U-God — Venom

U-God's fifth solo studio album, released five years after the last effort. Jose Reynoso and DJ Homicide are the main producers of the record, the other rhythms are provided by Ill Tal, Powers Pleasant, DJ Green Lantern, Large Professor and Lord Finesse. RZA is kept away from keyboards, while Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Method Man and affiliate Jackspot Scotty Wotty collaborate on rapping.

Snoop Dogg — Doggumentary

Refreshed by the worldwide success of "California Gurls", one of the fifty best-selling singles of the decade and one of the best-selling singles in US history, Snoop Doggy Dogg returns with a formula that can bring him back to the pinnacle of the game. 21 tracks, 80 minutes of listening, a dizzying number of guest artists, producers, instrumentalists, engineers, composers, etc. Among others, there are Traci Nelson, Willie Nelson, Bootsy Collins, E-40, Jeezy, Devin the Dude, Wiz Khalifa, Goldie Loc, Too Short, Kokane, Daz Dillinger, John Legend, Kanye West, Mr. Porter and Gorillaz. The latter three are also some of the producers, with Jake One, DJ Battlecat, DJ Khalil, Scott Storch, Lex Luger, Mike Dean, and David Banner.

Westside Gunn — Hitler Wears Hermes IV [mixtape]

The fourth chapter of the series arrives fifteen months after the previous one, but above all a semester after the release of "Flygod". After the underground success of his debut album, Westside Gunn doesn't change his comfort theme and keeps most of the time jazzy midtempo rhythms offered by Daringer, with some variations in the middle of the tape. The effort is entirely produced by Daringer. The guests are Conway, Benny, Keisha Plum, Tiona D, Smoke DZA and Stalley.

Method Man — The Meth Lab

Nine years after releasing his latest solo record, Method Man decides to go back to releasing something: the production is made by 4th Disciple, Mathematics and a dozen amateurs and is mainly managed by Pascal Zumaque, while in rapping, he calls Raekwon, Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa of the Wu-Tang Clan, the affiliates Streetlife, Redman, Killa Sin, and iNTeLL and many Wu-external rappers, including Hanz On, main guest of the album.

DJ Muggs & Flee Lord — Rammellzee

Paying homage to Far Rockaway artist Rammellzee, Flee Lord and DJ Muggs release a collaborative studio album. The two from Queens have released over twenty projects each in their careers, for the rapper this is the first record of the season, while former Cypress Hill producer is on his third record in three months. Accredited guests are Ghostface Killah, Crimeapple, TF and Meyhem Lauren.

Arrested Development — Zingalamaduni

Total and annoying sophomore jinx by Arrested Development, an Atlanta hip-hop group consisting of Todd "Speech" Thomas, Timothy "DJ Headliner" Barnwell, and a dozen minor backing singers and performers. Headliner is credited with turntables, while Speech handles both rapping and production. The disc has no guests.

Cookin' Soul — Jet Life to the Next Life Instrumentals

Instrumental tape by Cookin Soul from the Jet Life's mixtape released in 2011. It opens "Jet Set", pretty good jazzy production provided by a simple boom bap, with distant male soul sample looped in background. It follows "Kings", another boom bap with dope jazzy vibes, energetic, lively beat. The third instrumental is "Nothin Less", simple minimal drum machine that releases a dry and cold boom bap, low and slow jazzy rhythm, skeletal. Boom bap cold, simple, skeletal, jazzy vibes, pretty good production for "Pilots". The next cut has a good rhythm, always jazzy, with female soul sample looped tight in background, simple drum machine that releases a frenetic boom bap. "Jet Life to the Next Life" presents a rhythm full of elements, then the instrumental tape is closed by "On Point Remix": boom bap jazzy, soul male sampled in background, slow rhythm with soul extracts.

Rating: 7.4/10.

Jamal Gasol — Blackball EP

First work of the year for Jamal Gasol, rapper from Niagara Falls, New York State. It's an EP consisting of half a dozen tracks (two skits) and about ten minutes, and mainly supported by the guests and the competent production of ThatBlessedGirl, which produces the whole tape, bringing out honest rhythms with good melodic samples and an acceptable variety of drums: the MC seems discreet in these tracks, but Eto sounds better by going effortlessly on "Flamboyant". L-Biz and Jynx are the other guests, but none impressed, unlike the rhythms. The one chosen for "The Forgotten" is excellent, with jazz and dark samples, an elegant piano and a dry hard midtempo drum. Jamal Gasol seems to be doing better than usual on the drumless beat of "Unapologetic", thanks to a great choice of samples. Decent EP, but after listening to it you don't want to dig into the rapper's discography, not at his best here. 6/10.

