ALBUM & MOVIE REVIEWS

5.16.26 - HATE OR LOVE DRAKE, HIS CATALOG IS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE IN THE HISTORY OF NOT ONLY HIP-HOP BUT MODERN MUSIC. DRAKE IS IN THE ROOM WITH ELVIS, MICHAEL, TAYLOR AND OTHER ICONIC FIGURES. WE KNEW ICEMAN WAS COMING BUT HE ALSO DROPPED TWO OTHER PROJECTS SIMULTANEOUSLY WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BY A MAINSTREAM ARTIST.

PROS: HIP-HOP IS A COMPETITIVE SPORT AND ALTHOUGH I AM NOT A DRAKE FAN ITS VERY INNOVATIVE AND DOPE FOR HIM TO DROP 43 TRACKS AT ONCE AFTER THE KENDRICK BEEF.

CONS: AT ALMOST AGE 40 DRAKE HAS RUN OUT OF THINGS TO SAY. WE KNOW HE IS RICH AF DRIVES EXPENSIVE CARS AND GETS ALL THE GIRLS AND HAS SOLD A ZILLION RECORDS AND IS SENSITIVE ABOUT ANY MODICUM OF CRITICISM ETC ETC ETC.

FINAL REVIEW: DRAKE WILL ALWAYS BE AN ICONIC FIGURE AND OTHER THAN KANYE HAS NO EQUAL WHEN IT COMES TO THE OVERALL CATALOG BUT THIS LATEST RELEASE IS THE DOWNTURN THAT ALL THE GREATS INEVITABLY EXPERIENCE

SCORE: 67/100

4.26.26 - MICHAEL GIVES GENERATION X’ERS A NOSTALGIC TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE BUT ONLY COVERS A VERY SMALL COMPONENT OF THE MOST FAMOUS SUPERSTAR IN OUR LIFETIMES. THE MOVIE FOCUSES ON THE EARLY YEARS FROM GARY, IN AND THE JACKSON 5 ERA UP TO THE RELEASE OF THRILLER WHICH IS STILL THE TOP SELLING ALBUM OF ALL TIME.

PROS: EXCELLENT CHOREOGRAPHY RELIVING THE DANCES FROM THRILLER BAD AND THE 80’S TRANSITION FROM DISCO TO FUNK.

CONS: CHRONICLES THE ANTAGONISTIC RELATIONSHIP MICHAEL JACKSON HAD WITH HIS FATHER JOSEPH BUT LEAVES OUT MANY OF MICHAEL’S DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIORS.

FINAL REVIEW: NICE FOR A MOVIE DATE NIGHT BUT THE MADE FOR TV MOVIE STARRING JASON WEAVER WAS MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER.

SCORE: 73/100

4.26.26 - HATE OR LOVE HIM, KANYE WEST’S CATALOG IS ARGUABLY THE BEST IN THE GENRE. OVER THE PAST HALF DECADE HIS FOCUS HAS BEEN MORE ON BUSINESS AND A MYRIAD OF FEUDS THAN MAKING MUSIC BUT BULLY IS HIS BEST WORK IN YEARS. YE GOES BACK TO HIS ORIGINAL SOUND. ALTHOUGH THE BARS ARE STILL BLOATED WITH HIS MUSINGS ABOUT WEALTH AND WOMEN HE IS TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS THERE WAS NOWHERE TO GO BUT UP.

PROS: SOUNDS LIKE HIS EARLIER WORK WITH A SOULFUL PRODUCTION AND UPBEAT TEMPOS

CONS: MIXED VERY POORLY WHICH I ASSUME IS DELIBERATE HAS A TDK TAPE FEEL TO IT

FINAL REVIEW: NOT NECESSARILY ROTATIONAL BUT WORTH A FEW SPINS AND A GOOD ALBUM

SCORE: 78/100

4.26.26 - FREDDIE GIBBS IS LEGITIMATELY IN THE CONVERSATION WITH MF DOOM AND WESTSIDE GUNN FOR THE BEST UNDERGROUND ARTIST OF ALL-TIME. THE MADLIB PRODUCED PINATA IS A LEGIT CLASSIC. BANDANA AND THE ORIGINAL ALFREDO ARE CLOST TO BEING CLASSICS. HE TEAMS UP WITH ALCHEMIST, WHO IS ON AN AMAZING RUN HIMSELF FOR ALFREDO PART 2.

