We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
by Armand Hammer
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. The Observer (UK)
    Oct 2, 2023
    100
    An exceptional record that deserves your time and headphones.
  2. Beats Per Minute
    Oct 3, 2023
    92
    We Buy Diabetic Test Strips goes deeper, darker than any of Armand Hammer’s previous albums. It even eclipses woods and Kenny Segal’s stellar Maps as the best hip hop record this year, at least so far.
  3. HipHopDX
    Oct 17, 2023
    90
    We Buy Diabetic Test Strips feels like an accumulation of that gained experience, a moment of breakthrough clarity. Kenny Segal, Messiah Musik, SteeltippedDove, JPEGMAFIA, and Child Actor handle the production, with every beat maker retreading past ideas to create invigorating new ones.
  5. The Quietus
    Sep 29, 2023
    90
    Meticulously structured yet fuzzily abstract, cloudily claustrophobic yet aurally vast, it sounds nothing like a traditional rap LP yet definably and definitively adheres to the most crucial characteristics of the genre. It’s certainly a marvel and may well be a masterpiece.
  6. Exclaim
    Sep 27, 2023
    90
    It's always amazing how the two rappers behind Armand Hammer can complement each other so seamlessly while also seeming to tread on two separate planes of existence — We Buy Diabetic Test Strips is alive with this unique balancing act.
  7. Pitchfork
    Oct 3, 2023
    81
    The guests bring a welcome sense of contrast to Armand Hammer’s own styles. Moor Mother’s breathy enunciation floats through woods and Elucid’s more pronounced flows, while Pink Siifu’s monotone straddles the line between lethargic and loquacious.
  8. PopMatters
    Oct 10, 2023
    80
    We Buy Diabetic Test Strips is an incredible offering in both a prolific and boundary-pushing career for the New York rappers. Building on their gifts as MCs and lyricists, Billy Woods and Elucid have further cemented their place in alternative hip hop as one of the headiest yet most exciting groups right now.
  9. AllMusic
    Oct 6, 2023
    80
    We Buy Diabetic Test Strips feels like a step forward from a duo whose discography has been consistently innovative from the start.
  10. The Line of Best Fit
    Oct 4, 2023
    80
    As a complete body of work, it’s eclectic and begins how it ends: inconclusively. But as an entry into Armand Hammer’s growing canon of mastery, Test Strips is their headiest and most impressive work thus far.
  11. The Wire
    Sep 27, 2023
    80
    While Haram was a bit heavy on the neo-noir vibes, Test Strips bustles with dynamic turns, and guests inspired to step out of character. [Oct 2023, p.51]
    All this publication's reviews
  12. Mojo
    Sep 27, 2023
    80
    Ultimately, it's Woods and Elucid who provide the intense, erudite, funny through-line. [Nov 2023, p.93]
    All this publication's reviews
  13. Uncut
    Sep 27, 2023
    80
    The music reflects this stark, witty chronicle of precarious modern living with a queasy tableau of churning beats, one minute harsh and industrial, the next lush and dreamy. [Nov 2023, p.25]
    All this publication's reviews

Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best Album of 2023

User Reviews

All reviews »

There are no user reviews yet.