Snoop Dogg — More Malice

Reissue of his previous LP, "Malice n Wonderland". While the cover boasted blue as a background in the studio album, Snoop decides to bring it back the blue on the tie. The tape includes ten tracks including five new songs, four remixes, two bonuses, "Gangsta Luv", which is already present in the album a year ago, and there's a dedicated film. Insiders welcome it better than the original edition, especially since there's less material, just over half an hour. While Jay-Z arrives with his patented style to keep the level high with the best song (remix of "I Wanna Rock" in which he pays homage to half the East Coast and also to the West Coast) on a messy production, on the other there's still Soulja Boy. If on one side there's The-Dream, on the other there's a static Kid Cudi. Butch Cassidy, Mac Lucci and Bun B are the other guests: UGK's MC makes the remix of "Pronto" noteworthy. It's a better CD than the previous one, but it's still not good. From a sales point of view, the tape sets new negative records for Snoop, now on the verge of the top ten in the hip-hop chart. 4.5/10.

Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch — Music for the People

"Marky" Mark Wahlberg renounces the path of rock and focuses on becoming a rap star, in a similar way to Kid Rock, which he's inspired by, who will then manage to carve out a particularly rough road in his beloved rock.

Raekwon — The DaVinci Code: The Vatican Mixtape Vol. 2

Second in a long series of mixtapes that serve as a prelude to Raekwon's next album. Consisting of 23 short pieces for a total of about 45 minutes of listening, the tape combines numerous skits, freestyles, short excerpts and remixes of songs you've already heard elsewhere.

Da Last Future — Devil's Most Wanted 1994 EP

After releasing a tape of unreleased material by Hell Razah in November 2015 and one by Shabazz the Disciple in February 2016, Chopped Herring Records is also releasing material by Da Last Future, the progenitor group of Sunz of Man who had recorded a few songs in the mid-nineties.

Benny the Butcher & Harry Fraud — The Plugs I Met EP 2

Sequel to the EP from two years earlier which met with considerable public success and which confirmed him as one of the best rappers on the circuit by specialized critics. The production is entirely made by Harry Fraud. Guests are Chinx, 2 Chainz, Fat Joe, French Montana, Jim Jones and Rick Hyde. As in the first chapter, the cover represents a scene from "Scarface" (1983), in which Alejandro Sosa and Tony Montana meet for the first time and here shake hands. The back cover features Tony looking at the night sky and seeing the Goodyear airship pass by with "Plugs II" written.

Da Last Future — Da Last Future EP

The Wu-Tang Clan released their debut album in 1993 ("36 Chambers"), and the following year released the first album by a solo member, with Method Man's "Tical" (despite GZA debuting in 1991 publishing "Words from the Genius"), and the first album by an affiliated group, with Gravediggaz, led by the founder of the supergroup, RZA. In the same year, Da Last Future releases his first effort, an EP of the same name, released a year before the group changed its name to Sunz of Man and became the first Wu-Tang external act to sign for Wu-Tang Records is the first external act to release something with the label.

Snoop Dogg — BIble of Love

Gospel debut album by Snoop Dogg, five years after his Rastafari debut album as Snoop Lion. It's the soloist studio album number sixteen for the secular rapper. Released by the gospel section of RCA, distributed by Sony, the tape reaches first place in the gospel chart and stays there for seven non-consecutive weeks, struggling to enter the Billboard 200. Panned by professional critics, greeted with excitement by Christians insiders. The project is a 134-minute double LP divided into 32 tracks performed by 30 artists. The production is credited to Snoop Dogg and Lonny Bereal Jr. "Bible of Love" comes closest to being a rnb album rather than a gospel album, and also features some scattered and random excerpts in rap and trap. Around the middle of listening, you have the impression of always being on the same track, only the names of the singers change. It's terribly safe, generic, boring. Snoop is present nine times out of thirty-two songs, just over a quarter of the time, leaving a lot of space for guests in a sort of mediocre Spotify playlist that has no raison d'être. 2/10.

