Beanie Sigel — The Truth

In the late nineties, Philadelphia's underground hardcore scene was exploding and Jay-Z, on his way to retirement, goes there to find the new rap talent who can breathe new life into the tired soul of New Jack City, cement the Roc-A-Fella legacy and keep the label at the top of the game for years to come even after Carter exits the hip-hop scene. Among the many talents present in the city of Philadelphia, Jay-Z chooses to bet on an inexperienced wild horse, without a demo tape, without a label, an unnamed stranger coming straight up the street, Dwight Grant: he performs under the pseudonym Beanie Siegel, later corrected to the definitive Beanie Sigel, combination of his grandmother's nickname ("Beanie") and the street where he grew up (Sigel Street), bearing the reference to 1930s gangster Bugsy Siegel.

Flee Lord & Mephux — Pray for the Evil

Yet another work by underground rapper Flee Lord, at least the tenth, fifth collaborative, the first of his 2020, presents the first official work of the Boston producer Mephux.

Planet Asia x 38 Spesh — Trust the Chain

Hailed as one of the weakest efforts of the year and one of the worst albums of Planet Asia, his first effort of 2020 is one of his best in career.

Lil Baby — My Turn

About two years after its release, I return with the fifth listen to the second studio album by Atlanta rapper Dominique "Lil Baby" Jones, released by Capitol, Motown and Quality Control.

Afu-Ra — Urban Chemistry

Studio album number seven for Aaron Phillip, protégé rapper of Jeru the Damaja, born in 1973, from Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Some heads should know him, around the early 2000s he came out of nowhere with a name, a cover and guests telling you Wu-Tang, but he was an affiliate of Gang Starr and his debut album was produced by DJ Premier. Crazy, however, despite the premises, his debut had been received lukewarmly by audiences and critics, and was followed by a quite mediocre sophomore, which had the same formula as the previous album and the same feedback, twin even in the charts. Koch Records, very disappointed with the results, did not renew the contract and the rapper was left without a label.

L.A. Dream Team — Kings of the West Coast

The L.A. Dream Team was a hip-hop group founded in 1985 and based in Los Angeles, California. It's composed by Chris Wilson and Rudy Pardee. It's one of the early hip-hop acts on the West Coast, often considered among the pioneers of the West Coast hip-hop. After founded their own Dream Team Records label, the group releases several singles and expanded with the inclusion of Lisa "Miss Rockberry" Love, Richard "The Real Richie Rich" Anthony and Big Burt, and in 1986 the group signs with MCA. The record is produced by L.A. Dream Team, Cortney Branch, Tracy Kendrick, The Real Richie Rich, Steve Dorff, The Waters, Tavi Mote, Louil Sillas Jr. and Dennis Parker.

Princess Nokia — Everything Sucks

In late winter of 2020, Princess Nokia released two products that are sides of the same coin, "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Everything Sucks", her second and third studio albums respectively.

RZA — Guided Explorations EP

RZA decides to offer listeners an ambient meditative album, mentally linked to practices such as Zen. Commercials aren't something new or revolutionary in music industry: the mix between hip hop light jazzy rhythms and his continuous spoken advices is lame, this guy ruined himself and the Wu-Tang name with these sissy music commercials. 4/10.

Princess Nokia — Everything is Beautiful

In late winter of 2020, Princess Nokia released two products that are sides of the same coin, "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Everything Sucks", her second and third studio albums respectively.

Cappadonna — Eyrth, Wynd & Fyre

Many of the best hip-hop artists have tried to release a double disc over the course of their careers: 2Pac, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, Scarface, Outkast, Eightball, Cypress Hill, Master P, UGK, and many more. The double album by Mobb Deep is one of the most underrated in the 2010s, also because it's a sort of compilation combined with remixes of classic cuts. And E-40, the Bay Area veteran, has built an entire career on double and even triple discs. As the second album in their history, even what is considered by many to be the best hip-hop group ever, has released a double album: "Wu-Tang Forever", where Cappadonna is still an external member of the Clan, although a close collaborator, and is the main guest of the project, managing to ruin whatever he touches, like a reversed King Midas: "Maria" is the worst song of the edition, and in the history of the Wu-Tang Clan up to that point,, "For Heaven Sake" and "Heaterz" maybe without his touch they would be «pure» classics, while on "Little Ghetto Boys" he doesn't do too much damage, the track wasn't a classic. Only "Triumph" is saved in some way.

