Shabazz the Disciple — Hood Scripturez

Collaborative effort between Brooklyn rapper Shabazz the Disciple and Canadian producer from Vernon, British Columbia DJ Extremidiz. The disc should look like a concept about the rules for survival in the hood, revolving around street and spiritual themes, similar to his previous CDs. In addition, there are excerpts against the government, the Bush administration, the US agency FEMA and the closing is a sequel to "Diary of a Madman" ("Page Two"), a song by Gravediggaz released in 1994 which sees Shabazz among the protagonists. The production of Extremidiz is compact, discreet boom bap that relies on different melodic and jazz samples, and has only one beat wrong ("Brooklyn Niggaz", unlistenable). There's also what may be one of the last collaborations between Shabazz and Hell Razah in "The Sun of Man Must Suffah", together with Aslan (to note that "R.I.P. Thug Angelz" was recorded prior to the release of this LP). The performer spits bars with a calm, sometimes hardcore rapping, going to place 15 skits in 29 tracks, which is over the top. He considers this his real debut, having released a "mixtape that's not a mixtape" in 2003 and a "street album" in 2006: it's not a bad LP, but it's no better than the previous two. 5/10.

De La Soul — Buhloone Mindstate

Third studio album for a hip-hop group that has resurrected, De La Soul. The trio stands out for being one of the hip-hop acts to have the worst covers in the history of the genre, this one is no exception. While other artists are moving on, following the rap trends or trying to innovate, this group looks to the past to copy production and lyrics from their previous records.

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo — Wanted: Dead or Alive

Kool G Rap renounces the production of Marley Marl, probably engaged in other projects, so Eric B comes to his rescue. He's not a producer or a DJ or something like that, but he has procured a contract to Rakim and since then he lives on income: Eric B procures him Large Professor, who produces the entire album, except "Rikers Island" (by Marley Marl), "Erase Racism" (by Biz Markie & Cool V) and "The Polo Club" (by DJ Polo).

Sunday Service Choir — Jesus Is Born

In early 2019, Kanye West founded his own gospel group, Sunday Service Choir, with whom he sings every Sunday in church, often remixes of songs from his own discography in a gospel, religious and Catholic key. In December 2019, West released the first album of the group, a direct follow-up to his previous solo record, "Jesus Is King", a Christian-themed gospel CD released two months earlier.

Cappadonna — Alcappachemist [mixtape]

I don't even remember how I found out about this, I think the most likely thing is that I was half-heartedly browsing through Cappadonna's discography on discogs. Or maybe he appeared on YouTube as a suggestion after listening to Remedy's latest album to see if there were any good tunes or if it was a terrible release as many fans claim. I don't know. This tape sounds like one of the thousands of mashup albums people create in their free time. Rhythms by The Alchemist, rap by Cappadonna, might sound good to hardcore rap fans. For some crazy person, because who would ever think of putting the spectacular productions of Alchemist for the mad rapping of Don Cappachino? Nobody would waste them. Instead it seems that this thing is really legitimate. There's a specific cover, in which Cappadonna wears a Mexican hat, glasses, t-shirt, his name in the center, title with "artistic" that's incomprehensible even after multiple attempts to read it. Fourteen tracks, two guests, High Noon and Addiemak, both also participated in Cappachino's studio album "Show Me the Money", published in the same year. The mixtape is released on Cappadonna's label God Love Family Entertainment.

Kanye West — Jesus Is King

After releasing the Wyoming Sessions albums, in summer 2018 Kanye West flies to Chicago to work on Chance the Rapper's seven-track album. Subsequently, West claims that the sessions with Chance brought him back to the Christian faith. Around this time, West also moved away from hip-hop, going to record music with Lil Pump and other artists close to the emerging SoundCloud rap scene, announcing his definitive return to Chicago and the arrival of the new Chance the Rapper album "Good Ass Job", however, West never returned to Chicago and that project was never released.

Dr. Dre — The Chronic

 «Yo I don't smoke weed or sess / Cause it's known to give a brother brain damage» (Dr. Dre in "Express Yourself", NWA, 1988.)

