Cookin Soul — Good Job

Cookin Soul takes the liberty of brushing up on some of his previous works in this release, providing ten tracks, twenty-five minutes.

C-Bo — Gas Chamber

Debut for Shawn Thomas, rapper from Sacramento also knows as C-Bo (Thug Lordz). The kid sinks his teeth into the gangsta cake the West Coast has left to chill on the windowsill: on lean, dark, slightly cheap funky beats, C-Bo tells violent and murder stories in these forty minutes, plus extra thanks.

 

Articolo 31 — Strade di città

Debut album by Articolo 31, an Italian duo made up of the Milan rapper Alessandro "J-Ax" Aleotti and the disc jockey from Bollate, hinterland of Milan, Luca "DJ Jad" Perrini. The production is entirely done by DJ Jad, while the guests are Chief, DJ Wladimiro, brother of Jad, and Lory Asson. After releasing a first single in 1992 ("Nato per rappare"), the following year the duo released one of the first Italian studio albums in rap.

Puff Daddy — MMM [mixtape]

First mixtape by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, who releases new solo material nine years after the last time. The production features The Hitmen, Harry Fraud, Mike Will Made It, Honorable CNOTE and 88-Keys, among others. The guests are Lil' Kim, French Montana, Big Sean, Styles P, Jadakiss, Pusha T, King Los, Future, Wiz Khalifa, Travis Scott, Gizzle, Sevyn, Tish, Ty Dolla Sign, Brucie B and Zoey Dollaz.

Hus Kingpin — The Firm

Following the Portishead tribute, Hus Kingpin pays tribute to New York hip-hop supergroup The Firm.

Raekwon — Blood on Chef's Apron [mixtape]

Between the two best albums in Raekwon's discography, there are so many mixtapes that if you're not careful, you might even get lost. This is one of those released in 2009, we were getting closer and closer to the release of Purple Tape 2 and the Wu-Tang's MC wanted to keep the hype as high as possible. For this purpose, he releases a tape of 25 short tracks: half are skits, freestyles and recycled tracks from previous mixtapes, the other half is presumably original. Guests are Nore, Joell Ortiz, AZ, Busta Rhymes, Uncle Murda, Twista, Jadakiss, The Game and B-Real.

DJ Muggs & Crimeapple — Cartagena

Second collaborative album between LA producer DJ Muggs and New Jersey rapper Crimeapple, following the success achieved with "Medallo" (2019).

Westside Gunn — Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B

Westside Gunn puts an end to the "Hitler Wears Hermes" series with the eighth chapter, a double album, divided into two: "Sincerely Adolf" and "Side B". Originally, it should have been a single double LP, however, following some unexpected, the two twin tapes are published at a distance of about one month from each other. Production is mainly done by The Heartbreakers team, consisting of Camoflauge Monk, Denny LaFlare and Conductor Williams, with five, four and one rhythm respectively. The other beats are provided by King JVY B, Sovren, Daringer, Madlib, The Alchemist, JR Swiftz, Nicholas Craven, Beat Butcha, Jay Versace, DJ Green Lantern and Sadhugold. As in "Side A", Westside Gunn reserves a lot of space for guests: Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, AA Rashid, Jay Electronica, Chase Fetti, Flee Lord, Heem, Mach-Hommy, 2 Chainz, Armani Caesar, Billie Essco, Keisha Plum, Jay Worthy, Larry June, TF, Rome Streetz, Stove God Cooks, Tiona Deniece, AZ, and Tyler, the Creator.

Meth • Ghost • Rae — Wu-Massacre

In 2010, the collaborative album between the Wu-Tang Clan rappers Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon, was released. The three MCs published one album each the previous year, the Meth & Red sequel and the parade of stars that Ghostdini brought to "Wizard of Poetry" were well received by critics, while Lou Diamonds' sequel to "Only Built" was widely regarded as an authentic comeback album and one of the best works of the year. Def Jam, which already has Meth and Ghost in its stable, signs Raekwon, and the trio begins work on the album.

Left Lane Didon & Tha God Fahim — Dumpacalypse Now

Left Lane Didon tries to emerge from the meager Delaware rap scene with this seven-song project and roughly twenty-one minutes of listening time. The production is completely entrusted to Tha God Fahim, the guests are Mach-Hommy, Stack Skrilla, Jay NICE and Fahim himself. These are some of the producer's second-tier beats, and it's one of Fahim's few tapes where rap is better than music. This effort, which features a cover in homage to the first LP released by 2Pac, features lo-fi beats, some honest and decent jazz loops, and good rap, guests hold it tight. Tha God Fahim, perhaps not coincidentally, retains his clearest soundscape for "Tamarind Targets", the cut with Mach-Hommy: good drum, samples of sad and enveloping strings, the rappers deliver a track that stands out clearly above the others. 6/10.

