Despite occasional bouts of underwhelming songwriting, Ephorize is a standout showcase of emphatic cuts laid over a wide variety of sound beds, perfect for pervs and prudes alike to bang.

Invasion Of Privacy sounds incredibly well thought-out. The beats were strategically chosen, the lyrics and hooks carefully constructed. Invasion Of Privacy was not slapped together, yet punches anyone in the face for doubting Cardi B. The odds were stacked against her, and she won.

Musically and lyrically, PRhyme 2 holds its own next to its precursor. There's something for everyone here--Premier's production is diverse and tuneful while Royce pushes the bounds of his imagination with impressive wordplay. Win-win.

A project filled with rich, jazzy vibes and all the tight lyricism we've come to expect from one of Chicago's very best.

There is no denying how pleasantly digestible Victory Lap, despite the minor idleness. The beats bump, the flows follow suit and the messages of humbly hustling are crystal clear.

Effected confirms that Cozz has more in him than just straight bars. He continues to tell his own story but through new flows, different hooks and an advanced way of making rap songs.

Although the creative achievements aren’t revolutionary, they are thorough and consistent.

While Revival isn’t the defibrillator that Eminem needed to revive his dominance, the album has enough highlights to maintain decent replay value and enough lyrical miracles to keep mindful rap from totally flat lining. His pen game hasn't lost even half of a step, and he still possesses the neurotic edge that's always made him such a driving force in hip-hop.

Rubba Band Business plays to Juicy J's strengths and succeeds in highlighting the best of what he has to offer.

He'll likely never reach the heights of albums such as Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star or Quality again, but Radio Silence proves that his voice is much needed and breaks through the noise.

Beach House 3 truly is Ty Dolla $ign’s best work to date. He manages to please with his collaborative hits and hooks all while maintaining artistic integrity with his more introspective tracks.

4eva Is a Mighty Long Time is arguably his most cohesive studio album to date. While mainstream superstardom may allude Big K.R.I.T., his legacy as one of the most lauded southern poets of his generation is very much alive and continues to grow with 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time, an admirable effort from one of rap's most resilient MCs.

Without Warning is more than a Halloween novelty. Offset and 21 Savage turn their differences in delivery into an undeniable chemistry, while Metro Boomin's production gives the project a proper Halloween-inspired sound so their comparisons to classic villains like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees aren't in vain.

The Saga Continues falls hazily to the side. While the project's title indicates the "saga continues"--featuring solid rhymes from each member and sample-heavy beats from Mathematics--it's not the opus that will surpass the classics in Wu's already established legacy.

While it's hard to pinpoint a track on Laila's Wisdom that is anthemic enough to be a dominant single, the project is a smooth, cohesive and powerfully insightful effort, which represents Rapsody's steadfast commitment to her craft.

Mr. Davis is stripped-down, honest and straight to the point.

Despite the long-winded nature of the album, Uzi definitely got it right with Luv Is Rage 2. The songs are catchy, the beats are hot and Uzi gives a vocal performance that redefines the term rap rock star.

Imperius Rex is a worthy entry into the Sean Price canon, and proof that his voice will still live on in hip-hop well after his untimely passing.

The LP finds Meek at his most concise and focused in some time. All 17 songs carry that raw, kinetic emotion that has made Meek such a force to be reckoned with but they are also much more dialed in and concentrated than anything on DC4 or his Meekend Music series.

While the LP is worth the wait and a worthy debut, it lacks the explosive selections and raw exuberance that put Vic’s Innanetape mixtape in classic territory and ignited his buzz.

These days, there aren’t many rap albums that can service as a deeply digested work of art as well as music for easy listening, yet Tyler, The Creator fills both lanes well. He manages to find the happy medium on Flower Boy and translates it to his best album yet.

All in all, 21 Savage manages to craft a fairly concise project with Issa Album about all the things that make him such a compelling rapper in today’s hip-hop landscape.

While this project falls short of his more seminal offerings, 4:44 is among JAY-Z’s more meaningful bodies of work to date and showcases another dimension of the greatest rapper alive.

French’s tendency for repetitive subject matter and lack of a distinct rhyme or reason in terms of the type of creative direction that solidifies an artist as an entity of their own leaves a bit to be desired from Jungle Rules. Those missteps aside, Jungle Rules is a quality long player with a few worthwhile peaks, in spite of its valleys.

From a glimpse of his rock star lifestyle to transparent parables of his quest for inner peace, Machine Gun Kelly crafts a well-rounded effort that is likely to raise his stock and push his name back into the conversation of respected rappers. Bloom is an effort that’s just short of a comeback, but is very much a step up for Cleveland’s finest.

Pretty Girls Like Trap Music is an explosive collection of songs that showcases the colorful rhyme animal at the top of his game.

Khaled sticks to what he knows best throughout this LP and that’s creating hits with ease. The 22 songs on Grateful aren’t anything out of the ordinary for Khaled or any of his featured guests but they remain hits nonetheless.

Thug sounds the best he’s ever sounded, despite some of the songs begin fairly far removed from his proverbial comfort zone.