Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Cam Hoff Abel Tesfaye is the one man R&B wrecking crew performing under the moniker of The Weeknd. I say this because Echoes of Silence is his third album of the 2011 calendar year, marking the final chapter of a thematic trilogy of mixtapes. When the first album, House of [...]
Posted in Electronica, Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop
Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov Depending on your perspective, Common is either a hip-hop renaissance man or a conflicted emcee, trying to be a little of everything to everyone. There’s Common the actor, appearing on TV and in the movies. And there’s Common the poet, performing duets with Maya Angelou and being invited [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop
Rating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Cam Hoff The tenth studio album from “The Greatest Band in Late Night” is billed as a concept album, the death to life story of a drug pusher, Redford Stephens. But honestly I didn’t really follow the narrative through this album, and it isn’t pushing any conceptual boundaries for a [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop
Rating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Michelle Kennedy For me, good hip hop has always existed at the intersection between genuine satire and a genuine commitment to the genre’s form and tropes. Donald Glover’s project, Childhood Gambino, seems to fall squarely and securely at that intersection. So squarely at that intersection in fact that it is [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop
Rating: 2.5 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov Lupe Fiasco is an artist best taken in short bursts. As a rapper, he operates with speed and wit, and the topics he explores at least offer a respite from radio-rap. But try to consume a whole album at once – like his new one, LASERS – and [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop
Rating: 2.5 / 5 Reviewer: Kevin Hartford Buck 65′s voice is both his greatest strength and his biggest weakness. It’s an awesome voice, for sure – deep and distinct, gravelly and melodic at the same time – but listening to an entire album of it can be wearying.
Posted in Folk + Roots, Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop
Rating: 4.5 / 5 Reviewer: Garth Paulson Fuck Andre 3000. Okay, that might be a bit harsh. It’s not really his fault. Fuck everyone’s obsession with Andre 3000. Seriously, have you actually listened to The Love Below? It’s terrible. But that’s neither here nor there. What’s finally here is Sir Luscious Left Foot… The Son [...]
Posted in Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop
Rating: 5 / 5 Reviewer: Garth Paulson If there’s any fairness in the world, Janelle Monáe’s debut full-length The Archandroid will rocket up the charts and stay there for months, giving hope to doom-obsessed record label executives as it becomes the type of ubiquitous summer smash that doesn’t happen anymore.
Posted in Jazz + Blues, Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop, Rock + Pop