DJ Gruff — Zero Stress

DJ Gruff's second studio album, released three years after his cult debut "Rapadopa". Gruff takes care of most of the production of the album, Deda makes five beats and other beats are performed by Neffa, Esa, DJ Skizo, The NextOne and Dada. The production is accompanied by some instrumental sections provided by J. Rodriguez on flute and sax, Alessiomanna on bass and Gabriele on trumpet. DJ Aui is credited for the scratches on "Aui" and DJ Double S scratches for the remix of "Stammi lontano", all other scratches are the author's work. Guests are Gopher D, Deda, Neffa, Kaos, T.C., Storyteller, Sean, Soul Boy and Camelz Finezza Click.

Raekwon — Staten Go Hard, Vol. 1 [mixtape]

This is one of the few mixtapes released under the moniker Chef Raekwon / Raekwon the Chef. The record is presented by the Brinks Boys, who I assume are the authors of most of the production under the names BT and Breakfast Club. Guests are Ghostface Killah, Method Man, KXNG Crooked, Busta Rhymes, Uncle Murda, AZ, Mika (not that Mika, thankfully), Maino, Melanie Fiona, Q-Tip and Lil Wayne. The cover is rough, the colors are yellowed, it's as if someone had recklessly poured some coffee "straight from Bolivia" over it. The Wu logo emerges from below, you might not even notice it. The tape is massive, 32 tracks, 80 minutes, a good number of skits, a very irregular production and overall, definitely not good, on which the main interpreter delivers without too much inspiration, often with a style close to spoken word, and even trying to sing for a few moments. Overall, it's below Lex Diamonds standards and below the standards of the 2009 scene, there's nothing memorable: of all things, "Criminology '09" hurts the heart. The original rhythm of RZA revisited by BT is rusty and old, the drum falls weak, the sample annoys, the rap of Rae and Ghost doesn't slice like fifteen years before, it's all quite disappointing and is one of the most accessible and successful pieces of this effort. Not recommended.

DJ Gruff — Rapadopa

Revered debut album by Sandro "DJ Gruff" Orrù, a rapper and producer born in Terralba, Sardinia, then living in Bologna. The album is a union of many different talents. The music is a mix of beats made entirely by DJ Gruff, Dada and Che (except for "L'imprevisto", an additional track on the vinyl edition, produced by NextOne), scratches provided by DJ Gruff, DJ Skyzo, Kaos One, Scratch Wizard, Carry D and Don THC, and live instrumentation provided by several musicians, including Dada on sax, Che on guitar, Raphael on djembe, Touché on congas, and Casino Royal members Alessio "Manna" Argenteri on bass, Ferdinando Masi on drums, Nicola Frisia on sax and Michele "Pardo" Pauli on guitar. The rap is performed by numerous guests: in addition to DJ Gruff himself, the other members of Sangue Misto Neffa and Deda, Carry D, Kaos One, Eagle Man, Papa Ricky, Esa & La Pina degli Otierre and TopCat, the edition's main guest, take part in the project. Giuliano Palma of Casino Royale and Elwanda Contreras sing in the final track of the album.

Curren$y & Kino Beats — Matching Rolexes

Over the course of these decades, Currensy has proven that he can spit over any type of rhythm. Even trap, it doesn't matter. But the sound provided in this tape isn't good. Dej Loaf and Blu raise the level of their songs with excellent performances, nevertheless, the lead author's rap is cooled by a synthetic, generic, lackluster trap production. The best moment of the album, putting aside Dej Loaf's great rap in "Hearth in This Shit", is represented by "Train Station", in which Blu envelops an ethereal instrumental, rare good production guessed by Kino. The rest don't work. 5/10.

Ol' Dirty Bastard — The Trials and Tribulations of Russell Jones

Just over six months after Elektra Records squeezed every penny out of Russell "Ol' Dirty Bastard" Jones' drug-bloated body, D3 Entertainment wants its share as well. I never heard or read what this thing is until ten seconds before writing this sentence: D3 (or D-3) is a subsidiary of Death Row Records.