Andre Young expresses himself in these terms, before changing the history of hip-hop music by releasing an album that will identify him forever with weed, "The Chronic": the title refers to a type of high-quality marijuana. After four intense years, three albums, an EP and several certifications, N.W.A finally disbanded: Ice Cube left the most dangerous group in the world in 1989 due to financial differences, soon being targeted by all the other members, including Dre himself, whose accounts two years later don't add up. The boy sends The D.O.C. and Suge Knight to check the documents, and they discover that a large chunk of the money he was owed never arrived, because the group manager Jerry Heller pocketed them in the dark, as Cube had already tried to warn them. Suge Knight, with his methods, convinces Eazy-E and Jerry Heller to free Dre, The DOC and Michel'e from their contracts with Ruthless: Knight, Dre and The DOC found a new label, Future Shock, then changed into Death Row Records.

Snoop Dogg — Mac + Devin Go to High School

Soundtrack of the film of the same name. Snoop Dogg collaborates with Wiz Khalifa on a project entirely dedicated to their common passion. Warren G, Nottz, Jake One and Soopafly are the names that stand out behind the keyboards, while guests are Juicy J, Bruno Mars, Currensy and Mike Posner. New blockbuster Wiz must bring Snoop's descendant mainstream career back up, nothing simpler: the disc revolves around twelve songs condensed into pop rap and funky rhythms, less than fifty minutes of listening, an unusually low amount for Snoop, which allows the tape to travel at cruising speed after a few minutes. Published by Atlantic, it's distributed by Warner: audiences and critics are lukewarm towards the product, which comes third in the rap chart and struggles to grind physical copies, certifying gold by the RIAA after almost five years. 5/10.

PRhyme — PRhyme [deluxe edition]

First historic collaborative album between Detroit rapper Ryan "Royce da 5'9"" Montgomery and New York (Houston native) producer Christopher "DJ Premier" Martin. The first already part of Slaughterhouse, among others, the second already part of Gang Starr: both legends of the underground. The two artists have already collaborated together several times in the past, in particular, Premier has repeatedly given the best rhythm in Royce's solo albums. It remembers, better than the others, the '99 underground hit "Boom", one of the best works of the Michigan MC on a fantastic untouchable loop. DJ Premier's production features samples from Adrian Younge's music throughout the album.

GZA — Legend of the Liquid Sword

Fourth solo studio album by Gary "GZA / Genius" Grice, which recalls his most famous work, "Liquid Swords". Production is provided by Arabian Knight, Mathematics, RZA, GZA, Jay "Waxx" Garfield, Boola, Bink, Tyquan Walker, Jaz-O and DJ Muggs. The guests of the edition are the members of the Wu-Tang Clan Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, RZA, Inspectah Deck, his son Kareem Justice and the affiliates Streetlife, Armel of Ancient Coins and the Two on the Road, a duo consisting of 12 O'Clocks of Brooklyn Zu and Prodigal Sunn of Sunz of Man. Also present, sometimes uncredited, are Santi White, Anthony Allen and the Governor Two's. The cover is reminiscent of the noir, dark and futuristic aesthetic of "Blade Runner" (1982), movie to which "Liquid Swords" is sometimes compared.

Solomon Childs — The King Kong of New York [unofficial]

Solomon Childs, rapper from West Brighton, Staten Island, New York on one of his early mixtapes. There's uncertainty about the original release year, it doesn't matter. There are no production credits, among the many to support him in these twenty songs, are Mary J. Blige, Tierra Marie — rnb singer who had a LP with Roc-A-Fella as a teenager — RZA and Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan, Lord Superb of American Cream Team and Cappadonna, Wu-Tang affiliated emcee who with Solomon Childs and Ghostface Killah is part of the Tony Starks' group Theodore Unit.

Eminem — Curtain Call: The Hits

In 2005, Eminem announced his retirement with a greatest hits compilation. The album was almost entirely self-produced, along with Dr. Dre, Luis Resto, The 45 King, Jeff Bass, Mike Elizondo, and The Recording Academy. Guests included Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, Dido, and Elton John.