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo — Road to the Riches

Nathaniel "Kool G Rap" Wilson was born in New York and grew up in Corona, Queens, with the producer Eric B. Around the mid-eighties, looking for an MC to collaborate with, through Eric B. he met DJ Polo. Mr. Magic and Marley Marl allowed the duo to go to their studio to record a demo, "It's a Demo", without much fantasy, but the track, recorder quickly, it convinces Marley Marl to embraces both to the Juice Crew.

DJ Muggs the Black Goat — Dies occidendum

At 53, under the moniker DJ Muggs the Black Goat, the iconic producer releases his first instrumental LP.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — Message from Beat Street: The Best of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & The Furious Five

As you can easily see from the cover above, there's no space to insert the title, the names of the authors and their images, it looks like a mess. Luckily, the album is something else. Regular, round and robust record, devoid of completely weak tracks: most of it focuses on party and bravado, combining some excellent socio-conscious extracts.

Snoop Dogg — Ego Trippin'

The ninth studio album is a desperate attempt to find that first place in Top Pop that has been missing for ten years and may never come again. The rhythms sound bad for 78 minutes, and are chosen by Neptunes, Teddy Riley, DJ Quik, Nottz, Rick Rock and Scoop DeVille, among others. Several guests attended, including Kurupt, Too Short, Saadiq, Charlie Wilson, Pharrell, Willie Nelson, Whitey Ford, Jamie Foxx, none impress. The most interesting is the battle rapper Mistah F.A.B., however, he simply performs a hook. Texts and beats are generic and poor, he has already done and said all this better and much before, there's nothing worth dealing with. That said, it sells very well, recording its best result since 1999, in fact, it's third on the Billboard 200 and second among rap records: supported by Geffen, the LP produces five singles, an event unprecedented in the veteran rapper's discography, this isn't enough to avoid the heavy setback that sales suffer after a couple of weeks. Trash pop rap album with a length of time that goes against all logic, absolutely not recommended. 4/10.

Killah Priest — Lord Sun Heavy Mental 1.1

Launched from an amazing 2020, Killah Priest is rolling out his first album of 2021 relatively early. The presence of experimental rhythms devoid of drums, excellent often obscure samples, strings, tense and short horns, and the slow and overwhelming delivery in spoken word of the performer, makes sure to draw comparisons with his previous work "Rocket to Nebula". With a total of thirteen tracks, Killah Priest retains the eclecticism and authenticity of his best days and stays as left-field as possible for three-quarters of an hour. 8/10.

The Coup — Kill My Landlord

Debut album by The Coup, a political hip-hop group from Oakland consisting of Boots Riley, E-Roc and Pam the Funkstress. The group debut in 1991 with an extended play released by Polemic Records, then in 1993 The Coup signs with Wild Pitch, gaining a distribution deal with EMI. The authors of the lyrics are good lyricists and manage to make their messages interesting during the listening hour: the themes dealt with by the trio are political and militant, they immediately claim to be politically aligned and bring out afrocentric, pro-black, socio-conscious, anti-police, pro-riot, and pro-revolution stanzas.

D-Cypha — The Special Ingredient

Debut record for Simon John Stoker aka D-Cypha, who made an album-producer combining Greek and American rappers: produced entirely by D-Cypha, along with some rhythm co-produced with Empne, the album features collaborations by Benny & Conway of Griselda, Bronze Nazareth of Wisemen, Cappadonna of Wu-Tang Clan, Tragedy Khadafi, Blaq Poet, Heltah Skeltah, Ruste Juxx, Craig G & Kool G Rap of Juice Crew, Sadat X of Brand Nubian, Jadakiss of LOX, Busta Rhymes and Solomon Childs, of School of the Gifted.

Raekwon — The Vatican Mixtape Volume 1

First mixtape released by Raekwon the Chef, it represents an appetizer of the "Only Built" sequel release. The Wu-Tang Clan rapper makes a 75-minute tape of 35 pieces, mostly taken from songs you've heard elsewhere in the past. Most of the tracks are originally produced by RZA, mixing is done by DJ Riddler, while Raykwon maintains a theme centered around the topics that have popularized the mafia subgenre. There are numerous skits, while guest rappers include Ghostface Killah, RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, U-God, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Roc Marciano, Big Pun and Biggie. The Chef boasts a remarkable relaxed flow and most of the choices are satisfying, there are rare gems and few slips, so the tape sates the appetites of a good chunk of aficionados for a few moments.