Joell Ortiz — House Slippers

Joell Ortiz releases his third studio album with Penalty Entertainment, after the end of the experience with Slaughterhouse, which the rapper brings entirely into this record on the track "Brothers Keepers". Heatmakerz produce most of the tracks, along with Illmind, Frequency, Operator Emz, Prafit LMG and Gnyus: they don't do a good job, the production sounds watered down pop / rnb, it's not hip-hop and the boom bap rhythms present don't hit, they're bland, light. Guests are Lee Car, BoB, Mally Stakz, Maino, Kaydence, and Slaughterhouse. Joell Ortiz feels comfortable and delivers in a laid-back, relaxed, calm style, speeds up sometimes, never matter too much. For a 45-minute disk, it's too long and the listener loses attention almost immediately. It does well in the charts (top 30 in the rap one) and gets positive reviews: the album never feels essential, in retrospect, Ortiz will do better in the future over more competent productions than this one. Not recommended, 4.5/10.

DJ Muggs vs. GZA the Genius — Grandmasters

Three years after his previous record, GZA releases his fifth studio album, his first collaborative, under the moniker GZA the Genius. The production is entirely entrusted to Cypress Hill producer DJ Muggs, who's helped by some live instrumentalists. Guests are Wu-Tang Clan members Raekwon, RZA, and Masta Killa, along with Prodigal Sunn of Sunz of Man and Cypress Hill rapper Sen Dog.

RZA — Only One Place to Get It EP

In late spring 2014, Robert Diggs aka RZA of Wu-Tang Clan collaborated with well-known soft drink company Dr Pepper to create a four-track, sixteen-minute EP, offering four rhythms to emerging artists, in a project that is much more an advertisement for the company that a real musical effort.

Being the author a member of one of the most famous acts in hip-hop, as a listener, even casual, you might expect this extended play to feature a bit of hip-hop, and instead, there's nothing like that: the rhythm of the first track comes very close to that genre, nonetheless, performer Rockie Fresh spits thing out with a very slow flow and an almost spoken delivery style, mumbling. In the next dozen minutes, there's a rnb track with Tinashe, a synthpop instrumental track with RAC and an electropop track with Robert DeLong.

The whole thing sounds quite anonymous. Might as well put on the audio of a soda can being opened and poured. In fact, they did it. Don't drink.

Lansky — Lansky

Sometimes, when the Wu-Tang Clan doesn't respond to your needs, you can to turn to affiliates. It's a fantastic world and digging, you can't be disappointed. The W that stands out at the bottom of the cover suggests that this is an affiliate's project. The discography of this artist is aimed at the public that comes from "The Purple Tape" and Raekwon's mentality, therefore to an audience that is linked to hip-hop music inspired by the criminal organizations of the thirties, from Al Capone to Bugsy Siegel, from Lucky Luciano to precisely Meyer Lansky, from which the moniker of this rapper is derived.

U-God — UGodz-Illa Presents: The Hillside Scramblers

In early 2004, Lamont Hawkins aka Golden Arms aka U-God exits the Wu-Tang Clan: the boy believes that he hasn't received the right support and the right exposure in recent years with the supergroup due to the founder RZA, and chooses to found his own group, a gangsta rap crew with kids who would be even excessively generous to call weed carriers. They are not professionals, they are taken from the street (cit.). In the following March, the debut album of the U-God group, Hillside Scramblers, is released: it's composed not only by the eighth member of Wu-Tang, now renamed UGodz-Illa, also by Autumn Rue, Lamar "Black Ice" Manson, Desert Eagle, Frank Banger, Inf-Black, Ja-Mal, Michael "Kawz" Kawse, Adrian "King Just" Angevin, and Orlando "Letha Face" Irizarry. The production is entrusted almost exclusively to Leatha Face aka Letha Face, as well as Que Tracks, Six Mill, DJ Homocide and Mark Alston.

Raekwon — Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II

Announced since the mid-2000s, the sequel to Chef Raekwon's masterpiece is expected for many years, during which it's refined, rewritten, revised. It's originally supposed to come out under the label of Dr. Dre Aftermath, for which the rapper signs, then the deal is broken. In 2007, the songs destined for the album "Baggage Handlers" and "State of Grace", both with a Tony Montana skit, were leaked on the internet, and inserted in some mixtapes. At the end of the same year, the Wu-Tang Clan begins work on "8 Diagrams", and the disagreements between Raekwon and RZA for the production of the group's record are publicly manifested, which leads the MC to review the rhythms of the album and to continue editing the tracklist until the final release, in September 2009.