Buddah Bless — All for the Love of the Gain

In 2003, Danny "Buddah Bless" Hill is one of the main guests of "Love Hell or Right (Da Come Up)", the first album by Wu-Tang Clan producer Mathematics. Buddah Bless also gets a solo track and momentum gained from the Mathematics record, which sells tens of thousands of copies, allows him to publish a solo CD, which comes out the following year without a budget. Production is handled largely by Hitman Ali Vann, Dibbie Tech makes four beats, Shy is credited once.

Lord Finesse — The Awakening

After publishing his second studio album, Lord Finesse starts his career as producer, working with DITC artists Big L, Fat Joe, O.C., Diamond D, and others, among which Ill Biskits, Biggie Smalls, AK Skills, and Grand Puba. After the deal with Giant Records, Finesse signs with Penalty Recordings and records his new LP in 1995, releasing in 1996. The author is the unique producer, while the tape is full of guests: DITC rappers OC, Showbiz, Diamond D and AG, along with Doo-Wop, KRS-One, Akinyele, Marquee, Kid Capri, Grand Puba, Sadat X and Large Professor.

Suprême NTM — Paris sous les bombes

After completing the short four-date tour for the album "1993... J'appuie sur la gachette" in May 1994, the group Suprême NTM returned to the studio in early June to prepare their third album. DJ S left NTM and the group now looked for another DJ and producer. Kool Shen and JoeyStarr turned to former Assassin member DJ Clyde for several productions, assisted by DJ Max. The rapper and producer of Assassin Solo also left his group at the same time and joined the recording of the album along with The LG Experience and Lucien who connected NTM with the Beatnuts, with whom they had already collaborated two years earlier. Badbreak & AL.X were the main guests on the album and would later form the group Psykopat.

MC Lyte — Eyes on This

The best female MC of her time. She drops a second album when everyone was still afraid to release the singles.

Othorized FAM — Hot Like Sahara Sand

Second studio album released by Othorized FAM, a hip-hop group from Staten Island. The group consists of Molly-Q, Lounge Lo, Wigs and Crunch Lo. There are no production credits. Guests are Lounge Lo's big brother — and new member of the Wu-Tang Clan for about a year when ChamberMusik picked up the project and legitimized it among the Wu releases — Cappadonna, the affiliate of the group Lighter Shade, Polite of American Cream Team, Franky Boots, Clocka, Killerman Archer and Son Don Moet, already a guest on several Solomon Childs records.

Eminem — Encore

Eminem's fifth LP, announcing his retirement, as can be seen from the title and cover, this is destined to be his last album. The production is equally divided between Dr. Dre, often joined by Mike Elizondo, and a duo composed of Eminem and Luis Resto. Mark Batson is credited with two beats. The rhythms are combined with live production by Steve King (mainly on guitar, but also on bass, keyboards and mandolin), Mark Batson and Luis Resto on keyboards and Mike Elizondo, who takes care of keyboards, guitar and sitar. 50 Cent is the main guest of the product, together with Nate Dogg, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, D12 and Dr. Dre. In his fifth LP, after completing a painful trilogy, Eminem announces his retirement, as can be seen from the title and cover, the boy bids farewell to the public with what is destined to be his last album.

Westside Gunn — Riots on Fashion Avenue EP

Born as a common, typical EP. Four tracks, eleven minutes. But what would that have been, huh? Westside Gunn diligently lengthens it with two remixes and six instrumental versions. The production is realized by French hip-hop beatmaker Mil Beats aka Mil, [there are] no guest.

Eminem — 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture

At the end of 2002, Eminem releases the official soundtrack album to the 2002 film of the same name. He's the main producer of the disk along with Jeff Bass, Luis Resto, Red Spyda, Denaun Porter, Dante Ross, John Gamble, Mike Elizondo, Chucky Thompson of the Hitmen, John "J-Praize" Freeman, Sha Money XL, Nas, Kellin Manning, Martin Pradler e DJ Premier. The CD is performed by several artists: Mathers, Obie Trice, 50 Cent, D12, Jay-Z, Freeway, Xzibit, Macy Gray, Nas, Boomkat, Rakim, Young Zee and Gang Starr.

