of Piñata, went out, and did it.

There’s no desire to transcend West Coast inner-city values, and YG does traverse the hyphy and nighttime sounds with aplomb. But the thrills do have a comedown at some point. For the album as a whole, it’s the potentially ephemeral replay value because of its on-the-nose focus on 20-somethings mayhem.

Mastermind is a powerful album, an album with an identity, and one that has some solid songs and a handful of hits. Ross delivers just what he promised.

Satellite Flight captures Cudi’s adventure back home to the moon and does it brilliantly.

G I R L not only represents a proper representation of his creativity, but, with high-profile guest spots (Timberlake, Cyrus, Daft Punk) and a number of radio-ready singles, it should also be a success on the charts and further his reputation as a pop icon.

ScHoolboy’s presence on Oxymoron is poised and confident.

No song strays too far from the narrative or the occupied soundspace, and with each passing breath, Isaiah Rashad becomes a viable threat to leave an indelible mark similar to the one’s left by the southern rap Gods he follows so devoutly.

Lord Steppington has it’s fair share of bright moments and even stronger swaths of production.

There aren’t many who can effortlessly make the transition from mixtape rapper to hitmaker. For Kid Ink, it is proving to be an incredibly smooth one.

Marciano adroitly finesses Marci Beaucoup, with the sort of smug, witty, stream of conscious brilliance that is one of his more endearing attributes on the mic. Couple that with his own tremendous production, and the bevy of talented guest-spots on here, and Marci Beaucoup is the perfect gift for any hi-hop connoisseur.

Because The Internet shows off his full array of talent (writer, musician, comedian) and makes him stand out from the rest.

7 Days of Funk is a fun and refreshing experience--one of Snoop’s most enjoyable projects since Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. George Clinton would be proud of this fresh take on funk music.

Knock Madness is indeed a stepping stone album, one that can only produce even better music in the future.

The emotion and power is not missing from MMLP2--but you’re getting one with more perspective, a version which has seen 13 more years and has a different outlook on some of the same topics that he first visited in 2000.

Pusha T accomplishes a lot here, crafting a record that is big in concept but is still rooted in the longstanding hip-hop tradition that lyricism is king.

Brown displays real bravery in his willingness to merge the sacred with the profane, the independent with the arena-ready, the old with the new.

With the themes, moods and issues displayed here, Drizzy has shared another moment of his life, and now the only thing left to prove is if his crossover powers can last him a decade from now.

Despite the numerous false starts for a release date, Hall Of Fame has finally arrived and it’s well worth the wait.

Stay Trippy is a record that knows to stay within the lane that it’s carved for itself. Big-budget stripper rap has rarely sounded so fresh.

It’s not always focused, and it’s not always perfect, but that’s what real freedom feels like.

Whether Tech wants the bigger fame or not is unclear, but it’s safe to say the growth he displays here is one step nearer. He’s strange, he’s provocative, but the lesser shock value on this album marks it as his true debut to a larger audience.

Fraud’s production matches his laconic delivery in a way that other producers’ work just hasn’t. This makes Saaab Stories a much more cohesive mixtape than it would have been otherwise.

Summer Knights is for the hip-hip heads and less for the kids that are Joey’s usual teenaged fanbase.

He may be coming to grips with the fact that there are limits to what you can do at the top, as his clash with Billboard regarding his Samsung deal showed, but that doesn’t stop him--lyrically, promotionally, or otherwise--from trying to push the boundaries out a little further.

Matching his lyrical abilities with polished production and radio-ready hooks, The Gifted sees Wale inching towards hip-hop’s upper echelon, while still exhibiting the hunger of a young MC on the rise.

With Yeezus clocking in at a short 40 minutes, Kanye achieves his goal of creating a stripped-down, minimalist project; there’s nothing extra or out of place here. More importantly, Kanye makes it abundantly clear that he’s still got a lot to say, and a lot of new ways to say it.

Mac Miller’s sophomore effort is a surprising and focused album from an artist fed up with his public perception. He does enough here to prove his point.

Ultimately, Acid Rap’s biggest victory is living up to it’s own hype and Chance’s careful packaging of his artistry.

With the exception of a few fillers, Legends Never Die is a truly compelling entry in the two-decade discography of R.A. the Rugged Man.

Ultimately, 12 Reasons to Die is a pitch-perfect pairing of Adrian Younge’s soulful production and Ghostface’s invigorated rhymes.

Throughout, 7L can only be described as a “Rock Beast,” as he brings a consistency and ferociousness to the Czarface sound that comes off best in the track of the same name.

The album probably has more features than any other Budden project, but it’s not overbearing. Also, Joe does not move away aimlessly from what he is good at and what he enjoys.

Long.Live.A$AP has its moments as a cohesive album with top producers (Hit-Boy, Danger Mouse, Noah "40" Shebib) and frequent collaborators (Clams Casino) that offer choice beats.

The project is one of his best thus far by virtue of him composing an album in which listeners can empathize with how he views religion ("Hallelujah"), the club ("Ball"), women ("Guns and Roses," "Can You Learn," and "Crusin'") and so forth.

With his latest effort, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, the 37-year-old Dungeon Family elite again tackles fresh sonic landscapes while remaining nimble with verbal wizardry.

It's packed with the right ingredients for yet another solid appraisal from both fans and critics.

Like a fine wine and all that jazz, they have grown into a formidable group, and MHz Legacy proves that.

The Solution finds Buckshot doing a better job than in his past two at-bats to keep up with the super producer, and he does so by using his relaxed spitting as an anchor.

Skyzoo got himself a winner with this album.

Saigon's second LP offers a sizable amount of diversity over fitting instrumentals, exhibiting how much he has evolved as a rapper by personifying his bars to reflect his music and his life.

Truly, a thrilling upgrade of signature East Coast delivery in the new age and one of the best albums of the year to date.

These verses could've fit on any of his past records or mixtapes. But the production on Mic Tyson ties them together nicely.

Dreams and Nightmares doesn't break new grounds in hip-hop, however it does serve as a respectable release from the rapper who's on the verge of universal acceptance-a road similarly traveled by his cohorts Rick Ross and Wale.

By using his seasoned ear and stuffed phonebook, Dram has fed his base with what is indeed Quality Street Music.

Though he may no longer be quite the underdog he once was, rapping like it--at least for no--still works

[It's the] astute observations on the human condition and keen self-awareness that set this effort apart.

Every record is both complexly arranged and sonically fitting, foregrounding Kendrick's vivid lyricism and amazing control of cadence. There's not a single loophole.

The two feed off each other well, resulting in good music with a message, more often than not.