Raekwon — House of Wax: The Vatican Mixtape Vol. III

Third in a long series of mixtapes that serve as a prelude to Raekwon's new album. The Wu-Tang rapper places 31 very short tracks for a total of about 62 minutes of listening. There are no credits in production and among the guests you can identify the MCs of the Wu-Tang Clan Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Ghostface Killah, the affiliates Polite & Lord Superb of the American Cream Team (group linked to The Chef) and the "external guests" Ill Bill, Fat Joe, Brolic, Gravy, Steele & Tek of Smif-n-Wessun.

Method Man & Redman — Blackout! 2

Second studio album by the duo Method Man & Redman. Production is provided by Mathematics, Havoc, Pete Rock, Erick Sermon, Swiff D, Rockwilder, Nasty Kutt, Ty Fyffe, Reggie Noble, Buckwild, Vinny Idol, DJ Scratch, Bink, King David, Chris N Teeb. Guests are members of the Wu-Tang Clan Ghostface Killah & Raekwon, the Wu-affiliate Streetlife, as well as Saukrates, Keith Murray, Bun B, Tanisha Green, Michelle Pinckney, Erick Sermon, Ready Roc, DJ Kay Slay, C.O. Ellis, Pooh Bear and Melanie Rutherford.

Kinetic 9 x BoFaat — Roll Dolo

Collaborative tape between the rapper from Steubenville, Ohio, Kinetic 9, and the producer from Hannover, Germany, BoFaat. The album is an extended version of a previous EP released in 2017, which features a different cover that pays homage to kung-fu movies, boasting a bright and vibrant color.

Guy Gerber + Puff Daddy — 11 11

Israeli techno / house producer Guy Gerber and hip hop / pop rap / rnb producer Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy present "11 11". 80-minute collaborative house music record, 11 tracks: except the intro, the songs are all between five and ten minutes.

Drake — Certified Lover Boy

Worst album of the year. Aubrey "Drake" Graham sacrifices his sixth son to the God Algorithm in exchange for the fidelity of the robotic rankings and a few thousand sentient beings in perennial adulation.

Benny the Butcher & 38 Spesh — Trust the Sopranos: '83 Miami Edition (Big Ghost Ltd. Remix)

Remix album made by producer Big Ghost LTD on the collaborative album between Buffalo rapper Benny the Butcher and Rochester rapper and producer 38 Spesh, released three months earlier and which had been a disappointment. In addition to Big Ghost, instrumentation is credited with Hector Puente Colon Jr. & The Santiago Men's Basketball Philharmonic Orchestra, the same act behind the instruments of some of Big Ghost's masterpieces including Westside Gunn & Conway's classic "Griselda Ghost" (2015), "Aguardiente" by Crimeapple (2018), "Van Ghost" by Ankhlejohn (2018), "A Bullet for Every Heathen" by 38 Spesh (2019), "Carpe Noctem" (2019), "No One Mourns the Wicked" by Conway (2020), "All Praise is Due" by KAAN (2020) and "If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed" by Conway (2020). The cover looks better than the origin, but it's not yet fully inspired.

clipping. — There Existed an Addiction to Blood

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the album of the year.

Ol' Dirty Bastard — The Definitive Ol' Dirty Bastard Story

Not a year has passed since Russell "Ol' Dirty Bastard" Jones died from an overdose, when Elektra decided it was time to make money on his corpse again in 2005, after making a first unsuccessful attempt in 2001 with a first compilation. BZA wasn't dead at the time, but man, you know what I mean, he couldn't stand up on his own anymore.

Method Man — 4:21... The Day After

Fifth studio album, fourth solo, for M.E.T.H.O.D. Man. Production should be done almost entirely by RZA, but due to the limited time available, Bobby Digital only provides six beats, less than a third of the entire project and the rest of the production is signed by a dozen different guys: the affiliates Mathematics and Beretta 9, Scott Storch, Erick Sermon, Havoc, The Chairman of the Boards, Mr. Porter, Versatile and Kwamé. Among the guests, Meth finally decides to give space to the Wu-Tang Clan: Ol' Dirty Bastard, Raekwon, U-God, Inspectah Deck and RZA, together with the affiliates Street Life, Carlton Fisk and La the Darkman, and the external guests Redman, Fat Joe, Styles P, Ginuwine and Megan Rochell.