Staying in the conversation by releasing a steady stream of new material can be good, but it works best when there’s more cohesion and less filler.

Khalifa likely won’t sway opinion of Wiz Khalifa, whether positive or negative. For better or worse, it’s a portrait of the rapper we’ve seen for years. It does do things a little more consistently and adds a little more detail than what we’re used to seeing.

Fetty’s attempt at putting together a full, formal project takes away from the overall prestige of his hits that have been so cherished over the past 12 months. This isn’t to say that the next album will won’t be able to more effectively balance hits and album cuts. But this one feels like the first attempt that it is.

In order to show growth, and furthermore her push for long lasting notoriety, Lil Loaf seems to serve up a different persona on each song. But whether it’s addressing the haters or luring her love in for the kill, the young upstart makes sure to maintain her cool in any and every situation.

The album doesn’t come without its criticisms, though. “Only 1,” with its elementary hook and flimsy delivery, seems tired and immature. And “Chain Smoking” with Curren$y and labelmate Stalley disrupts the cinematic flow of the album. However, Gunplay delivers on the overall theme of showing what made him a living legend.

Tyga has served up a solid effort with The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty, exploring new territory and pushing himself in a different direction than he’d gone during his ratchet past work. It’s just not necessarily a better one.

Raekwon’s passion and well-crafted rhymes show he’s still capable of creating high quality work as an MC, but F.I.L.A. is too disjointed to stand beside his best work.

Chris Brown and Tyga have given fans what they wanted, but with an abundance of turn-up tracks, the album fails to tackle more serious topics, as the duo has in the past on “Deuces.” It’s a wonder why they avoided the prior formula this go round.

It’s the heated Cash Money conflict that’s carrying the project, no question, but aside from some of his singles and featured verses, this is as focused and engaging as we’ve heard Wayne since Tha Carter III. S4TW2 falls short of being a great standalone project, but it’s not built for that anyway.

With a slimmed down tracklist and looser vision, A Better Tomorrow would be a fantastic offering. But as it stands, what could be the last Wu-Tang album ever leaves much to be desired.

The LP is fun and a return to what hip-hop started out as in the parks--a way to rock the crowd and have a good time.

Theophilus London’s musical ability is evident throughout Vibes, a mesh-mash of genres that come together to form one of the better listenings of 2014.

Black Milk’s versatility shines on Hell Below, even if at times some parts felt disjointed. This is a small complaint for an overall album that culminates in the talented musician effectively communicating a consistent concept through the LP.

The times when it succeeds are when Tinashe doesn’t overdo things.

Weighing in at a terse 32 minutes in length, spanning eight tracks plus an introduction, the album is a cohesive and methodical offering yet because of the constrained spin time, neither Bishop Nehru nor MF Doom have the space to flex their creative impulses and push the envelope in their respective spheres.

The highs of PND 2 have replay value, and the lows--though there are certainly more of them--blend with the rest of the album as it plays in the background of a bedroom.

The lyrics on this album are more of the same.

Without a doubt, 2 Chainz has the formula to make great music--but now we just need a little more substance, and we’re not talking about freebase cocaine.

Filled with lust, desire and sexual journeys, Trey Songz reaches an expected level of mainstream success with Trigga, and while safe is always encouraged during sexual acts, perhaps Trey could’ve taken a few more risks with this album.

It pans out as--at the very least--a unique and varied production that asks to be received seriously, even if Riff Raff’s choppy, uneasy flow and absurdist imagery runs counter to that.

The album does not compare to Below The Heavens as the excess number of tracks and the lack of coherence, despite how long Blu and Bombay collaborated to assemble this LP, result in a middle-of-the-road project, regardless if the road is in the West or East.

RetroHash is a confused jumble of ideas that has its heart in the right place.

He proves easy to listen to both as a capable MC with some shining moments.

Although a few late quarter misfirings render the album’s title misleading, there is too much good here to say with a straight face that Iggy will amount to nothing more than a flash in the pan.

Finding the balance between sex, love, and ratchet, Testimony is truly a testament to a new era in R&B that shifts safe lyrics to smooth street tales.

The album, while slightly unfocused, does have its moments, and Inglish in particular, has revealed himself to be an artist to keep an eye on going forward.

Its greatest moments shine through in club hits that seeped through virally on the web and made him a nationwide phenomenon on the radio, it’s other moments aren’t as flashy.

Rise Of An Empire, Young Money Entertainment’s sophomore album, is marred by its lack of star power.