PROS: AMAZING PRODUCTION, ALFREDO 2 IS A MORE COHESIVE END-TO-END ALBUM THAN THE FIRST INSTALLATION WITH LITERALLY NO SKIPS. ALCHEMIST WAS IN HIS BAG.

CONS: GIBBS DIDN’T SEEM QUITE AS HUNGRY AS ON SOME OTHER RECENT PROJECTS. MAY COME OFF AS OVERLY VULGAR AND DISRESPECTFUL TO WOMEN FOR SOME LISTENERS.

FINAL REVIEW: THIS ALBUM IS RIGHT AT THE THRESHOLD OF BEING A GENERATIONAL UNDERGROUND CLASSIC BUT NOT IN THE ALL-TIME GREAT LISTS RENDERINGS. IT WILL BE IN HEAVY ROTATION IF YOU LIKE THE GANGSTA HIP-HOP GENRE.

SCORE: 90/100

4.26.26 - IT IS NOT EASY TO PUT TOGETHER A POSTHUMOUS ALBUM. BIG L WAS ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED EMCEES OF HIS TIME BUT HIS REMASTERED 1992 RHYMES OVER MODERN BEATS DIDN’T ADD TO HIS LEGACY. PRODIGY WAS ONE OF THE BEST LYRICISTS OF HIS TIME AND HIS DEATH WAS A LOSS FOR THE INDUSTRY, HAVOC AND ALCHEMIST MAKE INFINITE AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.

PROS: FANTASTIC PRODUCTION AND SELECTION OF RHYMES FROM PRODIGY WITH HAVOC DROPPING SOME LEGIT BARS AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS. SOUNDS AS IF THEY ARE ALL IN THE STUDIO TOGETHER.

CONS: PROBABLY TOO MANY SONGS AS MOST MODERN RECORDS ARE IN THE 10-12 RANGE. ALSO GRIMY NYC HIP HOP IS NOT POPULAR AS IT ONCE WAS QUESTIONING THE DEMAND FOR THIS ALBUM.

FINAL REVIEW: GOOD FOR MULTIPLE SPINS PRODIGY SOUNDS IN HIS PRIME ON SOME OF THE SONGS.

SCORE: 78/100

4.26.26 - WITH THE TRANSITION TO OUR NEW WEBSITE WE ARE REVIEWING SOME OF THE CLASSICS AS REFERENCE POINTS FOR GREATNESS IN THE HIP HOP GENRE. WHEN KENDRICK DROPPED GOOD KID M.A.A.D. CITY HE WAS CROWNED AS THE KING OF THE WEST COAST BY SNOOP AND DR. DRE. T.P.A.B. WAS KENDRICK’S SECONF COMMERCIAL LP AND IS A TAPESTRY OF MANY ERAS OF HIP HOP AS OPPOSED TO A TIME CAPSULE OF A SPECIFIC PERIOD.

PROS: FLAWLESS PRODUCTION AND LYRICS TAKE YOU ON A PERSONAL JOURNEY OF KENDRICK’S POSITION AS A STAR AND HOW THE FAME MONEY AND ACCESS CHANGED HIS LIFE.

CONS: THE ONLY CON I CAN MENTION WAS THAT LIKE MANY CLASSICS T.P.A.B. IS A LITTLE OVER PRODUCED. AT ALMOST 90 MINUTES THIS ALBUM REQUIRES PATIENCE AND EXTERNAL SILENCE.

FINAL REVIEW: BRINGS VIBES OF GREATS SUCH AS HERBIE HANCOCK, MILES DAVIS, & QUINCY JONES. WILL APPEAL TO HIGH IQ LISTENERS WHO READ MUSIC. THE BEST ALBUM IN THE HISTORY OF THE GENRE. ILLMATIC, MADVILLAINY, AND LOW END THEORY GOT 96/00 ON MY REVIEW T.P.A.B. IS THE ONLY 97.

SCORE: 97/100