Meth Ghost Rae — Avenging Eagles

In 2010, Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Ronald "DJ Mathematics" Beam releases an extensive mixtape to promote the upcoming release of the collaborative album of one of hip-hop's holy trinities: Method Man-Ghostface Killah-Raekwon. The cover is minimal and the author places the name of the mixer, Mathematics, the name of Def Jam (which should have nothing to do with this effort, even if the next studio album of the trio will be released by the major label), the names of the three performers (Meth-Ghost-Rae) and their images, even if reversed, Raekwon is on the left, Method Man is in green and Ghostface is at the top. The title is shown with an oriental aesthetic that recalls the movie of the same name which inspired it, "The Avenging Eagle" (1978). Mathematics places 48 short excerpts for a total of over 70 minutes of material that includes a solid mix of the best of Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon.

Elcamino x 38 Spesh — Martyrs Prayer

Collaborative project between Buffalo rapper Elcamino and Rochester rapper/producer 38 Spesh. This studio album has the appearance of a very tight EP: nine cuts (the longest not more than two minutes and forty) three interludes and six short tracks for a total of about fifteen minutes. The production of 38 Spesh is solid, it lives up to the Griselda tradition, sometimes recalling that of Daringer: it provides jazzy midtempo rhythms with rare dark raids ("Legal Money" has a nice dark mood, slow and jazzy beat with vibrant bass under the calm and raw lines of Elcamino; "Flowers" is sad and gloomy, mood also provided by the rapper's smooth and melancholic delivery, in a short but wonderful joint), while Elcamino's rapping here's punctual, orderly and smoothness: on "Young Lords" is aided by an amazing graceful jazzy rhythm, delivery dope in the only track with the semblance of a hook. I shouldn't underestimate any of these short songs, for example "Street Signs" has a dark and tight light jazzy rhythm, with a glossy dusting that wasn't fully exploited by the rapper. "2k20" has a good Che Noir spot on a tight and enveloping production of 38 Spesh. Overall, it's an enjoyable EP that deserves at least a couple of spins.

Rating: 7/10.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again — Still Flexin, Still Steppin [mixtape]

The numbers cannot be discussed. First among the rap albums, second among the pop albums, over one hundred thousand units sold through digital platforms. Commercially, it's a great success, for Atlantic's happiness.

UFO Fev & Statik Selektah — Fresh Air

The delivery doesn't impress me, for most of the time the rhythms of Statik are generic jazzy, yet another showcase for Term and Haile Supreme, when a purely solo album would have been better. In the end, there's some tracks above the average, but overall, it's simply decent, generic album. The production is mainly jazzy, simple, essential, with few dark ("One Time") and trap ("Bad Luck") variations, composed of a skinny and minimal drum machine, while the delivery of UFO Fev at his best is clear, effortless and flowing. When the rhythm is fresh, the track slips away well ("Golden Soul", "Not Today"), when instead the most disparate commercial errors arrive the songs precipitating quickly in quality, especially because of the lame hooks ("On My Way", "Bad Luck", with autotune, "Not Today"; in the latter the pop soul chorus lowers the level of the song, livened up by a good deep and soulful jazzy rhythm and by an excellent sax in the background). Symbol of this effort, the "Hard Rock" posse: listened to several times, it continues to slip away without leaving anything, it goes unnoticed.

Vinnie Paz — As Above So Below

Vinnie Paz's fifth solo album. The musical set is build by Giallo Point, Vic Grimes, C-Lance, DNZ, EvillDewer, Aaron Hiltz, Caliber, Vinnie Paz, Scott Stallone, Nick Jackelson, Lucky Loopiano, Bronze Nazareth and Stu Bangas. The guests are Recognize Ali, Chinaski Black, Estee Nack, Queen Herawin, Eamon, Vast Aire, Demoz, Block McCloud, Jay Royale, Nowaah the Flood and Rigz.

Fetty Wap — Trap & B [mixtape]

Easy to moke the fall of the mighty. Who would have thought there would come a day when this one-hit wonder would fall by the wayside one day?

Marlo — 1st & 3rd

Debut album for Rudolph Johnson, an Atlanta trapper passed away in July 2020, who chose to make music under the name of Lil Marlo or Marlo (Quality Control).

Onyx — Lost Treasures

If we don't consider "I Can't Breathe", Onyx (Sticky Fingaz & Fredro Starr) deliver a mediocre album that hurts the group's legacy.

AAVV — Dreddy Kruger presents Think Differently Two: The Audio Film

The mastermind behind the Wu-indie-cult album "Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture" (2005), produces a sequel fifteen years later (you have to pretend that trashy senseless dubstep unofficial follow-up doesn't exist): Dreddy Kruger this time renounces the Wu mythology both in the title and in the cover, where the logo isn't proposed unlike the previous edition.

Pop Smoke — Meet the Woo, Vol. 2 [mixtape]

Sequel to the previous year's mixtape, his second career tape, released two weeks before the rapper was killed during a home invasion.