Jared Evan & Statik Selektah — Still Blue

I think Statik Selektah was around studio album number fifteen when this collaborative project came out: is the second and final chapter made with rnb singer from Great Neck, Long Island, Jared Evan. The production is credited to Statik and Evan, while guests are Michael Christmas, Nick Caution, Dessy Hinds and Ransom.

Crunch Lo — Crunchive EP

A compilation represents the debut album of Kareem "Crunch Lo" Reed, rapper of the Otherized F.A.M group, including Molly-Q, Shawn Wigs (later in the group Theodore Unit) and Lounge Lo, Cappadonna's brother. Production is entirely entrusted to 1.4.0. Productions, a team of beatmakers affiliated with Wu-Tang, while the edition doesn't feature guests.

Elcamino — Block Work

Ninth studio album for Elcamino, personal, with a minimal cover that recalls the past.

Rick Hyde — Plates 2 on the Way EP

Up-and-coming rapper from Buffalo Rick Hyde, a member of the Black Soprano Family, releases an EP consisting of four tracks for a total of ten minutes of listening. Distributed by BSF Records, it's produced almost entirely by the author, who leaves a rhythm to J. Oliver, while he keeps things up in Buffalo, calling BSF guys Benny & Heem to rapping, and the Griselda affiliate Elcamino as external guest.

Drake — Scary Hours 2 EP

Drake's fourth EP isn't evil. Lyrically, it's a generic tape, musically, it's accessible and lukewarm, while the rap isn't captivating. After a badly successful imitation of the main mumble rappers in the first song, the second choice manages to make me like Lil Baby more than usual. The third track is a decent freestyle, even if it has too much length, with a forgettable RIck Ross. Overall it's a decent tape, three tracks, about twelve minutes, affordable trap production and decent rap, however, it's not an essential listening neither in the season nor in his discography. 5/10.

Onyx — Onyx 4 Life

Studio album number thirteen for Onyx, a duo made up of Fredro Starr and Sticky Fingaz.

Hell Razah — When All Hell Breaks Loose

Chron Smith was born in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. As a teenager he was already part of the local hip-hop group Mad Mob, formed in the 1980s by David "Scientific Shabazz" Collins, Ian "7th Ambassador" Bellido and producer Alaric "Supreme Kourt" Wilder. In this period, the young Smith, then known by the monikers Rampage or Rated-X, recorded a series of tracks together with Supreme and 7th Ambassador that were not released: these songs are collected on vinyl and officially released by the independent UK label Chopped Herring Records in 2015.

King Tee — Act a Fool

Roger "King Tee" McBride was born in Compton, California, and made a name for himself in the late 1980s by releasing tracks on Techno Hop Records and then Mack Daddy. He later signed with Capitol and released his debut album. DJ Pooh is the main guest and produces almost entirely the record, three rhythms are made by King T himself, the other guests are Big Aaron, DeRon Wright, Demetrius Clemons, Mixmaster Spade and MC Breeze.

King T makes his debut with a well above average album, spitting braggadocio lyrics on a good and funky production of DJ Pooh that focuses on samples, and he's right by sampling James Brown, George Clinton and the omnipresent song of Syl Johnson, sampled over 300 times. Overall, the album is fun, solid enough, has no obvious highlights ("Act a Fool" is possibly the best one) and has no weaknesses. 7/10.

Joell Ortiz — Free Agent

After making his debut, Ortiz left Aftermath and in 2009 joined the rap supergroup Slaughterhouse along with Royce da 5'9", Crooked I and joe budden. Ortiz still has a contract with E1 and, after two efforts with the group, he's working on his album number two. In 2010, the disk had leaked on the internet three months early via Amazon, then, he leaves his label E1 (previously known as Koch Records) and signs with Shady Records, but its second LP is published by E1. In the records that the Brooklyn rapper has made with Slaughterhouse, like all the other performers, he has shown that he doesn't have a good ear for rhythms and this new record is a confirmation, pure and simple.