Teraban — Operation: Bloody Valentine (The Lost Weapons)

The General Dom Pachino Presents Teraban, "Operation: Bloody Valentine (The Lost Weapons Mixtape)", a collaborative project created together with his friend Bugsy da God. The tape consists of 22 tracks made mainly by two rappers under the name Teraban, with exceptions represented by solo tracks performed by Dom Pachino and Bugsy da God. The production is mainly created by Falling Down, which provides beats for half of the mixtape, as well as Lord Beatjitzu (7 beats), Fascist Beats, Bugsy da God and 140 Productions, the latter with one beat each. The guests are Chapelz aka Chapel of 140 Productions and of Dom Pachino's Team Napalm, which gets a solo track, Ninth Prince aka 9th Prince of Killarmy, Dezert Eagle aka Desert Eagle of Hillside Scramblers, Bugotti Bomb and Eliana. The whole set of rhythms developed by the producers may not thrill you and not completely convince you, even though it's one of the nicest productions you can hear on a Dom Pachino record and there's practically no wrong beat out of twenty-two. Killarmy rapper and Bugsy da God deliver well together and show discreet mic proficiency, the most satisfying results come in the finale, with the "NYC Housing" and "Teraban, Teraban" highlights. It's an interesting starting point for listening to Dom Pachino, not essential in going to the warm core of the best products related to Wu-Tang.

Snoop Dogg — Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$

Sixth studio album by Snoop Dogg. The rhythm set is signed by some of the best producers on the circuit, such as Battlecat, E-Swift, Just Blaze, Hi-Tek and DJ Premier. In addition to them, Fredwreck, Jelly Roll, Meech Wells, The Neptunes, Keith Clizark, L.T. Hutton and Josef Leimberg. Daz Dillinger produces the bonus track. Guests are Lady of Rage, RBX, Nate Dogg, Warren G, Lil' Half Dead, Soopafly, Jay-Z, Redman, Pharrell Williams, Charlie Wilson, Traci Nelson, LaToiya Williams, Mr. Kane, Goldie Loc, E-White, and Ludacris. On the cover, Broadus breaks away from the gang symbolism that had marked his latest LPs with No Limit and decides for black and white.

It's a quite curious album, the author completes the thematic transition started in the previous projects by permanently switching from gangster to pimpin' topics. Like all four previous LPs, the index veers towards production because it's the one who puts down this effort: the "Nas formula" (en: more producers sparse in the LP) doesn't reward him even this time, on these rhythms, the boy doesn't carve any song worthy of note or memorable.

Coolio — It Takes a Thief

Debut album by Artis "Coolio" Ivey, former member of WC and The Maad Circle. Production, sometimes paired with live instrumentation, is mainly provided by Brian "Wino" Dobbs, along with Rashad Coles, Billy Boy, Brian G, WC and his brother DJ Crazy Toones, Doug Rasheed, Clyde "Spoony" Colen (who with Coolio was part of the Nu-Skool), Architect and by Coolio himself. The MC doesn't need guests, practically never, because it leaves a lot of space for excellent samples that refresh the disc with each track, allowing him to perform alone for almost an hour, before the final song with J-Ro of Tha Alkaholiks and Billy Boy.

Suprême NTM — 1993... J'appuie sur la gâchette

Two years after their debut "Authentik", the group Suprême NTM released their second studio album. Recorded between April 1992 and February 1993, the album saw the entrance into rap by Yazid, until then a dancer of the group, while the presence of JoeyStarr was limited to seven tracks out of seventeen. The music was curated by DJ S, Tahar, with a beat by the Beatnuts and two rhythms created by The LG Experience, the younger brother of Easy Mo Bee. Big Red and AL.X were the guests of the project.

