Westside Gunn — Hitler on Steroids [mixtape]

"Hitler on Steroids" is found under the term "mixtape", but it's more of a compilation of some of the best cuts dropped by Westside Gunn. Daringer is the main producer of the effort, the music set is completed with the beats of DJ Green Lantern, Roc Marciano, Camoflauge Monk, The Alchemist, Your Old Droog and Apollo Brown. The guests are Keisha Plum, Benny, Conway the Machine, Royce da 5'9", Action Bronson, Elcamino, and Roc Marciano (credited as Roc Marci).

The Beatnuts — The Beatnuts

A year after releasing their first EP, the Beatnuts debut with a studio album: Psycho Les, Juju and Kool Fashion (shortly before leaving the group to attempt a solo career) deal with rhythms and rap, leaving a beat to Lucien and VIC each, and calling Grand Puba, Miss Jones and Gab Gotcha as guests.

Warren G — Regulate... G Funk Era

Debut album by Warren Griffin III aka Warren G, Long Beach rapper and producer, childhood friend of Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, and stepbrother of Dr. Dre. Raised between crime and hip-hop, Warren G learns the rudiments of production from Dre and finds a steady job, starting his musical career early in the nineties with hip-hop group 213, which he co-formed with Snoop and Nate Dogg.

KRS-One — Now Hear This

Studio album number nineteen for Lawrence Parker aka KRS-One. Personal effort, devoid of guests except Peedo, Armando Moran and G. Simone who offer spoken word in their cuts, like many of his records after the nineties, is ditched by a horrible production made by amateurs. In addition to Mad Lion and DJ Predator Prime, credited with the highest number of rhythms with four productions each, behind the keyboards there are also DJ Static, The Beat Miners, MK Zoo, Nick One, Hellmaf, Linsey Vona, Narayan and KRS himself. Parker's lyricism is varied and decent, he addresses a variety of topics including socio-conscious, political, racism, police brutality, slavery, rap game, pro-black bars, pro-women, sentimental extracts and braggadocio.

Memphis Bleek — M.A.D.E.

After three years, Memphis Bleek returns to release a CD, which coincides with his third studio album. Just Blaze is the main producer, along with Kanye West, Scott Storch, Robert "Shim" Kirkland, Coptic, TT, E Bass, D-Roy, Mr.B, Darryl "Digga" Branch and Zukhan. Guests include friend Jay-Z, State Property rappers Beanie Sigel, Freeway and Young Chris, Trick Daddy, TI, Livin Proof, Donell Jones, Latif, Nate Dogg, Rell, Geda K, MOP and Lil Cease of Junior MAFIA.

Statik Selektah & Termanology — 2012

Second studio album by the Lawrence hip-hop duo 1982, consisting of producer Statik Selektah and rapper Termanology. The album is a sequel to the debut, released two years earlier, and features the collaboration of Shawn Stockman of the Boyz II Men, Mac Miller, Bun B, Roc Marciano, Havoc, Freddie Gibbs, Crooked I and Lil' Fame.

Benny the Butcher & 38 Spesh — Trust the Sopranos

Fourth collaboration between Benny the Butcher & 38 Spesh, third if you consider the sequel to "Cocaine Cowboys" a reissue of the first volume, second if you only consider studio albums. "Trust the Sopranos" unites the Trust Army crew founded by the Rochester artist and Benny's Black Soprano Family, to which are added some external artists such as Elcamino, Ransom and Ampichino. The mixtape is a showcase for some of the lesser-known rappers from both collectives, which is why the space set aside for Benny at the mic and 38 Spesh in production is significantly limited. The two guys take some discarded tracks from their more recent projects and put them together into an album: the result is rough and ridiculously low quality for a Griselda / Trust record.

JoJo Pellegrino — Hitman for Hire V2

Debut album by Joseph "JoJo Pellegrino" Edwards, Italian-American rapper from Staten Island affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. The second installment of his "Hitman for Hire" series is his first LP in the course of a career spanning over twenty years in the game. Guests are Ghostface Killah and Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-affiliates Carlton Fisk and Shyheim, as well as RJ Payne, Dave Goode, Fryday Knyte, Conway the Machine, Dainja Mental, OT the Real, Mowe and Gorilla Nems.

The Coup — Genocide & Juice

Raymond "Boots" Riley handles all of the production and most of the rap on The Coup second studio album, while Eric "E-Roc" Davis plays the role of second MC and Pam "The Funkstress" Warren takes care of the scratches. The Oakland trio doesn't jump on the bandwagons of gangsta rap or g-funk sound and come up with a project that is an evolution from their political debut: is still political, socio-conscious, against racism and in favor of greater socio-economic equality, but it plays a lot on irony (starting with the title-tribute to Snoop) and goes down more to a street-level in order to get its message across to a wider audience. The production of Boots Riley again deviates from the labels and aims to favor the solid lyricism of the performers as much as possible: delivered in a regular and relaxed style, the lyrics stand out among the best of the season in hip-hop. EMI isn't recognized among the most successful majors in the genre and doesn't adequately promote the CD, which stops far in the charts and gets less praise than it deserves from critics, remaining one of the many hidden gems in the extraordinary Wild Pitch catalog. 8/10.

