This solo effort by Outkast’s Big Boi recently had its 6-year anniversary last June and I just happened to play it again in that same month. I can still remember picking up the CD from Barnes & Noble in L.A. while on holiday on the Westcoast the week of its release, so I’m excited to get back to it for this review. Let’s see if it’s as enjoyable a listen as it was back in Summer 2017! Starting with the short intro track “Da Next Day”, Big Boi wastes no time asserting his confidence on the instrumental rapping a straightforward fire verse which sets the stage perfectly for the album. The following song which features Killer Mike and Jeezy, the single “Kill Ill”, sees the three Southside rap heavyweights trade hard hitting bars over a dope Asian sounding beat. You just find yourself wishing Big Boi’s raps were much more present on the track even though the cringe worthy bars about Bill Cosby supposed innocence (i.e. it’s all a conspiracy). This is actually one of the complaints from

Curren$y & Harry Fraud - Vices New Orleans’ Curren$y certainly is one of the most prolific rappers of these times, releasing multiple projects every year. It’s great that the music keeps pouring out, but means that you’re going to miss out on a few along the way and that quality may not always be consistent. That’s certainly not the case of his collaborations with producer Harry Fraud. “Vices” is their 6th or 7th project and to me is the culmination of what they’ve been doing together this whole time. From “Cigarette Boats” to “The Outrunners”, and more recently “Regatta”, the two have been delivering music infused with these South Florida and Miami vibes. So it made sense for them to dive into the universe of “Miami Vice” and pay homage to that show full of flashy clothes, sports cars and charismatic drug dealers. A time capsule of sorts, this album has Curren$y spitting over beats sampling some of the 80s classics that were included in the show’s soundtrack, the whole thing toppe

Earlier this week - on February 6th to be exact - 50 Cent celebrated the 20th anniversary of his debut album “Get Rich Or Die Tryin”. This is the perfect occasion to revisit the now classic album. So what makes a classic you may ask?  First off, the quality of the music for sure. And there’s plenty of that on 50 Cent’s smashing debut. The fact that Dr Dre produced on the album is not the least, but there’s also the hunger that you can feel from 50 Cent on all the records, as well as his chorus game and undeniable talent for crafting great songs.  Secondly there’s the lasting power of an album that makes it a classic. And here again it is incredible how the music, despite having been made 20 years ago, still sounds fresh and innovative. “In Da Club” is as much of a banger today as it was back in 2003 for example, and the gun toting “Heat” or atmospheric “Poor Lil’ Rich” hit just as hard today. This album also is as cohesive and consistent as can be, making for joyful listening experienc

 Only just finished putting together my 2022 year end list and back again with a list of my most anticipated rap albums of 2023. Some of these have been announced - with or without firm dates - and some of have not, but there is a good chance they will come out in 2023. Let’s get into it! Skyzoo & The Other Guys: The Mind of A Saint Inspired by the TV show “Snowfall” which recounts the story of one of the most prominent drug dealers, the album will be tapped from the perspective of a fictional character, Franklin Saint, who has gone from through the trials and tribulations of a major trafficker. But unlike many rap albums that glorify the life, Skyzoo plans on addressing the harsh lessons of the life of crime and use it the album as a vehicle to show the double-sided reality, which is something many rappers fail to tackle. Knowing Skyzoo’s skills and with his 2021 album still in rotation, I’m sure we’ll be in for a treat. Dropping January 13th, 2023. El Michels Affair & Black T

When you listen to so much music it’s very hard to come up with any kind of top ranking. Even more so when a year is a busy and as good as 2022 was for Rap and Hip-Hop. But it’s good to take time to reflect on all the music that has come out and to try and put together a list of your favorite projects so that you can kind of keep a time capsule for the previous year that you can come back to later. You can then see how well these albums still fare a few years down the line and it’s a good opportunity for anyone reading to catch up on a project that they have missed out on. Usually you tend to forget the albums that have come out early or in the first half of the year as there is so much coming out and it’s difficult to keep your attention on one project for long. Remember the times when an album would come out and the only way for you to listen to it was to buy the CD? I can tell you that back then you’d take your time with a single album - sometime spending months with it - and would

As usual, I wanted to close another year with a “Top 10 Bangers of…” article, collecting the songs I ended up playing the most throughout 2022. Criteria for this list are that these songs must have come out during the year, were supported by a music video, and obviously were songs that I kept coming back to long after I first heard them. Here’s the list! Benny The Butcher - Johnny P’s Caddy (feat. J. Cole) Benny The Butcher has been in my current top 5 rappers for a couple of years now, so when he came back with another album in the “Tana Talk” series in the first quarter of 2022, I was excited. This track was the first single in the rollout and also is the opener on the album. The Alchemist laced Benny with one of the best beats of the year and J. Cole delivered my favorite verse of the year on the feature. Benny The Butcher also held his own with a dope verse. This is by far my favorite song of the year and has been in heavy rotation all year. Kendrick Lamar - N95 This year marked th