Eminem — The Eminem Show

Eminem's fourth LP. It forms a trinity with "The Slim Shady LP" (1999) and "The Marshall Mathers LP" (2000), representing respectively the albums of the alter-ego of the rapper Slim Shady, of the boy Marshall Mathers and of the rapper Eminem. It's almost entirely self-produced, the set is completed by five rhythms by Dr. Dre, while Jeff Bass of FTB joins the author several times behind the keyboards. The guests are Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, D12, Obie Trice, Dina Rae and her daughter.

Eminem — The Marshall Mathers LP

The success of the album "The Slim Shady LP" takes the boy from being an unknown local underground rapper to a global mainstream rap star. Interscope finances a national tour and allows him to create his own record label, Shady Records, and the young man decides to sign his friend Proof. Eminem promotes his album on tour and the notoriety distances his friends, doubts those who remain and leads to several lawsuits filed against him. A few months after the album's release, the young man marries Kim Scott and flies to Amsterdam where, through excessive drug use, he finds inspiration for the lyrics of his new album. Production is divided between Dr. Dre, Mel-Man, Eminem and the Bass Brothers now known as FBT. The 45 King produces one track. The guests are Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Xzibit, RBX, Sticky Fingaz, D12, Bizarre and, last but not least, Dido.

Ghost & DOOM — Swift and Craftable EP

BlendsCrafters offers this short six-track EP that combines verses from Ghostface Killah and MF DOOM. The production is credited to Mr. Green, Force of Nature, BlendsCrafters, Tom Dice and Scruffnuk Dust. The very poor audio quality immediately destroys the project and nullifies any effort. "Double 0 Bubblin Bandits" ft. Polite of American Cream Team & Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan is one of the few accessible songs together with "The Champ (Remix)", the rest have such a bad audio as to be almost incomprehensible. Disappointing tape. 4/10.

Snoop Dogg — R&G: Rhythm & Gangsta

The latest LP kept Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus off the charts, sensationally. How is it possible? Wow, I just don't know. Look at that cover, it's tough there. He put the "$" in place of the "s" in the title. He put DJ Premier into production. He put Pharrell into production. He put Pharrell to sing. He put Kokane to sing. He put Nate Dogg to sing. Everyone is singing. Hell, there is Jay-Z, Ludacris, Redman, Warren G, Lady of Rage. The cream of the cream of the cream of the decade in rap. If you don't have two of those names among your top five, then maybe you know hip-hop too well and, in that case, you're in the wrong place. There are samples, club tracks, dissing tracks, rnb tracks, hardcore tracks, everything is there. Music critics cannot afford to say absolutely anything about this album, despite it being actually terrible. No commercial mistakes were made.

Solomon Childs — Funeral Talk (The Eulogy)

Solomon Childs effort released by ChamberMusik Special Products and Yalloppin Entertainment, labels of G-Clef, one of the guests on the tape together with Ashanti, Cappadonna and RZA (Ghostface and Popa Wu are sometimes uncredited, for the intro of "Breaks Upz Ta Make Upz" and the outro of "Fallin' in Love", respectively). Neither the music nor the lyrics are particularly noteworthy, the Staten Island rapper spins around hardcore and thug themes for over an hour, freaking out a bit on "Pimp Talk", and with songs dedicated to women ("Fallin' in LIve"), single mothers ("Girls Havin' Babies on Their Own") and personal tracks ("Home for Good"). The beats aren't good and boom bap is in short supply. The guests are as if they're not there, Cappadonna spits appreciably, as if he has to prove something, despite a wack beat (the next one is even worse, in "Dinero"). The whole drive is quite a long and bumpy journey to go through, not worth it.

Murs & 9th Wonder — The Final Adventure

The fifth studio album, released by Jamla Records, coincides with the final adventure for the duo Murs & 9th Wonder. Five albums in eight years, two a year from 2004 to 2012, it's right to close their firm. The boys remain faithful to the formula of ten songs without skits, thirty-seven minutes, and internal guests, with Rapsody the only rapper to perform: she kills the cut on a boom bap with fresh drum and chopped and looped chipmunk soul sample, obscuring the other performer. Murs is working here in order to close the pentalogy, however, the difference with respect to the records in which he doesn't commit isn't felt and this is a big problem of the project. 9th Wonder sounds better than two years ago, here he also guesses numerous rhythms ("Get Together", "Dance With Me", "Tale of Two Cities", "Wherever You Are"), maintaining its typical soulful production and several good-level chipmunk soul extracts: with a competent rapper an interesting album would have come out, while Murs instead spits dull, weak, with a soporific flow worth of a retired, anchored to his favorite topic. Among the best rhythms, "Tale of Two Cities" stands out: soulful production, dusty elegant piano, poor drum, short light smooth sax that intrudes into the beat. 5/10.