Snoop Dogg — Neva Left

"Don't call it a comeback, it's not a comeback"

Snoop Dogg's 15th solo studio album comes out with the will to be a comeback album: it's the first done well and with some good music in more than ten years, but nobody cares. The cover indicates that we are returning to the typical gangster themes of the nineties. The production welcomes the return of DJ Battlecat, who hasn't made beats for a studio album of Snoopzilla in six years. In addition to him, behind the keyboards are Rick Rock, Brody Brown, BadBadNotGood, Dr. Evo, J-Massive, Jahlil Beats, Mike & Keys, League of Starz, Musik MajorX, Kaytranada, Mars and Big Bub. For the first time in many years, there are more rappers than singers in guest roles: Too Short, Devin the Dude, Wiz Khalifa, Krs-One, B-Real, Redman & Method Man, Big Tray Deee, K CAMP, October London, Nef the Pharaoh, DJ Battlecat, BadBadNotGood, Kaytranada, Big Bub, Stresmatic, Rick Rock, Teena Marie and Charlie Wilson.

Guru — Jazzmatazz Volume 1

Solo debut album for Keith Elam aka Guru who, after contributing to the birth and spread of jazz rap with the debut of Gang Starr in 1989, produces this experimental attempt to fuse hip-hop and jazz: is the first MC to do it, accompanied by a live band consisting of Donald Byrd on trumpet and piano, Simon Law on keyboards, Branford Marsalis on sax, Zachary Breaux and Ronny Jordan on guitar, Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, Roy Ayers on vibraphone, Gary Barnacle and Courtney Pine on sax and flute.

DJ Khaled — We the Best Forever

« We will be here forever. Do you understand? Forever. »

If KRS's was a promise, DJ Khaled's is a threat. A threat that materializes on his album number five in six years. He's co-producer on 3 out of 15 tracks, while the rest of the production is executed by a dozen different beatmakers including Boi-1da, Danja, The Inkredibles, Lex Lugar, Noah "40" Shebib and The Runners. Guests include Drake, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Ludacris, Waka Flocka, Mary J. Blige, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes, Cee Lo Green, The Game, Meek Mill, Big Sean, Tyga, Cory Gunz, Twista, Fat Joe and Bun B.

Raekwon — Heroin Only [mixtape]

Chef Raekwon goes down hard on mixtapes in preparation for his new studio album, the follow-up to his classic debut. This project consists of 26 songs and 68 minutes of listening time, and features guests such as Ghostface Killah, Mary J Blige, Busta Rhymes, Papoose, Ice Water, Doo Wop and The Notorious B.I.G.

Carlton Fisk & DJ Enyoutee — Where's Carlo? EP

First official project by Carlton Fisk, a member of the Inspectah Deck's group Housegang and longtime Wu-affiliate who starred on Method Man, Rebel INS and Cappadonna albums. This four-track EP is produced by four different beatmakers and features Zagnif Nori and The Bad Seed in guest roles. Fisk, who takes the moniker from the baseball champion of the same name, has a tight rapping on these rhythms that seem to want to pay homage to the atmosphere of "Tical" and a couple of its sequels (bad only the production of "All I Know" made by DiFuture, which turns out to be unlistenable) with beats that are exactly halfway between homage to the nineties and more modern sounds. The tape is enjoyable, Carlton Fisk's style helps the listening and certifies his identity as a "real" rapper, unlike at least half of the current hip-hop scene.

KRS-One — The BDP Album

After four consecutive collaborations in the last three years, in 2012, KRS-One returns to publish solo material, something that hasn't happened since 2008, shortly after his first collaborative album, important for historical rather than musical reasons, with Bridge Wars rival Marley Marl. Lawrence Parker is one of the best performers of his period, however, his solo discography after 1997 is constantly undermined by shoddy LPs. This is another flop. The Blastmaster can't handle the heavy legacy of "Criminal Minded", even going so far as to put it on this cover. The title is completely devoid of any fantasy and is "The BDP Album", trying to recall the name of his group Boogie Down Productions in order to attract listeners again and sell more copies, without promoting the product in any way.