T.R.U. & 2 Chainz — No Face No Case

That of 2 Chainz wasn't a bad idea, he wanted to give an honest showcase to the rappers of his TRU crew: a typical case of "good intention, poor execution". Here they're all boring, each sound weakly more equal than the previous one and perhaps only Sleepy Rose is saved. 2 Chainz also has some good bars, but being a showcase, most of the time is dedicated to other mediocre rappers, a lot of autotune, a few of technical skills: terrible tracks come out, at best forgettable, helped very little by an outrageously cheap and generic trap production. 3/10.

De La Soul — 3 Feet High and Rising

The hip hop group De La Soul is a trio made up of rappers Kelvin "Posdnous" Mercer and David "Trugoy" Jolicoeur (whose names make sense if you turn them backwards) and Vincent "DJ Maseo" Mason. This group is formed in Amityville, Long Island, New York in 1988.

Hus Kingpin — King of the Underworld [mixtape]

Second project in 2020 for rapper Hus Kingpin: five short tracks, ten minutes in total.

Grandmaster Flash — The Source

Third studio album by Grandmaster Flash. The production is realized by him alongwith Vincent Castellano, with the live instrumentation of Rahiem, Guy Vaughn, Chuck Kentis and Flash himself. The other performers are Rahiem & Kidd Creole of The Furious Five, Larry Love, La Von, Broadway, and Shame. I don't know if the introductory piece sounds less worse than the other songs for its own merits or because it's the first, but the rest of the record is watered-down by a trivial rapping and by rhythms that wink at pop and dance: overall, this record is better than the previous one, but always done badly. The production is reduced to generic funky or skeletal rhythms stolen without too much elegance from Run-DMC, above which Flash weakly delivers, with functional hooks often rnb. The songs on the B side have almost all skeletal and minimal Run-DMC beats, but they're always ruined by a ridiculous and trivial hook. Unreal.

Rating: 4.5/10.

Grandmaster Flash — They Said It Couldn't Be Done

Second studio album by Joseph "Grandmaster Flash" Saddler, three years after the debut LP. This album really suck as much as it seems without having listened to it, this record is R&B watered down with light-hearted rapping, functional hooks often dull and minimal funky rhythms with disco influences. "Rock the House" mimics Run-DMC delivering without energy, "Who's That Lady" is a parody of Michael Jackson that just makes you smile, while the intro of "Larry's Dance Theme" is one of the most annoying things you can hear in the whole old school. Never listening to this pseudo-pop R&B disgrace. 2/10.

Conway — T2: The Machine [mixtape]

Hard to find, after trying a lot I have some gaps left. Not too many (1/5 of the entire tape) to define a general line of what has recently turned out to be the first effort dropped by Conway the Machine.

Raekwon — Lost Jewlry EP

Second EP released by Raekwon. The cover, linked to the title, features, among others, a golden tarantula / spider chain in the foreground at the bottom. Production is provided by reputable names, Statik Selektah, Scram Jones, Buckwild, Vin Tha Chin, Frank G, DJ Thoro and Roads-Art. The guests are Freddie Gibbs, Maino, Altrina Renee and Faith Evans.

Sugarhill Gang — 8th Wonder

Step forward by the Sugarhill Gang in its second effort, but talking about hip hop is still overly premature. The record is deeply surrounded by a disco moat well positioned outside the funky walls: however, Sylvia Robinson designs a coherent, positive and musically accessible production (renouncing the integral R&B), giving unmissable musical carpets for any mediocre artist, for the Sugarhill is a blast: they manage to get noticed mainly in the intro ("Funk Box") and in the lively "Apache", which presents an essential funky rhythm with bare clapping and crazy bongos in the background, with the trio that provides a rapping delivery (which isn't obvious even in this project). The rest are good disco / funky choices without peaks: to be noted "Showdown" with the good presence of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five credited often as The Furious 5. 7/10.

The Sequence — Sugar Hill Presents The Sequence

First female hip hop album, not too different from the male beginnings in the game. Not wanting to force an entire female rap album (it'd have been sensational!), but nobody at the time had tried it yet, not even the Sugarhill Gang who had still had a surprising return with its debut single. Sylvia Robinson, former R&B artist who launched Sugar Hill, also launches this female group, which is slightly better here than the male counterpart's debut. Officially credited as featuring guest in the first album released by the Sugarhill Gang, The Sequence is the first artist featured in a hip-hop album ever. This disk bases its roots on disco music and funky rhythms, on which there's a rapping delivery of the trio. Exceptions are a couple of funky / disco songs ("Funk a Doodle Rock Jam", "Come on Let's Boogie") where they sing, and the ballad "The Times We're Alone", R&B song. "Simon Says" and "And You Know That" among the standout tracks. 6.5/10.