Akhenaton — Métèque et mat

Debut studio album by Philippe "Akhenaton" Fagione, French rapper born in Marseille by a family of Italian origins, that choose as a moniker the name of the Egyptian pharaoh. Passionate about soccer, growing up he approached hip-hop through break-dancing after taking a journey to New York. After being the founder and one of the main rapper of the seminal group IAM, in 1995 Akhenaton starts a career as a solo artist. The production is handled by Akh and Nicholas Sansano, while there's only a guest, Fonky Family.

Kids See Ghosts — Kids See Ghosts

A ghostly white figure rides a white monster floating in the air, nearby a child is sitting on what appears to be the monstrous representation of the child himself. Behind them, a forest and Mount Fuji in the background. The work, wonderfully designed by the master Takashi Murakami, already engaged by Kanye West for his cover of "Graduation" (2007), draws inspiration from one of Hokusai's paintings from his artwork "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" (1826-33), which pays homage to, where Mount Fuji is reflected in Lake Kawaguchi. Masterpiece. The entire pastel color palette is represented on the cover, which starts from the cold colors at the bottom and ramps up to warm colors at the top. The title is represented in blue in the lower left in what looks like Japanese, but is actually Chinese.

The genesis of the project is crucial and complex. Since 2008, Kanye West has started collaborating frequently with Kid Cudi, starting with "Welcome to Heartbreak" from West's record "808s & Heartbreak". Kid Cudi was featured on West's next six albums, and the Chicago rapper guested on Kid Cudi's first two records. After five years, in 2013 Kid Cudi left the West label GOOD Music and the two separated for a few years before returning to collaborate in 2016. Both artists have had drug addictions and have been suffering from major mental health problems for many years, Kid Cudi was checked into rehab and West was also hospitalized in November 2016, a short time after briefly falling out with Kid Cudi and having reconciled with him during a concert that goes down in history because Kanye expresses his support for Donald Trump for the first time. In addition to these problems, the two artists received harsh negative reviews, one for his controversial statements, the other for his music. In the following December, after the release of Kid Cudi's sixth album, much appreciated by Kanye West, the two begin work on a collaborative album and some parts of the disc are recorded in the summer of 2017 during sessions between Japan and China.

Eminem — The Slim Shady LP

The release of "Slim Shady EP" received some critical acclaim and sold a couple hundred more copies than "Infinite", but it did not help Eminem out of his precarious financial situation and he was fired and evicted from his home. The boy traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the Rap Olympics, a nationwide battle rap competition where he placed second, attracting the attention of an Interscope Records intern, Dean Geistlinger, who asked him for a copy of his EP. The copy reached Jimmy Iovine and the tape was also listened to by Dr. Dre, who went crazy. Despite the resistance of the executives towards Mathers, Dr. Dre insisted on wanting to work with him and they both began to build Eminem's second studio album, which he signed with Dre's Interscope Records.

E-40 & Too $hort — History: Mob Music

"Mob Music" is one of two collaborative CDs released by E-40 & Too Short in 2012 together with "Function Music". Of "mob" there's only the name because it cannot be labeled as an album of the mafia rap genre, a crime rap sub-genre forgotten for years in the period in which the double LP is released. Kurupt and B-Legit are some of the guests, the rhythms are provided by beatmakers such as ShonuFF, Droop-E, Rick Rock (these all also present in the other CD), DJ Battlecat, Studio Tone and Sam Bostic. The set sounds much more pleasant than the twin disc, the beats are darker and more melodic, there are more ordered drum patterns and the production is finally able to breathe. The effort presents a first part more robust and coherent than the second half, managing to hold up well for over half an hour before falling physiologically, welcoming almost seventy minutes of music. As in "Function Music", E-40 easily overtake Too Short to the point that the latter looks like one of the other guests on the tape. The end result is a discreet effort that might appeal to Bay Area fans, but not the casual listeners. 6/10.