Snoop Dogg — No Limit Top Dogg

Snoop Dogg's fourth studio album, second in his new home, No Limit. For the first time, the artist puts a clear reference to the Crips on the cover of his album, wearing a blue jacket. After the remarkable sales result of his debut on the Master P label, the manager gives the Long Beach rapper more leeway for his next LP. Snoop returns to work with Dr. Dre several years after his exit from Death Row: the producer creates three rhythms, all immediately recognizable even without looking at the tracklist, you can understand that either they're made by him or they're well-made imitations of his beats. The set is completed by the work of DJ Quik, Budda, Meech Wells, Ant Banks, KLC, Def Jeff, G-One, Jelly Roll and Goldie Loc. Guests are Jewell, Dr. Dre, Warren G, Xzibit, Suga Free, Goldie Loc, Sticky Fingers, Sylk E. Fine, Magic, C-Murder, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, Fiend, Mia X, Mauseburg and Raphael Saadiq.

MC Eiht featuring CMW — We Come Strapped

Aaron Tyler made his solo debut in 1994, aged 23, after releasing three strong albums with Compton's Most Wanted: MC Eiht is at the height of his career, he comes straight from a classic album and popularized by his supporting role in the cult movie "Menace II Society" (1993), taking part in the soundtrack with the track "Streiht Up Menace", a track overshadowed by that of Spice 1, which initially had to play the role of the main protagonist. For his debut, Eiht makes some clever commercial moves: he keeps the name of CMW in the cover and among the authors of the disc, because the group has a large niche of fans and has gone better every year in the charts, and removes CMW themselves from the construction of the album which, therefore, despite the title, is a fully solo effort by MC Eiht.

KRS-One & Bumpy Knuckles — Royalty Check

KRS-One completes its "should have did this thing 20 years ago" album series with collaboration with Long Island rapper and producer Bumpy Knuckles aka Freddie Foxxx. It's the sixth collaborative tape with a New York artist (often producer) in four years, after those made together with Marley Marl ("Hip Hop Lives", 2007), Buckshot ("Survival Skills", 2009), Just-Ice ("The EP Vol. 1", 2010), True Master ("Meta-Historical", 2010) and Showbiz ("Godsville", 2011).

Show & KRS-One — Godsville

Collaborative album between hip-hop artists Show aka Showbiz of DITC and KRS-One which produces the entire album except one track, provided by E-Blaze. Fred the Godson and Jay Nortey are the only guests. The project is the first of two collaborative albums released by the rapper of Boogie Down Productions during the 2011 season, and is focused almost exclusively on battle rap and braggadocio. KRS is unable to hold the listener's attention for half an hour with these lyrics, performed with a slow, tired, generic, unattractive delivery. The rhythm set has played a greater role than the norm in Lawrence Parker's latest albums, given the less and less weight of his lyrical proposal: in this case, unlike the last two albums, Showbiz fails to line up eleven good rhythms, creating a production that could be cohesive and strong enough.

Cappadonna — Wu-South [mixtape]

In 2005, Cappadonna and J Saki released this twenty-track mixtape, also known as "Wu South" or "Wu South Vol. 1: The Perscription", published by Chambermusik. Uncredited production, guests on basically every track.

KRS-One & True Master — Meta-Historical

After the collaborative records made with Marley Marl ("Hip Hop Lives", 2007), Buckshot ("Survival Skills", 2009) and Just-Ice ("The EP Vol. 1", 2010), KRS-One joins the producer and rapper True Master, an affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA and Cappadonna are some of the guests, along with Dr. Oyibo and Jersey, True Master contributes a couple of times to rapping. It's the first LP to credit Wu-Element as a co-writer and boasts one of the most compact productions of the past decade in a project by the Bronx rapper.

Memphis Bleek — The Understanding

Memphis Bleek releases his second LP just a year after his debut. In this period of time he participated in the albums of Warren G ("I Want It All"), Jay-Z ("Vol. 3", "Dynasty"), Beanie Sigel ("The Truth"), Sauce Money ("Middle Finger U.") and Amil ("All Money Is Legal"). With the exceptions of Just Blaze and Timbaland, the music isn't provided by big names, while among the guests stand out Missy Elliott, Amil, Twista, Beanie Sigel, Carl Thomas, H Money Bags and Jay-Z, the album's main guest with five appearances.

Lord Superb — Superb Clientele [mixtape]

First mixtape of Jamel "Lord Superb" Cummings, rapper from Far Rockaway, Queens. Superb, sometimes considered one of the ghostwriters of the Wu-Tang Clan, is part of the American Cream Team of Raekwon, which has a short life between the end of the nineties and the beginning of the two thousand, disbanding to coincide with the death of Chip Banks and Superb's incarceration in 2001. He debuted on one of the RZA soundtracks and made two appearances on Ghostface Killah's "Supreme Clientele" album. When he was released from prison in 2004, Superb claims to have written that album entirely, which effectively marks the end of his career in the industry. Except for a few appearances on albums by affiliates who have distanced themselves from the Wu-universe, he no longer participates in records of the thickness of Tony Starks.