E-40 & Too $hort — History: Function Music

E-40 & Too Short are expected to release a collaborative project in the wake of Method Man & Redman's overwhelming success in the late 1990s, yet their idea is stopped by Jive. Their efforts materialized a decade later, with the release of both from the label: "The History Channel" was born, over time transformed into a collaborative double disc. "Function Music" is one of the two LPs, full of guests, including Tyga, Jeremih, Wiz Khalifa and Ice Cube, and of producers, where the name of DecadeZ is repeated more times than the others by scrolling through the credits.

Over the course of these long sixty-five minutes, E-40 is fine, Too Short is fine, the others do little and bad. You can guess the respective lyrical paths that the two emcees intend to undertake, while the music makes the record much more cumbersome: the set is built for a club crowd, there's not a beat that remains in the memory, and in particular there's a whole series of shoddy and similar drum machines. The first track deceives you that this can be a good record, nothing in the following minutes leads you to validate this thesis. A song with E-40, Too Short and Ice Cube is theoretically a highlight on any album, nevertheless apparently it's not here, and it goes away normally without leaving anything like almost any other song. There's nothing to discuss when it comes to E-40 and Too Short, they're two giants of the game, this work simply doesn't represent at best the quality to which their listeners have become accustomed in their heyday. 4/10.

9th Wonder — Zion VII

Seventh installment in seven years of the record series created by hip-hop producer 9th Wonder, "Zion". The author reduces the number of songs by half compared to the previous chapter and the length of listening increased from almost two hours to an hour and a quarter, approximately. King Draft & Swank, rappers from 9th Wonder's label Jamla Records, guested on the first seven tracks, the rest of the tape is entirely instrumental. The Jack Moves, Jalisa and Datsunn are the other credited guests on some of those seven songs. Sometimes the author guesses the melody and finds fresh samples, but the drum is often bad or weak and the rhythm never takes off. "Remain" is a rare exception, 9th Wonder creates a splendid beat, with a soulful sample and a perfect drum, Swank and King Draft deliver bars with regular style. "Lust 4 U" features a sample from Free Life's "Wish You Were Here" and "Know I" has a sample from "'Cause I Love You" by Lenny Williams, but both choices are unmemorable. "BeenChanged" is one of the high points of these 76 minutes, thanks to a series of clippings and chops from the excellent "Changed" by Donald Watkins and The Gospel Music Educators Seminar Mass Choir. Then, as per a die-hard tradition by 9th Wonder, it's his shorter inserts that coincide with the best of his selection, and are scattered throughout the listening: "BeSuperStar", "MissinYouJam" and "WorldWindSoul", boasting great samples and a good melody. Everything else feels unnecessary and makes it yet another bloated effort from the artist. 5/10.

Kanye West — Ye

«When you hear about slavery for 400 years ... for 400 years? That sounds like a choice. You were there for 400 years and it's all of y'all. It's like we're mentally imprisoned.» — Kanye West in 2018.

Hospitalized for drug problems in late 2016, after also stating on stage that friend Jay-Z wanted to assassinate him, praying he didn't send his killers to murder him, Kanye West isolates himself from the world again and also stops using twitter for almost a year. In spring 2017, West calls several collaborators to a new location isolated from the rest of the world and in the middle of nowhere that becomes his new music recording venue, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. From West's recordings, known as the Wyoming Sessions, five albums by five different artists come out: Pusha-T ("Daytona"), Kanye West ("ye"), Kids See Ghosts ("Kids See Ghosts"), Nas ("Nasir") and Teyana Taylor ("K.T.S.E."). The albums each consist of seven tracks and are released within a week of each other. Pusha-T's album precedes West's by one week.

IAM — Ombre est lumière

After the release of their second album, the Marseille hip-hop group IAM embarked on an extensive tour over the next two years, building a solid audience niche and signing with the newly formed Delabel label, which allows them to work with a larger budget than in the past. The group recorded the album in two months in Aix-en-Provence together with New York producer Nick Sansano, engineer of Public Enemy and producer of Sonic Youth, and mixed the project in New York. IAM's third album contains 40 tracks (13 skits) and 2.5 hours of music, it's one of the very first double albums in hip-hop. Faf Larage and Def Bond are the only guests on the two CDs, the production is carried out entirely by the group and Nick Sansano.

AAVV — The Man With the Iron Fists: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The soundtrack of "The Man With the Iron Fists" (2012) co-written, directed and starring Robert Diggs, also emerges as the best album made by him under the name of RZA. One of the greatest strengths of the project lies in the fact that for the most time, The Abbot contributes neither to production nor to rapping, leaving room for other performers and playing a role similar to that of DJ Khaled in his album-producer releases.

Spark 950 & Timbo King — United We Slam EP

Unique act of the Brooklyn hip-hop duo composed of Spark 950 & Timothy "Timbo King" Drayton, who in 1994 shows up in the underground game with a 26-minute EP, 11 cuts and 5 skits, practically every track is followed by a skit. 

Sunz of Man — The Old Testament

In 2006 the Brooklyn hip-hop group Sunz of Man released a greatest hits album to consecrate their journey in hip-hop. The album features songs recorded between 1994 and 2006, taken from a good number of different projects. The guests are Method Man, Raekwon, U-God, Ghostface Killah & ODB of Wu-Tang Clan, Killa Sin & 9th Prince of Killarmy, Madam D, Ursula Rucker, MC Eiht of Compton's Most Wanted and Earth, Wind & Fire. The production is mainly created by the group's historic beatmakers Supreme and Dropsect, along with 4th Disciple, RZA, True Master, Joe Loops, Platinum Brothers, Fatal Son and Wyclef Jean. A couple of years after the release of the previous effort of the group, "Elements", the note cover for this record state that Shabazz the Disciple isn't part of the Sunz of Man, now composed by four emcees, namely Killah Priest, Hell Razah, Prodigal Sunn and 60 Second Assassin.

DJ Krush — Trickster

Solo studio album number 15 for Japanese producer Hideaki Ishi aka DJ Krush. The record is experimental, irregular and not very accessible, fourteen unconnected tracks and forcibly put together for a bloated project up to 53 minutes. Personally, I don't digest at least 2/3 of the wonky rhythms that Ishi proposes, but there are some interesting choices ("Incarnation", "Doomsayer", "Hidden Shadow", "Signs of Recovery", "Bluezone"). 5/10.

Cappadonna — Da Illage

Five months after his last effort, Cappadonna drops his fifteenth album. DJ N-Tense is the main producer of the product, the set is completed by the rhyhtms of Addie Mak, Nottz and True Master. No guest credited.

DJ Krush — 迷走 (Meiso)

The third effort by Japanese producer DJ Krush is trip hop with a bit of rap: it works brilliantly. On the one hand, Krush serves a seemingly simple set of instrumentals, with its usual formula of minimal and poor drum + samples, which this time, perhaps more than before, are ambient, dark and melodic. The soundscape of the record is amazing and in addition, a few MCs arrive to contribute, all from the East Coast: CL Smooth from New Rochelle, The Roots' members Black Thought & Malik B from Philadelphia, Deflon Sallahr and Big Shug from New York, and Guru, from Boston.

Cappadonna — Slow Motion

Studio album number fourteen from Wu-Tang Clan member Cappadonna. There are no production credits for this effort. Amard Divine is the main guest appearing on half the album, along with Kelso, Rollo and Theo RW.

Rockness Monsta — Ether Rocks

Five years after his last effort, Jahmal Bush aka Rockness Monsta bka Rock of Heltah Skeltah is back to releasing something. The tape is entirely produced by Ron Browz.